These Spring walks are fixing me. When I go with the boys in my life, I make them stop every few feet so I can oooooh and aaaahhhh over the amazing sights and sounds and smells. Eventually, I print and frame these things. Our house is full of my collections of captured beauty found on this land. I cannot get enough. It is certainly not the prettiest time of year, but there are treasures to be found if you look. And I can’t help but liken that to how we’ve all been feeling of late. Just look closely — there are nuggets of hope and beauty amongst the dull and brown days.
Vivid in its thrive-power amongst last year’s decay, this old boulder sang a song, loudly!
A stand of unusually old aspens had me standing in awe for far too long. This grove of them is rare in that aspens don’t usually thrive since their root systems aren’t always strong enough to sustain them long-term. We have a lot of aspen groves, but finding this grove of HUGE white sentinels took my breath away.
There is beauty to be found if you just pause and look closely. Sometimes, I feel overtaken, but maybe I have been clothed with new beauty in an unexpected form.
I found these little delightful ice formations at a little waterfall. If no one ever saw them, did they have purpose? Was it enough that they are remarkable even if never noticed?
A still-life. A call back to former days to remember that all of the seasons have purpose. When these fall leaves fell they were preserved in ice over these long seven or eight months as a reminder to me that I survived that season and will survive this one as well. It’s all just a part of my story.
It was an unusually tough winter for our forest. Early snow became heavy with varying temps and weighed down and even broke many of our aspens and pines. I saved as many as I could when I was in the woods, trying to remove their heavy load of snow that bent them low. It is nature’s way of thinning things and maintaining balance. It’s been happening since the beginning of time without my assistance. These little guys were bent but not broken. May we say the same of ourselves. It’s time to reach for the sun and heal.
Back at the house, the old shed has some vestiges of hope clinging and climbing and reaching for newness. Last year is forgotten. Time to grow and move on.
Once upon a time, there was a girl who just wanted creamy, cheesy mac and cheese. Not full of spices or fancy things, just plain ol’ gooey mac and cheese. As such, The Mac & Cheese was born. Alison's recipe has become our claim to fame—standing strong as the Most Pinned Mac & Cheese Recipe on Pinterest.
Beautiful!
<3 Thank you, friend.