I notice unusual tree trunks, especially these that twist, turn and spiral. These spirals show off Nature’s remarkable adaptation to environmental stress. When there is an uneven burden of heavy snow, the trunk can spiral itself to gain more strength, allowing upper branches to bend and sway with the wind. Since we only get to…

Living in beautiful Lake Arrowhead, was like living in an enchanted forest, the stuff of fairytale stories. Perched high in the San Bernardino Mountains of Southern California, our mile high life was cradled in natural beauty. Picturesque mountain lakes lapped gently on quiet shores tickling the feet of the majestic redwoods. Sugar pines reached so…

Steel Magnolias Breathtaking, Delicate beauty Of Creamy Perfection With Roots Running Deep In Southern Soil A History Almost As Old as Time And Endurance As Tough as Steel* Patricia Neely-Dorsey Breathtaking Delicate Beauty Lively flower beds of petunias and snap dragons brighten my walk. Like pallets of paint, they blend and swirl in the cool…

Henry David Thoreau described his early morning walk is a blessing for the whole day.   I understand. My morning walks give me a fresh new start to each day. They expand my capacity to appreciate life, given our restrictions, something on which I need to work. My reward is a lively concert I hear…

Anne Creel’s novel, The Magic of Ordinary Days, is one of my favorite books. Made into a beautiful Hallmark movie, it stars Keri Russell as a bookish minister’s daughter who, like us, is thrust into a sweeping new normal.   Against the backdrop of global war, Olivia Duran finds herself in a world she could…

Each day tumbles into the next without much demarcations. There is no more on-Mondays-I-do-this, and on-Tuesdays-I-go-here. Each day is generic. My weekly pill container tells me what day it is; my morning paper verifies. As I write, it is Sunday. No church. No Sunday brunch. We all miss the comings and goings of our lives….

Circles Need Maintenance My circles expand, yet regrettably, sometimes they tighten, giving me a feeling of claustrophobia. Is my circle too small? This egret has a morning message for me. He looks to his right and then, ever so delicately, he turns to his left. Maybe I also needed to look in new directions too….

Added to my expanding circle this Sunday morning: Mounds of Colorful Petunias Shady Live Oak Trees with Sturdy Welcoming Arms Brownies for Breakfast Neighbors Who Wave Hello Honking Canada Geese Books to Read: (Wait Until Next Year by Doris K Goodwin and my second Joshua book, Joshua in the Holy Land, by Father J Girzone)…

Every ending has a new beginning My new beginning started with a question:  What shall I place in my small but expandable circle? Before long I had new items.  Cool water to splash on my face each morning. My morning coffee, rich, dark and bold. Songbirds. Egrets and herons. And this: Let not your heart…

Week One: Something ends and something begins Like you, I saw my circles of life activities shrinking.  In the week before COVID 19 caused nationwide school closures, and cancelled sporting events, I was meeting friends for lunch, going to the gym, the pool, the library, playing music in my ukulele clubs and of course, dancing…