I walk to the sounds of nature.  Birdsong lifts my chin and chirps me along. Each step melds me deeper into the rhythms of life. Everyday tensions ease away.  Naturalist John Muir said when we merge with nature, we receive more than we seek. I want to hear what Nature is whispering.  And I agree…

To my readers: This post is an updated version of the earlier one from 2019. See below in resources.   It was an unusually warm day, too warm for the first week of April. It was tree planting day at my home in suburban Denver, Colorado. The arduous task before me was to dig three…

We are One. After all, You and I, Together we suffer, Together exist,  And forever We will Recreate each other.  —Pierre de Chardin It was the morning of the summer solstice, the longest day of the year. Derived from Old French, the term solstice refers to the sun appearing to stand still and thereby taking…

Overnight, the Atlantic Ocean rolled out a silent blue gray mist. It hovered over coastal inlets, drifted through the trees behind my house before spilling onto my street. From my window I saw the world wrapped in puffy cotton balls and I was as excited as a child waking up to winter’s first snow. There…

I notice unusual tree trunks, especially those that twist, turn and spiral. These spirals are the results of nature’s remarkable responses to environmental stresses. For example, an uneven burden of heavy snow will trigger the trunk to spiral itself. This action strengthens the base while allowing the upper branches to bend and sway with the…

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…