another december reflection

and when i give
a second look

behold
i see
a star

arms reaching out
from a center
of thistles


*Calvin Seerveld called this story telling by nature the "hallelujahing of creation."

from my mid morning walk

fraught with the failures
of yesterday
and the missteps
of the morning

i meander past
the frozen field
through thicket and glade
to the hidden pond

and there
amidst the chaos
of broken branches
and fallen trees

beauty
breathes

unadorned


"Only in quiet waters do things mirror themselves undistorted. Only in a quiet mind is adequate perception of the world."  ~Hans Margolius

*Writing this post brings to mind the "quiet" of a Bethlehem stable.

winter rain

she is a gift given today

this tender december
rain

and i, like the river birch
am changed
by her
falling


"Nature has been for me, as long as i can remember, a source of solace, inspiration, adventure, and delight; a home, a teacher, a companion.   ~Lorraine Anderson

unseasonably warm

it's early december
but my morning walk
brought thoughts of may

the chorus of birdsong
and the warm moist air
caused me pause
inhale the moment

twas there
in the quiet of the cornfield
that grace o'er shadowed
me



"Nature is man's teacher.  She unfolds her treasures to his search, unseals his eye, illumines his mind, and purifies his heart; an influence breathes from all the sights and sounds of her existence."
                                        ~Alfred Billings Street

noticing

it's the little things
from those gone
before

like scuff marks on a door
or handwritten numbers
on an old window pane

that do fain
propel me
onward


"It's surprising how much memory is built around things unnoticed at the time" ~Barbara Kingsolver