Wildflowers

A splash of color to brighten the day—wildflowers have a way of catching the eye and lifting the spirit. Their natural beauty offers a welcome distraction, a gentle reminder to pause and appreciate the simple joys that nature provides.

Paluxy River

 

Living in a metroplex like DFW you can forget what nature looks like outside of your area.  Walking down the Paluxy River served to remind me of the beauty of Texas and gave me a moment to get back to my roots.   Back home in Mississippi, I used to walk in and on rivers pretty often, that seems like a lifetime ago. 

Something Beautiful

From the darkness and the debris of that lost...  come a new arising… reaching for the light.   Something beautiful. 

Leap

No matter how scary things may seem, sometimes the fall is worth it.

Pilot Mountain is an hour’s drive from me; I recently made the drive to see this beautiful landform for myself.   

What We Become...

At some time we look back at what we have left behind a twisted mass of beautiful controlled chaos that is our life.  We see the beauty that lies within, the vibrant hues that make us who we are.

Transformation

We tend to focus on the moment, how bad things always happen to us.  We never step back to look and see who we become when we are faced with seeming insurmountable obstacles.   We become a thing of beauty, something to be admired.

Silence

Part of Wordless Wednesday!

Embrace

When can you hope to be one,

When you forget to be a pawn,

You never know what can come to be,

When you finally realize you are free,

It is then that you can find,

The truth that can be so kind,

In the touch of grace can be found,

The loss of despair that once bound,

Out of the darkness you must trudge,

Into the beauty that only you will embrace.

For the Birds

This Egret and many Gulls feed from the waters where the Gulf of Mexico meets Saint Andrews Bay in the waters between Shell Island and Saint Andrews State Park. 

Little Eyes

 

The same is true in Florida as it was in Mississippi and is anywhere on Earth… You are never alone.  Lurking in the trees, brush, and the water are little eyes.  You are always being watched so always be aware of your surroundings.

This Gator was stalking me and other food items at the aptly named “Gator Lake” in Saint Andrews State Park just outside Panama City Beach.  I have seen these magnificent creatures in nature many times in the past; they never cease to demand respect and awe.

Alligator mississippiensis

These creatures haunt our swimming holes and our dreams they are frightening, fascinating, and interesting.  The American Alligator is one of the biggest predators in the area, and they are common in my neck of the woods, thank goodness this one was behind the glass at the Mississippi Natural Science Museum.  

Water

I’m always drawn to water; I guess it must be a family trait.   My mother and her father going back generations have always been found near water in some shape or form.  I see this trait being passed along to my nephew as well, I wonder if it is a learned trait or genetic.

I always find lakes, rivers and streams no matter where I visit, and Lake Waterloo was one of the more recent finds during my visit to Texas.  Half of the Lake is manicured and almost looks like a golf course water trap; the other half is wooded, wild, and beautiful.   I preferred the wild part, with the beautiful rocks, and trees… as well as the occasional snake swimming amongst the waves.

Reflective Witness

Places of tranquility often lead to inspiration, this is a rule that I believe many people neglect to follow.   Here in Mississippi, just a bit north of Jackson on the

Natchez Trace Parkway

lies what was once a part of the Pearl River.   It is marked as a point of interest, not a historical place as most others are, it is the Cypress Swamp.  The Pearl river changed its course thousands of years ago, leaving behind a swamp where it once flowed.  Over thousands of years Cypress trees majestically grew tall and overtook the swamp, creating a quiet breathtaking place of reflection.  I thought of many things as I explored this amazing place, one thing that grabbed my attention were the size of some of the cypress trees, and the knowledge that they could have bore witness to the first explorers to the region, and to the way of life hundreds of years before Europeans discovered this continent... and yet they are alive, to bear witness to me.     Small in the scheme of things.

Waterloo

Some paths appear in front of us, paths that we are meant to take no matter how much we avoid them. We do not always know why we must walk the trail or where the trail will take us… but it is there, and it must be traveled.

I walked this trail last week, and while I was in one situation at the beginning by the end I was in a completely different situation. I wish I could understand what occurred or why it occurred, but it did and I am left with the aftermath. Ironically the trail circles Lake Waterloo in Denison, Texas; part of the Texoma (Oklahoma/Texas) region… I met my “waterloo” at Waterloo Lake, in many ways…

 

The Road Avoided

The road before isn’t always the easiest road, the bend and tribulations are what make the trip worth while. When we begin the journey, we are one person, and when we arrive at our destination, we become someone completely different.



This is a road I avoided for a long time; it is Airport Road in Mendenhall Mississippi. I am not going to say the reasons I have avoided it, but it took me four years to traverse its beautiful stretches. I made the trip finally, and learned a few things about myself that I had been avoiding, and found what I was looking for.



Now what to do with that?

Simplicity

Yes, these are my feet… tucked away in my DC’s surrounded by the leaves that have fallen from the trees.   Simplicity is the way to go on occasion, forget the over details that can sometimes take control, and leave us with less than we began with.   Simplicity, sometimes can be what we need, just enough… more than most…

Scent

There are a few things that I have forgotten, some things just tend to go away after a while… waiting to come back into your memory, usually when least expected. I remember that when I was little, there was a wisteria growing outside the back door of my house. This was not forgotten; I walked past it a million times, as it grew along our fence with its purple hanging grape-like flowers etching themselves into my memory. The smell, that is what was forgotten, I was only reminded of this when I got out of my truck today and the wind blew the sweet scent in my direction. It caused me to pause, and my memory was suddenly flooded with memories that contained that smell… it was a bit overwhelming… I was shocked that I had forgotten that the wisteria even had a scent, and now it is one of my favourite scents…

To glance into other people's world... click here.

Draco

Sometimes things happen that remind you that people that are gone are still with us. I always associate Dragon Flies with a specific person who passed away in 2008, someone I have been thinking of a lot lately. So needless to say when a Dragon Fly paid a visit with me and some friends yesterday, I was very pleased and even felt at peace inside knowing that even though people are gone… a piece of them still is with you.

The last time a Dragon Fly visited… was the day that my friend left us… We miss you Loraine!

Conversing with Nature

Mississippi is not known for rolling hills, or high mountains. It is mostly flat, with a few small hills dotting the landscape. I was walking in a field among some of these small hills, when I heard a rustling in the bushes. I stood really quiet and out popped a white tailed deer… I only had a moment to snap this quick photo before it scurried on into the forest. I love taking photos, it give me a chance to converse with nature, and to see things I would not otherwise get to see. I hope you enjoy them as much as I enjoy taking them. Thank You ALL!

Something Is Different...

Something is different from all the others, something doesn’t belong. The more you look and the more you see, the more pronounced the differences become. Keep looking, look closer, and see if you can spot it… when you discover you may very well be shocked….

The thing that doesn’t belong…

Is me.