perfectly perfect

By day's end I realized that the day had been perfect.  Perfectly perfect.  It was not one thing, or even the right combination of things.  It was everything.

The sky.  The sand.  The water.

Cousins.  Always cousins.

Breathing.  Deeply.  Contentedly.

The accomplishment of the high dive.  And going over and over and over again.

Learning a new game.  And winning first place.

Sandcastle building.  And winning first place.

A day that felt like a vacation.  A real vacation (but without the travel and packing.)

A day with many cousins around to lighten the load, and make the deep, contented breathing possible.

Lunch, and later, dinner.  Feasts prepared and brought by my Mama.

The sky and its many colors as hour upon hour passed.

Enjoying the smell of natural water on my skin, in my hair, on all of the kids.

Sand that has smoothed the rough edges, and not just on the bottoms of my feet.

A dock in the deep end to swim to.  Sitting there, talking and laughing with my sister.  I laid down to worship the sun.  Then did back dives off of the side.

Laughter.  And sunscreen.  And watermelon.  And family.  And sky, sand, and water.

Staying until the sun was well into setting.  With kids asleep moments after leaving for home.

Everything summer, perfectly perfect.

90 minutes

This morning:

And this is a bit of what it looked like:

Bypassing the dirty cups on the counter.  Making a fresh pot of coffee instead.

Shower and drying my hair.  Uninterrupted.

Stepping over dirty laundry.  Going outside instead.

Some inspiration I've been savoring.  (And some tears which means it is hitting home.)

Listening to the birds.  And trying to spot them in the trees.

A walk on the trail.

Discovering the unfurling of plants all along the way.  So many I didn't know would show their beauty this spring.

Adding a twig to St. Seraphim's nature table.  And a prayer of gratitude for his watching over our woods.

Placing a prayer for today at the base of the Peace Pole.  Feeling the breeze like the soft hand of God.

Refreshing my coffee. Breathing deeply.  Clicking "Publish."

 Ready for them to return.

this morning

This morning spent as it should be.  Outdoors.  No need to go further than our back yard.

And the beauty of it catches in my throat.  Every time.

Last night's snowfall made a perfect playscape, with warmish temperatures making it a nice long morning of fresh air and icicles, eating snow and snow angels, sliding and swinging, tromping and playing.

Warm enough I could go mitten-less and take pictures. 

So there's this...

I finally got a good shot of this guy.  We've been watching him for a couple of weeks. His name is Fatty McSquirrel.  He is literally bigger today than he was two days ago.  He is, after all, feasting on (and sharing with his friends) the bird seed we are putting out for the birds.  Sure his ingenuity and dexterity is impressive.  But come on (said in voice of GOB Bluth) save some for the birds.

gathering

A trip to a farm over the weekend was just the right balance of roasted corn and ice cream, pumpkin picking and corn mazing.   So we are nearing a sufficient number of pumpkins on the front walk, and the countdown until they become jack 'o lanterns is underway.  But for now these pumpkins are gathered together with the mums and corn stalks.

The fall is bringing gathering of all sorts.  The leaves finally gathering on the ground.  According to our neighbors, our trees tend to be the last to drop leaves.  But it is beginning and it feels and smells and sounds like fall.

I've gathered some art supplies into a basket.  I've been finding them spread throughout the kitchen.  Seems they need to be there.  So I've gathered them into a spot they can stay, at least for now.

Every time we empty a jar of homemade grape jelly another is usually immediately opened.  A current favorite is a dollop of the jelly goodness onto plain Greek yogurt.  This year I canned more than double what I did last year.  I'm already scheming to double it again next year.

That yellow ball.  That yellow ball.  That yellow ball.  Munchkin has had it in near constant motion this week.  A one-man soccer game in the front foyer that lasts hours.  If I am understanding his running commentary, he plays for a powerhouse team called "The Dingos."  Seems they can easily score 1,000 points.

Of course planning for gladsome is well underway.  Now that will be quite a gathering.

In the meantime,  Honey and I are planning another special gathering.  This one at our home, to plant our Peace Pole.  Yes, Honey is the king of cool birthday presents.  The King.

There's been some tie dye.  A much needed late-night-Mama-date with a dear friend.  And night after night of Netflixing all five seasons of Parks and Recreation.  All.  Five.  Seasons.  Oh, hello life, nice to have you back again.

And hello to you all.  Hope you are gathering goodness of your own.