Listen and gaze

I love how much beauty there is in the world, and how easy it is to find and take in. Mostly all you need to do is to stop and look. It reminds me of the excerpt of a poem by Elizabeth Barrett Browning:

Earth's crammed with heaven,
And every common bush afire with God;
But only he who sees takes off his shoes.
The rest sit by and pluck blackberries.

Here are a few glimpses of some common bushes afire...

Night sounds from the woods behind our house. I love the little tree frogs that chirp (or whatever the right word is for what they do) every evening starting in the spring. It's a very peaceful, summery sound.

Brook music. I always think of brooks as friendly; I'm not sure why, but I do.

And for the finale, mesmerizing sun ripples.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Notes from the (social) distance: Day 4

Image
Why I’m writing this: It’s strange, I’m an introvert and I always work from home, but this social distancing has been deeply unsettling. I feel trapped and cut off from the little social connections that make me feel part of a larger whole- commiserating with the coffee shop barista about the weather, smiling at people I pass in the street, chatting with parents at school pick-up. So I decided I would rebirth this old blog of mine and chronicle our life under social distance. I know that some people are struggling with much bigger and harder challenges, like keeping their families fed, or having to risk coronavirus exposure to keep working in essential services. Comparatively, my challenges are much smaller and less urgent. Still, I can only write what I know, and I hope that these entries will bring connection and comfort to those who are also feeling isolated. I imagine us like sailors stranded on different islands, sending messages to each other in bottles. I we
Read more

Notes from the (social) distance: Day 8, Nest

Image
Family picture, by Clara We made it through the first week of our improvised homeschooling! Lucy has done most of her school work up in her bedroom, and seems to be enjoying having that privacy and independence. Clara does some downstairs with Matt and some with me in bed, since I’ve been resting a lot (still have the head cold). Today I got to help Clara work on a poem, inspired by a poem about having adventures through reading. The scenes she chose are all from books or stories she read this past week. On Monday I wrote a book about my dad and I On Tuesday I climbed on the roof and saw a bird go by On Wednesday I flew on my broom stick, I felt the wind on my face On Thursday I sailed across the sea, I saw a new place On Friday I was almost eaten but then I became a puppy On Saturday my house got smashed by a falling hot tubby How do you think I did all that? Well just look I read all those adventures in just a few books! -Clara Nest I kn
Read more

Necessary Nuisances

Image
It has been a long time (way too long) since I've posted. There have been some interesting developments in my life recently which have played a role in this; I'll share about them soon. I've missed this blog and this part of my life, and apologize to my faithful readers- I hope to be more present here going forward. I've been reflecting recently about the mundane things I do every day. Or to be more accurate, the things I think about doing every day, and that sometimes get done. I can usually manage (barely) to do the basics (grocery shopping, cooking, washing dishes, laundry); then there are the things that bother me every day but that I will put off for weeks or even months (vacuuming, cleaning the bathroom, sweeping the kitchen floor, clearing junk off the dining room table). I like to be clean and to have food to eat (who doesn't?), but when I'm honest with myself, these chores are pretty much at the end of my priority list. If I have a choice between readi
Read more