Can anyone name this delightful flower I saw in a field by the Connecticut River this weekend? Based on its shape and variegated color, my imagination saw it as an Indian Paintbrush. Curiously though, the images of my wildflower ID resources didn’t match when I later checked it out. Perhaps someone can tell me what it is? Maybe some kind of clover? In the meantime, … More Name this Flower
Karen Rancourt writes a bi-weekly advice column for the popular mommybites.com site devoted to parenting resources, support and education. Typically, she devotes her “Ask Dr. Gramma Karen” column to answering questions on how to improve relationships and appreciation between parents and grandparents. This week was a bit different. She chose to write about stories, and … More Everything begins with a story – Joseph Campbell
Brigitte Brüggemann is an artist who creates joy through color and light. Her work is inspired by nature and her connection to a spiritual reality manifested through nature and life. If she has any recipe for capturing it, it is simply to be present. Just be here, here and now. “I think the first thing … More Just be here, here and now.
It’s tempting to call it our sixth sense. But call it what you will—a sense, an emotion, a mindset—one way or another, wonder opens the door to the delights of imagination, of curiosity, creativity, intellectual discovery. Elizabeth St. Hilaire Nelson, a “paper paintings” collage artist whose interview is in my book, Life Is Full of … More Wonder, in its own breathless, fantastical way, is far from ordinary when it comes to the senses.
This weekend, the sun was out in full briliance, and so were all us mortals, soaking up its life affirming beauty. Photo by Mary O’Connor © 2013
Two finches build a nest of grasses, interwoven with the tiniest of white spring blossoms— soft grasses cradle delicate eggs, blossoms speak to the fragility of hope. * * * Finches’ Nest – photo and poem by Mary O’Connor © 2013
My cousin, Bill, is in love with gryphons, mythical guardians of the divine. A majestic combination of lionesque body, tail and hind legs, eagle’s head and wings and talons, gryphons are more than the king of beasts, soar beyond the kingdom of birds. Bill carves them, shaping raw wood into legendary feathers and fur. The task … More “There is a wild and untamable beauty in us when we are in harmony with nature.” – Bernard Leach, British studio potter
I hear the wind among the trees Playing the celestial symphonies; I see the branches downward bent, Like keys of some great instrument. – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Celebrate National Arbor Day this Friday, April 26. Plant a tree, give the gift of a tree, give yourself the gift of listening to their music. Photo by … More Listen for their Music
“Trees are the earth’s endless effort to speak to the listening heaven.” ~ Rabindranath Tagore, poet and voice of India’s spiritual heritage. Trees — in truth — offer no words, no answers, no intent. But feel their furrowed and ancient limbs. Gather their seeds. Be still, and ponder presence. Photo by Mary O’Connor © 2013
Today is a day for pocketeers. Sponsored by poets.org, National Poem in Your Pocket Day is a day to put a poem in your pocket and share its words–and joy–with others. According to the Academy of American Poets, millions of American will be doing so. Using this blog as my pocket, here’s one I thought I’d … More When Morning Comes
Life Is Full of Sweet Spots 