Delight #SoCS

 Hello, me here again. Still sporadically posting as I am able. Since my camera is my best friend, how could I possibly pass up this prompt from Linda Hill for today’s Stream of Consciousness Saturday post? 

 “Use the last photo you took and how it made you feel for your prompt word.”

This prompt is fun because it could literally be anything due to my constant snapping; but one thing is certain-the feelings evoked are almost always great ones. 

Yesterday was my oldest son’s birthday, so the last photo I took was of him and his son rolling on the floor  just before he headed off to bed. They had a busy, fun filled day with friends and this little guy was giddy. He tends to get loopy the more exhaustion creeps up on him. I was able to get him to join one more chorus of “Happy Birthday” before we called it a day. 

It is pure delight to be able to spend time with him every day and we will always cherish these moments. 🤗,

Advisory: No one in the audio is a professional singer. 

But we are full of love. ❤️❤️

Happy Weekend everyone!

Don’t Say It! #SoCS

 Well hello out there. Two posts from me in the same week? What’s going on you say? It’s been months since I’ve been able to pull it off, right? I make no promises for the future but in this week my inspiration has been present and my heart feels lighter. 

Our blogging host for this prompt is Linda Hill Every week she gives a new prompt for our Stream of Consciousness Saturday writing challenge. If you haven’t already, you should visit her page for more great posts by some amazing creative writers. This week’s prompt is to use your least favorite word in your post. 😱I love words, although there are some that affect me more negatively than others. For this prompt I had to move beyond just the word and venture into the psychology of it. At first I thought no such word existed for me, but then it came to me. 

CAN’T. I can’t stand that word. I tried and tried to think of an instance where it doesn’t bristle the hairs on my neck. Even those times when I am using it bring some kind of discomfort with what is going on. It conjures up too many images of impotence of some kind.

In my life I have been told “no, you can’t” far too many times, from everything to going shopping alone, tackling a new profession or worst of all, trying to make a stand for change in the world. Too many people foist their own fears upon others without considering the negative effect this can cause to confidence, hope and self esteem. 

Many times when this phrase has been idly tossed out at me too many times I lose my emotional grip and shout back, “Yes, I can! Of course no one can if no one even tries.” 

There is a great scene in a favorite family movie of mine. Yes, well, Patrick Dempsey is the lead character, but that’s beside the point. In this cute film with Amy Adams-Enchanted-McDreamy’s character is a widower with a small daughter to bring up alone and is doing so most pragmatically. Enter a Princess from a fairy tale who can speak to animals, sings songs about everything and who has bedazzled his young daughter. And the damsel is in a bit of distress. The reluctant hero invites her into his home in a weak moment but eventually regrets the decision as the unending hopeful trusting nature of Giselle challenges his ‘don’t dare to dream’ rule. Below is one of my favorite scenes in the film. I always yell with her and glare at my hubby who gives me an innocent ‘who, me?’ look. The movie is cute, funny, romantic and easy on the eyes. 

When I was growing up, one of my favorite books was The Little Engine That Could. I know one thing that is certain for me. My success is directly related to my confidence. If I think I can, then I most likely won’t give up until I do!

I know you can, I know you can, I know you can! 

Walk With Me/#Thursdaydoors

One of the great things about where we are living right now is the ability to walk just about anywhere safely. Many people walk or bike to work downtown, and there are 155 parks in the city! They range from a square of grass with a merry-go-round to multi acre parks with wildlife and education centers. The number of hiking trails is bountiful and all are well kept and used by many. Just walking the neighborhood and surrounding areas gets me a 2-4 mile hike in easily and, well, anyone who knows me understands that I would rather be out of doors any day. 

On these walks I have the opportunity to view and photograph lots of doors and I have! I just have been remiss in putting together posts. We are slowly getting things in order and I am trying to return to those things which I love. For today’s post I just wanted to share my walk with you which leads off with some great doors. On this day there seemed to be a theme in place and I let myself fall into step with it for a glorious walk. 

I love the door decorations. Bees definitely bring the feeling of peace to mind for me.

See what I mean about the ‘theme’? 👍🏻

A bunya friend can always be found darting across a lawn.

The squirrels are so ‘ginger’!

The park nearest to us is about a ten minute walk and has this great waterfall. It’s a peaceful place to sit, cool off and reflect. My grandson loves sitting here too. I picked up a couple of books for him at the little free library and did a preview reading.

I am always amazed that there is never a loss for subject matter in children’s books. 

These little free libraries are all over the city and there are even a couple of small free pantries where donated canned and dry goods can be shared.

I’ve been finding feathers daily which is my chosen spirit sign. I’m accepting them with gratitude. 🙏🏻

And so many different ones too! 

The second wave of beautiful Summer flower catches my eye and I have to stop for photos.

My friend here is finally getting its feathers back. Apparently the business yard where it hangs out was a good setting for a brawl with some dogs. It looked pretty rough for a couple of weeks. 

Tiny yellow blooms look like drops of sunshine on the ground

Most of the sidewalks are shaded so walking is comfortable.

My heart has a special niche for the tiny opportunists. They show their happy faces no matter who is looking.

Hubs and I walked this trail for a bit yesterday. A rare moment of catching me doing what I love most. No, I don’t think I usually stand so awkwardly. 🤭

How about these Blue Spruce trees? So many evergreens here make me want to bust out the decorations and lights and get a little holiday spirit going! 

Yep, another one. This one came from a bluejay to be sure. As if to amplify the differences in perception between the two of us, I was marveling at the feather sticking straight up in the grass beside my car door and he said, “Yeah, right next to a pile of old dog sh&*”. 

I think the message is clear. If you can look beyond the crap, there is always the promise of Spirit rising. 

Let me see if I can find one more door for you, just to keep this ‘legal’ for the Thursday Doors Prompt hosted by our friend Dan. Check out his blog for more great doors and to meet some terrific writers. 

This little bee house was built by the campus AG center for their garden. Just look at all those doors! 👏🏻

They gratefully do their work in the garden too. 

Next time I will share some photos of the garden. It really is a magical place. 

Please let’s work to keep it this way. ❤️🧡💕

Tropical Door 🚪 #Thursdaydoors

 Hi guys, 

As usual I have been in and out (no pun intended) of posting for the Doorscursions hosted by our good friend Dan Antion. Life for me lately has felt somewhat like a revolving door, stuck going round and round. Sometimes it seems like a manic funhouse, never knowing what you might see popping up around the next corner. Funhouses can be anything but fun if you don’t like surprises. Still, there are many placid, peaceful days as things settle into a more regular routine and we accomplish what needs to be done. 

I have some cool doors I photographed on my walks here which I will post eventually; but today I wanted to step back in time for a moment and share a door I may already have written about, although it was so long ago most of you wouldn’t have known me in that ‘life’. One of our tropical Central American lives was in Costa Rica, in 2014. It was a beautiful world and gave us a lifetime of wonderful memories and new friendships. 

There was so much in paradise to keep my mind, my eyes and my camera very busy! I am taking a moment now to share some gratuitous wildlife images with you as we step through that door to the past. 

This is me. With my best buddy snapping our reflection in the front glass door to the casa we lived in during our second trip to Costa Rica. Quepos was good to us! 

I had never seen, nor heard of, a Motmot bird before. We discovered this beauty while taking a random drive through the surrounding jungle

The photo below captures the drama that often shows up randomly when I view the microscopic world of blooms and bugs. It was a bit of bee on bug action!

The next beauty needs no introduction. A Rufus Hummingbird who allowed me to photograph for several long minutes while it feasted on nectar

There were a couple of spots to catch the parrots and parakeets, but I had to be quick! Seeing a flock dart overhead is always a delight. 

And speaking of tropical birds, these might be my all time favorite. From random moments of seeing them alongside the road while stuck behind traffic waiting for a work crew or animals crossing to stopping by the known places where they love to feed, each opportunity made my heart race. The Macaws are familial, playful and brilliant

Twinsies. His on the left, mine on the right. I miss Bavaria Light!

There was a wonderful place to photograph butterflies and bees called Baru Garden, attached to a rustic hotel/cabin venue. I spent hours there capturing the delicate beauty of these magical creatures. There was also a nice long hiking trail which ended up at a beach. 

Same butterfly, topside and underside. The owl butterfly uses its unique marking to ward off predators. 

She may look fearsome, but these banana spiders are Nature’s artists. The variety in Central America are quite large and breathtaking. I watched ‘Charlotte’ weaving her web over several days before she hatched some little ones. The web is also yellow and looks iridescent in the sunlight.

Okay, so if you have never had fresh coconut, well, you have never had good coconut! The water and the flesh of this often misunderstood treat are amazing. And to have a Tico hack one open at the beach and generously offer half of it to you is a true gift. 

We ran across this beautiful driftwood on the beaches of Dominical. But you dare not take any home. Costa Rica is very protective over the natural wood it produces. 

I took these photos in downtown Quepos while waiting for my hubs to conduct business with our landlord shortly after we arrived. These magnificent iguanas are all over Costa Rica. He was more than happy to allow me to get close, more interested in his treat than me. 

Prehistoric looking, yes? 

Well, that is it for now. I have hundreds of photos from our time in paradise. Maybe I can share more with you another day. Everyone have a great holiday weekend and be safe out there! 

Hugs!