It’s a humid July morning. A Sunday. The sun is filtering through the leaves, creating a picturesque effect of green and gold stained glass. The golden rays fall to the forest floor like water over rocks. They highlight some areas and avoid others. The speckles of light seem to move slowly across the underbrush, making … Continue reading Sunday Morning in July
Nature
Eulogy of a Trail
The nice thing about having my own blog is that there are no word limits. This piece about the Tesnatee Gap Valley Nature Trail is dear to my heart. So much so that my original draft was over 2,000 words! Yikes! That is long, even for me! I cut it down to 1,500 and submitted … Continue reading Eulogy of a Trail
The Garden
There is a patch of earth that lies fallow all winter. I pass the plain brown dirt on my daily path. Every year I await signs of spring, one of which is the tilling of The Garden. The covering of dull dirt is a disguise for the rich soil beneath. When painstakingly turned, the deeper … Continue reading The Garden
My Next Door Neighbor
My next-door neighbor, the Mountain, has been wrestling with the weather the past few weeks. He revels in the season of hibernation just like a sleeping bear who hates being roused from his sleep. I have watched as he has slowly pulled a quilt of green from his foot to his head, like a blanket … Continue reading My Next Door Neighbor
Surprise!
Recently, my nephew David called my sister and me. He asked us if we could get Dad to the Gainesville Botanical Gardens at 11:00 on Saturday. His story was that he was flying in from Orlando and wanted to surprise Dad for his 85th birthday. What he didn’t tell us was that he wasn’t the … Continue reading Surprise!
I Wish
The rain slides, hisses and splatters on my front walkway. The drips resonate louder up close, but the drone of a steady soaking rain fills the air with sound which makes my eyelids heavy like the downpour. Perfect reading weather. Perfect writing weather. Perfect napping weather. Perfect weather. I wish I could capture, with images … Continue reading I Wish
The Language of the Falls
Minnehaha I hear the sound as soon as my foot hits the trail. Rushing water. I breathe deeply. Inhaling with intention. Exhaling tension and stress. Closing my eyes. Inhaling fresh air, peace soaks into me through the sounds of the water. Opening my eyes again, I begin my hike beside the river which is swollen … Continue reading The Language of the Falls
New Hope
Forsythia is waving her wild hair in the breeze and the cherry trees are following her lead. The pears are mostly changed out of their lacy white gowns into their green dresses to join in the dance. All shades of tulips are showing their faces to the warmth of the sun. All around is a … Continue reading New Hope
The Heavens
There is something about the heavens that brings perspective. Standing below them, hope hovers close to my heart. The brilliance of the stars contrasts with the black of the sky and the juxtaposition is breathtaking. Gazing up reminds me how small we are. How quick life passes. How unimportant my biggest problems are. There is … Continue reading The Heavens
Even Now
The moon has spilled a bucket of sterling, which washes over the landscape like a river. The trees reach up as if bathing in a shower of light. Their leaves soak in every drop, turning each one into a silver-plated work of art. A forest is coated with light itself and glowing so brightly it … Continue reading Even Now
Michelle's Mosaic 