Tag Archives: flowers
Flowers, always
“I must have flowers, always, and always.”― Claude Monet I was looking through my archives of January photos, and found this one from the first month of 2016. Jeff had brought me a dozen white roses for no particular reason, except that he knew I loved flowers, and I think he loved them nearly as much …
Each must be the last
“Each golden day was cherished to the full, for one had the feeling that each must be the last. Tomorrow it would be winter.” ― Elizabeth Enright A great many of us have experienced an unusually warm autumn so far, though it seems the cold weather is creeping in. Eager for cooler temperatures, having had …
Overheard by the soul
And we dance to a whispered voice overheard by the soul undertook by the heart. You may know it… —Neil Diamond There’s an intriguing story in the first book of Kings, in the Old Testament. The prophet Elijah was fleeing for his life, because the queen, Jezebel, had sworn to kill him. It was no …
A book of hope
“Summers had a logic all their own and they always brought something out in me. Summer was supposed to be about freedom…possibilities and adventure and exploration. Summer was a book of hope. That’s why I loved and hated summers. Because they made me want to believe.” ― Benjamin Alire Sáenz The past few weeks have been so …
Still, flowers bloom
“this life has been a landscape of pain and still, flowers bloom in it.” ― Sanober Khan Just when it seemed the heat was becoming unbearable, it broke. On Friday my sister and I walked outside and simultaneously burst into exclamations of delight at the wonderfully cool air. When I arrived back in York …
A wayside sacrament
“Never lose an opportunity of seeing anything that is beautiful; for beauty is God’s handwriting – a wayside sacrament. Welcome it in every fair face, in every fair sky, in every fair flower, and thank God for it as a cup of blessing.” —Charles Kingsley Dear readers, I’m sitting here in the wee hours of …
Count on flowers
“No matter how uncertain our world sometimes seems, we can count on flowers to appear each spring.” – Barbara Milo Ohrbach Longtime members of the Defeat Despair community will be familiar with Susan, whom I first met here and whose previous visits have inspired earlier posts. She spent some time with Matt and me this …
Bringing people together
“Gardens and flowers have a way of bringing people together, drawing them from their homes.” — Clare Ansberry As a context for visiting with neighbors, I think gardening is second only to walking a dog. Whenever I’m out working in the yard or the flowerbeds, I always end up having friendly chats with neighbors who …
One day
“I have wandered far upon the desert plain, but in my heart a bird keeps singing, and the daffodils beckon and blow, — and one day I shall wander back.” — Muriel Strode Last week was a good one for me, but it began on a gloomy note. I spent most of the week at …
Always flowers
“There are always flowers for those that want to see them.” — Henri Matisse This quote appeared on the November page of a calendar. When I saw it I knew I wanted to feature it in a post sometime, because it captures the spirit of this blog. In the calendar photo, there was a picture …
Just before you
“The best things in life are nearest: Breath in your nostrils, light in your eyes, flowers at your feet, duties at your hand, the path of right just before you. Then do not grasp at the stars, but do life’s plain, common work as it comes, certain that daily duties and daily bread are the …
Spring always finds a way
“…spring always finds a way to turn even the coldest winter into a field of green and flowers and new life.” — Charlotte Eriksson Probably there are few spots of ground in this hemisphere that have been more neglected in the past three years than our once-lovely azalea garden in the corner of our York …
The tiniest fragments
“Somehow, even in the worst of times, the tiniest fragments of good survive. It was the grip in which one held those fragments that counted.” ― Melina Marchetta “The NPS said that about 50 percent of the cherry blossoms survived, but now that we can see the flowers coming out it looks like that is …
Absolutely, positively, certainly 2016
I’m still here. Hope you’re still there! Another reblog; this one was originally posted on November 27, 2012: “In our rush for newer, quicker, better, we seem to be missing out on what we fundamentally crave, a calmer, gentler, sweeter and more gracious life. Is it easy to achieve such a life? Definitely not. Is …
Quietly thrilling
“It is always quietly thrilling to find yourself looking at a world you know well but have never seen from such an angle before.” ― Bill Bryson When I read these words from Bryson, I realized why I love photography so much. Through the lens of my camera, I look at things from all sorts …
The world is full
“The world is full of magic things, patiently waiting for our senses to grow sharper.” — W. B. Yeats Awhile back we had an interesting discussion with Boomdee in the comments after she mentioned the rabbits in her world changing colors with the seasons. Until then, I didn’t know about the Snowshoe Hare, which turns white …
It really is
“Life is like a flower. You don’t realize how beautiful it really is until you take a closer look.” — Ash Sweeney I wasn’t able to find out anything much about Ash Sweeney other than endless web pages citing quotes from him (or her) such as this one. Perhaps Sweeney is a robot, or a pen …
Power to gather
…he is happiest who hath power To gather wisdom from a flower… — Mary Howitt What is your favorite flower? That’s a tough question to answer; I tend to be fondest of whatever I happen to be seeing at the moment. But if I had to choose, the delightful …
Just too used to it
“I think life is staggering and we’re just too used to it. We are all like spoiled children no longer impressed with the gifts we’re given – it’s just another sunset, just another rainstorm moving in over the mountain, just another child being born, just another funeral.” — Donald Miller Do you ever read the …
Invariably imagined
“…it is not surprising that paradise is invariably imagined as a garden.” — Mac Griswold Autumn is upon us, with all its promise of splendor, but it’s not too late to bid a fond farewell to the green grass and vivid blooms of summer. I hope you are able to spend a few minutes this …
Created for the transcendent
“We were made to enjoy music, to enjoy beautiful sunsets, to enjoy looking at the billows of the sea and to be thrilled with a rose that is bedecked with dew…Human beings are actually created for the transcendent, for the sublime, for the beautiful, for the truthful…and all of us are given the task of …
My garden of thoughts and dreams
“In my garden there is a large place for sentiment. My garden of flowers is also my garden of thoughts and dreams. The thoughts grow as freely as the flowers, and the dreams are as beautiful.” — Abram L. Urban This year, the Yorktown Garden Stroll was scheduled a month early, in April instead of May. …
Deep roots
“The old that is strong does not wither. Deep roots are not reached by the frost.” — J. R. R. Tolkien I quoted from this poem in an earlier post, but recently its timeless words have been on my mind again. I was reminded of these particular lines by the daffodils in my yard. Daffodils …
By the window
What life can compare to this? Sitting quietly by the window, I watch the leaves fall and the flowers bloom, As the seasons come and go. — Hsueh-Tou Don’t you love sitting quietly by a window? I don’t make enough time for it. I always find it calming; the combination of sunlight (or moonlight) and …
Defeat Despair 