looking out the window.

"Whilst August yet wears her golden crown,
Ripening fields lush- bright with promise;
Summer waxes long, then wanes, quietly passing
Her fading green glory on to riotous Autumn."

- Michelle L. Thieme

still.

"It is only when we silent the blaring sounds of our daily existence that we can finally hear the whispers of truth that life reveals to us, as it stands knocking on the doorsteps of our hearts."
~K.T. Jong

brothers.

This is how I find them several times a day. I leave the room to grab snacks or fold some laundry and when I return there they are, heads close together, talking, working on something, giggling, reading, whispering. Today they were watching a Bill Nye DVD we picked up from the library, snuggled up. While they disagree on some things they are still and always, best friends. Brothers.

"Help your brother's boat across, and your own will reach the shore."
~Hindu Proverb

++

I love taking photos of them together it seems!
Here are some previous posts of - you guessed it - brothers::
brothers ('11) | it doesn't get better than this | super heroes |
masters of disguise | brothers ('09) |
photo of the day - brothers | brothers (2007!!!!!!!!!) |

moon.

That orbed maiden,
with white fire laden,

Whom mortals call the moon.


~Percy Bysshe Shelley, The Cloud

details.

I feel lately like every time I have photos I want to post, I stop myself. I mean, how many photos of seedlings and the garden can people take? ;)


But that is what I find myself looking at. Down at the ground, all the small details, all the life, all the growth.


I don't know what it is - the big picture is OK, but I really like the close up. The minutiae.


The beauty in the smallest of details, the underside, hugging the earth, from a new perspective.


Beauty that is there for no particular reason - and you can see it only if you get really really close and take a moment to look.


.

distracted.

I intended to take a picture of that frog. I really did. But I got distracted. Beauty does that to me.


.

things i love.

I love how the prism on our windowsill
casts rays of light and shadow and rainbows
all over the living room throughout the day.

Happy April!!!!

.

luminous.

The full-orbed moon with unchanged ray
Mounts up the eastern sky,
Not doomed to these short nights for aye,
But shining steadily.

She does not wane, but my fortune,
Which her rays do not bless,
My wayward path declineth soon,
But she shines not the less.

And if she faintly glimmers here,
And paled is her light,
Yet alway in her proper sphere
She's mistress of the night.

~Henry David Thoreau


Oh, beautiful (super) moon.
(I'm glad I went out when I did...soon the moon was cloud covered and the rain rolled in!)
.

prism.

We went from 7 days of one sick boy...and on the 8th day when he felt a little better, his little brother went down. So, we know we will be doing this another week or so. Seems what is to expect |this| |time| of |year|.


We are looking forward to some big snow this week (finally! we haven't had much). Perfect for staying in, taking care of a little asthma boy, and finishing up some great creative and kitchen projects we've been working on.


The boys have been working on some music, air dry clay crafting, painting, baking, (playing with prisms) and all kinds of other goodness.


Here is to another creative warm week at home, watching the snow fly.


.

photos of the day: garden

to tuesday.

"If you never did you should.
These things are fun and fun is good."
— Dr. Seuss

discoveries.

We found two little guys on the dill we picked last week.
The boys wanted to be care-takers for a while here...until they are ready to fly!

detail.

"Nature will bear the closest inspection. She invites us
to lay our eye level with her smallest leaf,
and take an insect view of its plain. "

~Henry David Thoreau

after the rain.

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. via Soule Mama

light.

Every day is an adventure.

Every outing is a parade.

I cherish every moment with these amazing people. They are so full of life, creativity, energy, light. Transit umbra, lux permanet.

privet.

Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.
~Lao Tzu

corner view:: garden

I have missed a few corner views lately, and with a garden theme this week, I knew I had to jump back in.


We have had an 'early spring' this year in our part of Wisconsin. Not much rain, but a lot of warmth and sunshine. So much is green, blooming and weeks ahead of normal.



We have been cutting greens from outside for a while now already - mesclun, spinach, rocket. Radishes, beets, carrots and peas have been succession planted, so we'll have them for long while. With all the warmth we are also seeing currants, raspberries, and strawberries!


The rhubarb is looking quiet lovely. I can't wait for fresh rhubarb and strawberry something-or-other for dessert!


A lot of herbage is up - lemon balm, borage, lovage, mint, parsley, chives. The tulips have already passed peak, and the lilacs are in full bloom. They smell so amazing, I often find myself standing near the bush, just inhaling.


While I understand the gardeners love of fancy flowers, I love herbs, fruit and vegetables. To find so much grace and beauty in that which nourishes and sustains us draws me in, and I could wander all day staring at the flowers of arugla going to seed, or the blossoms on a squash vine.


We of course have hundreds of seedlings still going inside, to be transplanted out after 'last frost', and some things are just being started in trays this week like all of the squash.


Ms. Hunka Bianca, our angora rabbit, has been loving her special turnip greens treat every morning - those are about done for the season, but we have many more greens for her to enjoy throughout the summer too. Munch, munch.

I can't wait to see what is growing in all of the other corner views - I am definitely a garden fan. Be sure to visit Spain Daily for the grand list of links, or check out Joyce who is substitute host this week!

little lost.

I have been quiet this week after a whirlwind of computer crash, replacement hard drive, and a smooth restore from backup...and then the sinking realization that I have (yes, again) lost photos. I am a bit crushed, and have had a week of vacillating between just getting on with it, or running into the street screaming "SCREW IT!", never to even look at a computer again. To make it overly simplistic my photos were all backed up to a separate hard drive and, in the million to one moment, my laptop hard drive crashed at the exact instant the backup was at the photos, writing the linkbacks to the latest images, somehow corrupting the link to all of my personal photos on the backup drive. Oh, yes, lucky me. So while we know the images are still on the backup drive and it was just the 'connection' part of the process that was interrupted when my laptop crashed, we cannot access the images. A recovery company can, and they quoted $950. So yes, what a week.


I have been afraid to even download new images off of my camera (don't want to inadvertently write over anything) until we try a few things to see if we can retrieve the images from the backup drive on our own, so these are photos I took just last week.


I think I would much rather putter in the garden and look at flowers at the botanical gardens than think of all of the photos of my beautiful boys that I cannot access. Don't even get me started on how as a mom I am not often able to find time to paint or write anymore, and that taking photos has become my main artistic outlet. That these images are my threads of communication spreading out into the internet like spiderwebs, making me feel connected and creative.


There is a lesson in here somewhere, perhaps. Impermanence? Living in the present moment?(Or that getting the $air conditioning$ in the car working just in time for summer is more important than $recovering my photos$?) Geez, I get it.

farm snugglers.

We were so excited to be invited to visit some new arrivals today -an expectant goat we visited a few weeks back had her babes...oh, happy, happy, happy boys.


And verrrrrry cute little goats. Any day the boys get to visit a farm is considered a great day - but holding a sweet soft baby goat made it over the top special.


Life is good!

then and now.

G, 2007.

You think they look so different, time flies, oh my they are getting so big. And then there is a moment, a glance, a look, and you realize...

G, 2010.