Tag Archives: Plant

Up Close and Personal

Gallery

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What makes this photo great? Composition? Lighting? Creativity? Story? My take is ALL of the above. For one, the photographer is from Vancouver, Canada and this photo made the National Geographic YourShot Daily Dozen on June 26, 2015. To top … Continue reading →

Each Day is a Blessing ~ Minute Meditations

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We are called to love God and one another. That is our primary vocation.
Morning Glory

Morning Glory

The reason we rise in the morning and the purpose of our life on earth is to learn how to receive God’s love and then share it. God’s gift of life to you each morning is a sign that He has a mission for you that day.
 
 
— from Tweet Inspiration

Plant your own Garden, Decorate Your Own Soul

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Do you ever read Ann Landers?  She is gone now and I miss reading her newspaper column. I must say I enjoy reading the Dear Ann Lander section.  Some of her articles I cut and pasted them on the inside door of my dresser so that when I open the door, the first thing I see are the articles not the clothes. 
This poem was published in one of her articles. 
After a while you learn the subtle difference
Between holding a hand and chaining a soul,
And you learn that love doesn’t mean leaning
And company doesn’t mean security,
And you begin to learn that kisses aren’t contracts
And presents aren’t promises,
And you begin to accept your defeats
With your head up and your eyes open
With the grace of a woman, not the grief of a child,
And you learn to build all your roads on today,
Because tomorrow’s ground is too uncertain for plans,
And futures have a way of falling down in mid-flight.
After a while you learn
That even sunshine burns if you get too much.
So you plant your own garden and decorate your own soul,
Instead of waiting for someone to bring you flowers.
And you learn that you really can endure…
That you really are strong,
And you really do have worth.
And you learn and learn…
With every goodbye you learn.
Author: Veronica A. Shoffstall
 
Related articles

Sweet Woodruff to the Rescue

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Every year, I tell myself I will slow down in gardening.  But one cannot help it because the birds need feeding.  Aside from that, there is a menagerie of animals that come and go in our backyard. 
When I started gardening in this complex, the owner does not want to invest any money on the surrounding area.  Looking down from the balcony for the longest time is a sorry sight.  One day, Father Winter came and destroyed the hedging.  Needless to say, the owner must cut down most of the shrubs.  When it was cleared cut, it left an ugly dry arid patch all over the place.  It was worse. 
How do I remedy this?  What would grow on this god forsaken piece of land?  Finally, I told the manager that I will start gardening.  Poppies were the best plant to regenerate the earth.  That’s all I grew, poppies.  After a couple of years, the earthworms came back.  Then I became ambitious.  I planted and I planted and I planted from seedlings to bulbs to shrubs.  It was beautiful. 
Ambition can trigger negative emotions from others I found out. 
There is someone who has light fingers and heavy hands.  Flowers in bloom were being dead headed and broken branches.  It hurts to see plants being desecrated when they took every ounce of their energy to bring joy to the world.  For goodness sake, they are harmless.  
How do I beat this murderous scum of the earth?  Sweet woodruff to the rescue.  I planted them all over the place.  This is one tough plant;  the more it’s dead headed, the vigorous it will grow. 
Sweet Woodruff
Okay, murderer, whoever you are, knock yourself out.
Meditation:
The master was known to favor action over withdrawal. But he always insisted on “Enlightened” action. 
The disciples wanted to know what “Enlightened” meant. Did it mean “right-intentioned”? 
“Oh no,” said the Master. “Think how right-intentioned the monkey is when he lifts a fish from the river to save it from the watery grave.” ~ Anthony de Mello, S.J.
MORSEL: The only real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes. ~ Marcel Proust

What’s Up?

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Before Up, there must be down.  What I mean by down is a position not in the negative sense. 
Starting a rainy Vancouver day, which is nothing unusual, this is how the Canadian flag flies and the Sun came up, the Canadian Flag is up and flying proudly. 
Canadian Flag to heavy to fly due to rain
Canadian Flag Flying Proudly

 What are up on this picture are crystals, colourful balls, stalk of bamboo plant and a bird house. 
Crystals, birdhouse, bamboo, colourful balls

Crystals, birdhouse, bamboo, colourful balls

 The crystals reflect a million and one playful prisms up on the ceiling as well as down on the carpet.  Lucy as playful as ever chases the light while Maurice hides because he cannot stand being teased. 
Prism up on the ceiling
Lucy chasing the prism
Maurice hiding

The colour balls represent the planets in the constellation that glows in the dark.  I still have yet to put it up properly.  On the wall is a shadow of the bamboo plant.
Glowing balls
Bamboo plant shadows

 The bird house is a place for Finches and chickadees.  It is a safe place to grow up for two generations of Finches, total 8 baby birds.  One baby finch was born up there so far.  There is also a nectar feeder hanging up on the balcony ceiling for the Hummingbird while Lucy watches intently.  Maurice is a gentle soul that leaves the bird alone.
Hummer feeder up on the ceiling
Lucy looking up at the hummer

I am up here in my balcony looking down the garden.
Garden taken up from the balcony

Garden taken up from the balcony

I was up to having fun when I posted this: How’s your mental state?  So, what’s up with you?
 
Related link:  April 19, 2013 Weekly Photo Challenge: Up

Little Things Mean a Lot

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As I sip my coffee this morning, I looked around taking stock of what little that I have in my sanctuary.  I have already shared with you how small Room 306 is in my previous post. 
Come to think about it, there are a few items that are irreplaceable that has so much memories attached to it.  Little things mean a lot that money cannot buy. 
Mother kept this one and only letter that I wrote to her when I was just a mere child.  I only found this when we were going through her belongings when she died.  I should really move this to the bank’s safety deposit box. 
There is a pencil sketch of me that another pilgrim did, he was a Franciscan priest.  I was actually surprised when he called me to sit for him.  Hmm… my dirty mind working.  Mea culpa, he meant well. 
A cutting of the “bamboo plant”, Mother started this as single piece of stick.  Now it has grown big, bloomed and I have given away some cuttings for others.  This is the “Mother” plant.  But then again, how am I going to carry this out. 
I have an altar that has a couple of items that belongs to Mother; they are antiques of Madonna, Our Lady of Perpetual Help and Our Lady of Lourdes.  Mother has a devotion to Our Lady. 
Finally, I want to keep Mother’s fur coat.  I know, fur coat is now passé.  Wearing this occasionally makes me feel the warmth of Mother’s arms around me. 
Wishful thinking in response to Daily Prompt: Burnt.  Come and join us, it’s fun.

DP: TIME CAPSULE – SURPISE ME.

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The year is drawing to a close. What would you put in a 2012 time capsule?

Aaah…. Panic, aaah!  Not enough time; that’s only 21 days from now.  I need more time and notice.  Can we change that to the year 2013, please, Mr. Michelle, please?  OK, fine.

Let me see what I can gather in my treasure chest and a gold mine of ideas.  Think, thank, thonk.  Thonk, it is.

What I can see in my kitchen is a clear plastic bottle of pop, that’s good enough for a time capsule.  In the pantry are dry goods; too big for the pop bottle.  How about catching a genie and imprison it in the bottle.  Be serious, now, thonk!  Oh, a bag. What’s in this bag?  Checking, more bags within the bags, checking the bags within the bags, more bags.  Gosh, I am such a pack rat.  But look what’s in the bags; small plastic bags of seeds.  YES, seeds.  They will fit in the capsule.  Oh, this is so exciting.

Opsey, no name on the seeds.  Well, that would be part of the fun.

These seeds came from my garden, collected them from the community gardens, from friends and families, from travels while on the pilgrim.  They are seeds of flowers, vegetables, and trees.  They are small things that will fit in the bottle, and I will leave instructions on what to do with them by following just six simple steps.

  1. Earth (garden soil in a pot or any vacant land will do)
  2. Bury the seeds on the earth (not all at once, space them out)
  3. Water (don’t drown the seeds)
  4. Lots of light and warm temperature
  5. Nurture it with love and patience
  6. Relax and wait for the seeds to sprout.

The time capsule will be sealed with a kiss, a prayer and a hope that it will be found by someone who will plant the seeds and eventually create a garden, just like mine.  A garden that will attract little creatures like hummingbirds, butterflies, dragonflies.  A garden where one can only be, to pray, be thankful and be grateful to Our God, whomever you may conceive Him to be.

Holy Garden

Holy Garden

Once this is done, I will go the beach of English Bay, throw the time capsule in the waters, watch the waves carry the capsules into open waters and whisper Bon Voyage.

One Minute Meditation

The disciple asked for a word of wisdom.
Said the Master, “Go sit within your cell and your cell will teach you wisdom.”
“But I have no cell.  I am no monk.”
“Of course you have a cell.  Look within.” – Anthony de Mello, SJ

MORSEL:    Seek refuge in the attitude of detachment, and you will amass the
wealth of spiritual awareness. Those who are motivated only by the desire for
the fruits of action are miserable, for they are always anxious about
the results of what they do.    –Bhagavad Gita 2:49-50