The good, the random . . . and a side of scary

Its been a busy week so far, what about you?

After the boy and I spent the day at the hospital for his infusion we got back

with just enough time for me to make a run to the nursery. I find on those days it's

always a good idea if I can go clear my head afterwards with the aid of my camera.

But, I got to talking to a teacher buying milkweed for herself and nearly 10 other

teachers. And then I ended up finding some black swallowtail caterpillar eggs on some fennel,

which I talked her into taking with her as well. Yeah!

So, I took my camera and decided to walk the birding trail real quick as the sun was going

to set soon. Note to self, don't go at dusk!

1. It was just going to be a short walk, down one side, over "the bridge" and back up the other side.

Of course I had to stop and take pictures of the bridge, and of course every person who went by

turned in the direction of the bridge to see what exactly I was photographing, even glancing several

times in case they missed something. Always makes me chuckle to myself.

 And while on the "other" side, I had to stop and get some pictures of the reflections in the water.

And on the other side of the tree I heard some splish splashing and at the same time I can hear rustling in the bushes on the path next to me. Squirrel, birds, maybe even the deer . . . 

2. And as I preceded to walk again I hear a very loud snorty grunt kind of sound coming from the rustling in the bushes . . . not the kind that comes from a squirrel or a deer, but the kind that comes from a very large 

wild hog. The ones that will chase you with razor sharp tusks and lightening speed. I'm not afraid of much, but friends, you have never seen me walk so fast. Yes, note to self, no more walks on the birding trail at dusk!

Of course I would have missed this had I not had to turn and go back the other way.

3. This is very random, but it's a pet peeve of mine when I see people throw their cigarette butts out of the car window. I've seen a lot of that this week....THEY ARE NOT BIODEGRADABLE. They wash down the sewers, make their way into streams and rivers and even into bird nests....they contain toxins.

4. It has officially been a week, there are now over 100 monarch eggs, and because the weather has been cooler they are taking a little longer to hatch, but it should be really soon! 

5. I had a Facebook friend post the best thing to my timeline yesterday, something related to #4. Since it's a cartoon and copyrighted I didn't feel right posting the actual picture here, so I'm sending you HERE to the picture on Facebook. I'm still laughing.... :)

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend,

Love, Kim

sharing with Little Things Thursday, Thursday Favorite Things, Random Five Friday

awake in silence . . .

"In the attitude of silence the soul finds the path in a clearer light,

and what is elusive and deceptive resolves itself into crystal clearness.

Our life is a long and arduous quest after truth."

- Mahatma Gandhi

{kk 2710}

"Silent Contemplation"

It doesn't need to be written

its song is unspoken

but it can be heard

in the keen observing

and felt

in deep contemplation

held in space

a moment at a time

it is a symphony

that lifts the veil between us and the truth

so that we can see

the world beneath the surface

without labels

or judgement

that we may be

awakened to life

We went to Victoria, TX for a day trip during spring break. It was anything but quiet, as it was lunch time in this Italian, family owned and operated, 120 year old cafe. We went because my daughter had located, in her genealogy research, the headstone of my great, great grandfather in a church cemetery. After his wife died, he accompanied his daughter and family to Texas where he lived his last 10 or so years before he died. It was just so surreal to stand there, gazing downward at the name of a virtual stranger to whom I was related. A tangible piece of my history.

And as my girl reminded me . . . since they most likely lived outside the city limits of Victoria, it would have been a treat for them to go into town, to eat at a restaurant no less. As we sat eating our lunch, I tried to take in all that was around me, wondering what it would have been like back "in the day" when they would have lived there. My camera sat on the edge of the small table, and I waited.

And then in that room full of people, among the chatter . . . I heard the silence. The image of the table may not be a glamorous shot, but in my quest for openness and intention it fully reflects the quiet of being completely present and receptive in matters of the heart. It became more than just a souvenir to take home with me, I was transported.

I feel awake in silence...what about you?

Love, Kim xo

sharing with Texture Tuesday, Sweet Shot Tuesday

Shouting from the rooftop . . .

She's here,

She's here,

She is here!

Because I'm happy

Clap along if you feel like a room without a roof

Because I'm happy

Clap along if you feel like happiness in the truth

Because I'm happy

Clap along if you know what happiness is to you

Because I'm happy

Clap along if you feel like that's what you wanna do

And, sometimes when you are so happy you might even find a tear or two flowing down your cheeks.

Anyone who really knows me, knows that I have a lot of passion in my heart, and along with that

often comes passionate emotion. I feel things very deeply. I wear my heart on my sleeve.

But, I even surprised myself yesterday afternoon when I spotted my first monarch, a female, on a mission

to lay every single one of her (almost 300-400) eggs in my front yard, on the milkweed yet to be planted.

I hadn't expected to feel so much emotion about the returning of the monarch on their journey north.

It's a bit hard to tell from the photographs but she has some definite wear on her wings, and loss of scales

and is quite faded compared to a freshly emerged monarch.

She would rest in between laying eggs,

and then back to work she went, and you know what? I was in just the right spot and for the first time ever

as I watched her lay an egg I saw it come right out on to the leaf! Sigh.....

before I left for my son's track meet I roughly counted 40 eggs! And I know there were all from her,

since I've been checking for eggs daily.

Oddly, I never once saw her drink any nectar. They will lay only one egg per leaf (at a time) but, and sadly as I watched her circle my cul de sac looking for more milkweed and not finding any, she came right back to the 4 one gallon, and flat of 20 4 inch pots I had on my sidewalk. I haven't gone out to count yet this morning

but I did see last night when I got home more eggs in places they weren't before.

** Update: I have just finished my official counting**

98 eggs!

I officially DO NOT now have enough milkweed...must get seeds planted and in the meantime go get more milkweed...when I'm done with this in fact before the weekend rush!

Yes, shouting from the rooftop ....I'm clapping and singing Happy.....

Go forth my friends and plant milkweed, they are on their way!!!!

Love, Kim xo

sharing with Friday Finds

A little of this and that . . .

"And Spring arose on the garden fair,

Like the Spirit of Love felt everywhere;

And each flower and herb on Earth's dark breast

rose from the dreams of its wintry rest."

-Percy Bysshe Shelley

Happy first day of Spring!!

Not only do I love this time of year, but I LoVe this time of year.
I think our early Spring in Texas is to make up for such a late fall and hot, hot summer. 

1. Yesterday, when I was on the front porch a mockingbird flew in to a bush and then closer

to me, and then I took a step closer and started to whistle (if you can call it that) and he mirrored

it back exactly. And he would whistle and I would try to do the same back, and this went on

for at least five minutes. It was the most incredible, but strangest thing ever.

(click to see it larger on Flickr)

2. Well, what do ya know, I have my first caterpillar of the season...a black swallowtail. It hatched on

Tuesday on my fennel and it measured a whopping 2 mm!! I had to use a magnifying glass to measure it. And by yesterday it had already grown to 3 mm. Today it is nearly 4.5 mm! Happy dance.....

3. Is this not the craziest looking stuff...I found this hair cap moss growing and sprouting on the rocks that

border my flower beds. Yep, it's that time of year when the crazy lady with her camera takes pictures
of Lord knows what laying in the most peculiar of positions in her front yard. Let the fun begin (and the puzzling looks) lol!

4. The last time I was at the nursery I decided to take a little rest in one of the Adirondack rockers

and as soon as I sat down I noticed there on the arm, this cute little blue metallic beetle. Boy can these things walk fast!! It would be safe to say I didn't get that rest. ;)

5. As I've been watching the bees again, I wonder how DO they know exactly where to go on each flower

to find the nectar? There are some that just don't make it easy... I love how the buds are all pointing towards

the bee.

I'm still waiting patiently for the monarchs to show up, but haven't seen a one yet. When I check the migration map I see that people have spotted them along the coast of Texas and as far north as the Hill country. I have such anticipation I can hardly stand it and I'm checking daily for eggs. 

Well, that's a wrap on my random news this week- what have you been up to?

Oh my friends, I have a monarch update, click ------> here !

Love, Kim

sharing with Little Things Thursday, Thursday Favorite Things, Random Five Friday