Crammed With Heaven

Earth is crammed with heaven,
and every common bush
afire with God.

Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Aurora Leigh


Of Note: Marie takes the best fiery sky photos! Thanks for this exceptional shot taken earlier in the year!

Today's Weather Report: Yesterday we had the most unusual wind and stormy clouds, though it never rained. The electricity went out from 4 pm until early this morning and made for an early evening with no lights to read by or Fox News to watch. Thankfully, it is bright and sunny right now in the sixties.

Sitting Quietly

What life can compare with this?
Sitting quietly by the window,
I watch the leaves fall
and the flowers bloom
as the seasons come and go.

Secchio
10th century

Of Note: This mystical shot was taken at Old City Park by my sister, Marie. It is reminiscent of the quiet beauty that surrounds us whether we are aware of it or not.

Today's Weather Report: Well, I spoke too soon yesterday. The sun was out for about 10 minutes before an electrifying thunderstorm rolled in and provided pyrotechnics for hours. The dog hid. This morning the glorious sun again shown but is now hid by ominous clouds. At 65 degrees it is warm even with a wind at a gusty 10 mph.

New Art

Thoughts create a new heaven,
a new firmament,
a new source of energy,
from which new arts flow.

Paracelsus
16th century

Of Note: Marie received this lovely koi fish quilt from her best friend. Such creativity! Such love! Quilts have quite a capacity to impress those of us without the conceptual and sewing skills to pull off such a feat of pure art.

Today's Weather Report: Oh, my, the sun is popping out right at this moment! We haven't seen it for days and thought it had headed permanently south for the spring.

Scenes of Pure Air

I know that our bodies were
made to thrive only in pure air,
and the scenes in which pure air is found.

John Muir
19th century

Of Note: Marie took a photo of this tranquil scene at Old City Park in Dallas. Can't you just smell every bit of it?

Today's Weather Report: At 8 am it was 48 degrees and cloudy. Not a shorts day for sure!

Give the Strength to Do It

The worst thing in
politics is when you
are so scared of losing
support that you don't
do the right thing.

What faith can do
is not tell you what
is right but give you
the strength to do it.

Tony Blair
TIME magazine
June 9, 2008

Of Note: Marie captured this glorious, sun-tipped cloud at precisely the right moment. The scene calls up images of the beauty and bounty of God, Who is the ultimate giver of all strength.

Today's Weather Report: More cloudy and cool. Looks like it could rain at any moment. The plants are a bit confused if this is spring or fall.

Toward Consciousness

Plants are the young of the world,
vessels of health and vigor.
They grope ever upward
toward consciousness.

Ralph Waldo Emerson



Of Note: The road to full consciousness is beautiful, like Marie's photo. A closer look reveals obstacles that make the travel hazardous but ultimately rewarding.

Today's Weather Report: The cool rain continues. All the plants are sucking it up, especially the grass. Yesterday the tomatoes were planted along with the artichoke plant from Idaho.

The Face of God

How I long to see
among dawn flowers
the face of God.

Basho, 17th century

Of Note: These gorgeous spring poppies taken by Marie in a Texas field are months ahead of their Wisconsin counterparts. Their beauty certainly betrays God's motives for Earth.

Today's Weather Report: A typical spring day greeted us this morning: partly cloudy, in the 70's, popple pollen flying through the air like cotton balls. It resembles spring snow and accumulates in every nook and cranny.