Thursday, January 24, 2013

Small Stone: January 24, 2013



A question for the prickly pear.
What protects?

Little impedimenta,
limiting life, achieving
neither security,
nor freedom
from petty fear.

It is a time 
to remove
the spines,
one by one.


Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Small Stone: January 23, 2013



Looking out, or light coming in.
I am unsure. Even the light seems
at odd angles.

Little things alter my focus,
skewing much larger values,
questioning some long-held beliefs.
Aging and letting go? Perhaps.

With some sadness:
relevance and meaning
may well be the issue.

Window in the chapel at the Mission San Francisco Solano in Sonoma, CA--the very last mission built at the end of El Camino Real.

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Small Stone: January 22, 2013



The delicate fragrance brought me to a stop as I walked down my busy street this evening....could not imagine where it was wafting from…it came from the same scraggly magnolia that caused me to laugh at its impertinence the other day…blooming on the edge of winter....reflected in the amber street lamp…a waxing gibbous moon in the distance. First seeing, now experiencing the fragrance of this street tree is the message: this is my environment. And, I have a new friend.



(Japanese Kobushi--the mountain magnolia)

Monday, January 21, 2013

Small Stone: January 21, 2013

 
"We, the people, declare today that the most evident of truths – that all of us are created equal – is the star that guides us still; just as it guided our forebears through Seneca Falls, and Selma, and Stonewall ... Our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law—for if we are truly created equal, then surely the love we commit to one another must be equal as well."  
                                                    President Barack Obama: 2nd Inaugural Address
 It seemed unimaginable that in my lifetime the President of the United States would state that gay rights are a civil right in the inaugural address. Tears and applause were appropriate!
 
A beautiful ending to a very special day.

Sunday, January 20, 2013

Small Stone: January 20, 2013

Lots of things are making me laugh
these days…maybe the winter doldrums
are over? I do know it is simply good
for the soul to be cheerful.

This fellow in his hoodie, sitting at the trendiest
bakery/sidewalk café with his latté sipping
owner, didn’t seem to be having much of a laugh.
But, I did.


Saturday, January 19, 2013

Small Stone: January 19, 2013



A friend was thinking about lichen
and commented on her blog about
its symbiotic connections over vast spaces.
Today, I saw a tree branch
where the lichen's relationship 
was an epiphyte.
I sometimes feel like that…
separate, but hoping to grow upon/with
my environment, but, like this lichen, 
not as a parasite.




Friday, January 18, 2013

Small Stone: January 18, 2013



It was warm today ─ broad smiles
exchanged on the street,
dogs cavorting, an air of festivity
proclaiming: winter’s over.

(Well, at least for the moment)



This is just a silly photo of a new bench
in front of a local artist's cooperative.
It made me laugh. Seems that it was
once a carnival object…and it seems
my City is a carnival.