Little grasshoppers of different sizes hopped away when I tried to take their portraits.They seemed grateful that I didn’t pursue them. It was early in the morning and the light was dim. I felt grateful to get a couple of photos that weren’t blurred.
sitting on lemon
balm and mint you flee swiftly
grateful grasshopper
~ Raven Ariana Simons ©2017
Bright Blessings, Namu Amida Butsu, Namaste
Our hearts give thanks for the Grace in the Universe!
~ Raven
“Writing and reading decrease our sense of isolation. They deepen and widen and expand our sense of life: they feed the soul. When writers make us shake our heads with the exactness of their prose and their truths, and even make us laugh about ourselves or life, our buoyancy is restored. We are given a shot at dancing with, or at least clapping along with, the absurdity of life, instead of being squashed by it over and over again. It’s like singing on a boat during a terrible storm at sea. You can’t stop the raging storm, but singing can change the hearts and spirits of the people who are together on that ship.”
~ Anne Lamott
Flashback Thursday, January 12, 2012 – Stella and Dorzie sleeping (note: Dorzie, smaller one curled up in the back, crossed the Rainbow Bridge in the late autumn of 2014. I miss you my little friend and so does Stella).
Flashback Saturday, January 12, 2013 – Sunflowers in snow hats day two.
Flashback Sunday, January 12, 2014 – Melting snow falls from an icicle 🙂
Monday, January 12, 2015 – Today we have had life giving rain which has also gotten in to the wires of my landline/dsl connection. Mixed blessings indeed as I’ve never had a cell phone and it’s hard to talk to customer service for your actual physical phone/dsl line when they are in another country and you can barely hear over the static in the line. I’ll try and get my pictures uploaded of the lovely rain drops on the twigs and trees, before I lose connection again! I try and post my daily photos each day, usually in the evening, so if you notice that it is not up to date I may be having technical difficulties.
“Not forgiving is like drinking rat poison and then waiting for the rat to die.”
~ Anne Lamott
“falling rain nourish
the earth and living things here
leave me connected”
~ Raven Ariana Simons
Our hearts give thanks for the Grace in the Universe!
Namaste ~ Raven
“And when you crush an apple with your teeth, say to it in your heart:
Your seeds shall live in my body,
And the buds of your tomorrow shall blossom in my heart,
And your fragrance shall be my breath,
And together we shall rejoice through all the seasons.”
~ Khalil Gibran
Flashback Tuesday, November 27, 2012 – This is my pick photo for today of the almost full moon of Reed.
Flashback Wednesday, November 27, 2013 – his is my pick photo for today and it stars zinnia seeds 🙂
Thursday, November 27, 2014 – Happy Thanksgiving (US friends and family) and I hope you are having a safe and wonderful holiday! While the sun didn’t come out today (at least at the time of this post and it probably won’t), it was warm enough for the ladies to come to the oasis for water. I’m pretty sure they are grateful for the mild temperatures and the ability to get water and do their housekeeping! I appreciate being able to take their portraits as they came in to collect the blessed water 🙂
“Those blessings are sweetest that are won with prayer and worn with thanks.”
~ Thomas Goodwin
“I give thanks for bees
and all my many blessings
my heart overflows”
~ Raven Ariana Simons
Our hearts give thanks for the Grace in the Universe!
Bright Bee Blessings and Namaste ~ Raven
“Some people grumble that roses have thorns; I am grateful that thorns have roses.”
~ Alphonse Karr
(I am grateful that stings have bees ~ Raven)
Flashback Monday, November 26, 2012 – This is my pick photo for today and it stars an aspen leaf. I love how the shadows on the wall in the background are reminiscent of the patterns on the leaf. 
Flashback Tuesday, November 26, 2013 – This is my pick photo for today and it stars a mule deer buck in the mist by the Jordan River at dawn this morning 🙂
Wednesday, November 26, 2014 – Today the weather was warm enough for the ladies to get out and do some housekeeping. I also saw some wasps (though not featured).
“To be grateful is to recognize the Love of God in everything He has given us – and He has given us everything. Every breath we draw is a gift of His love, every moment of existence is a grace, for it brings with it immense graces from Him.
Gratitude therefore takes nothing for granted, is never unresponsive, is constantly awakening to new wonder and to praise of the goodness of God. For the grateful person knows that God is good, not by hearsay but by experience. And that is what makes all the difference.”
~ Thomas Merton
“housekeeping ladies
take care of business and drink
coloured by the sun”
~ Raven Ariana Simons
“Dance. Smile. Giggle. Marvel. TRUST. HOPE. LOVE. WISH. BELIEVE. Most of all, enjoy every moment of the journey, and appreciate where you are at this moment instead of always focusing on how far you have to go.”
~ Mandy Hale
Our hearts give thanks for the Grace in the Universe!
Bright Bee Blessings and Namaste ~ Raven
“Eternity hums with every beating heart, with every up-lifted voice, with the crash of waves, the whirl of wind across the shifting dunes, the cry of sea birds, and the trumpets of heavenly angels.”
~ Janell Rhiannon
Flashback Thursday, November 22, 2012 – On a happy note my pick photo today is a honeybee and hubby calls it “Bee Thankful” This bee is very thankful for her blessing of water in this picture and I’m very grateful for my loved ones and the many blessings in my life including my wonderful friends and family that include the finned, feathered, scaled and furred, and my virtual friends I’ve never in person met!
Flashback Friday, November 22, 2013 – This is my pick photo for today and it stars a mallard duck pair that hang out by a pond by the Jordan River 🙂
Saturday, November 22, 2014 – Today it rained off and on and later snow is expected. It is already snowing at higher elevations. I have drops on leaves during the day and on the bare twigs of trumpet vine at twilight.
“falling from the sky
here the form of flowing rain
snow on lofty heights”
~ Raven Ariana Simons
“The feeling remains that God is on the journey, too. ”
~Teresa of Avila
“November brings us
fallen leaves and pretty drops
prelude to winter”
~ Raven Ariana Simons
Our hearts give thanks for the Grace in the Universe!
Namaste ~ Raven
Flashback Sunday, September 30, 2012 – This is my pick photo for today and stars an aspen leaf on the twig as it is turning into its fall colors just in time for October 🙂 I love how you can see the veins in the leaf!
Flashback Monday, September 30, 2013 – This is my pick photo for today and it stars BooBoo the Cockatoo. He was riding on his owner’s shoulder on a scooter at the drive-up window at the burger place hubby and I love (Crown Burger). I asked the lady if he ate fries and she says he loves a lot of things he’s not supposed to eat, though his very favorite is pizza!
Tuesday, September 30, 2014 – Little crooked beak and the other hummingbird are still with us and haven’t migrated yet. They continue to drink at the feeders and eat small insects. I am enjoying them 🙂
“You do not need to know precisely what is happening, or exactly where it is all going. What you need is to recognize the possibilities and challenges offered by the present moment, and to embrace them with courage, faith and hope.”
~ Thomas Merton
“To be grateful is to recognize the Love of God in everything He has given us – and He has given us everything. Every breath we draw is a gift of His love, every moment of existence is a grace, for it brings with it immense graces from Him. Gratitude therefore takes nothing for granted, is never unresponsive, is constantly awakening to new wonder and to praise of the goodness of God. For the grateful person knows that God is good, not by hearsay but by experience. And that is what makes all the difference.”
~ Thomas Merton
Our hearts give thanks for the Grace in the Universe!
Namaste ~ Raven
“Where there is love there is life.”
~ Mahatma Gandhi
Flashback Friday, September 28, 2012 – My pick photo for today stars a goldfinch and an unknown little insect.
Flashback Saturday, September 28, 2013 – This is my pick photo for today and it stars the first and only green metallic sweat bee that I’ve seen in my garden this year.
Sunday, September 28, 2014 – After the rain the honeybees came out.
“Let gratitude be the pillow upon which you kneel to say your nightly prayer. And let faith be the bridge you build to overcome evil and welcome good.”
~ Maya Angelou
“When we give cheerfully and accept gratefully, everyone is blessed.”
~ Maya Angelou
Our hearts give thanks for the Grace in the Universe!
Bright Bee Blessings and Namaste ~ Raven
“Intention is the core of all conscious life. It is our intentions that create karma, our intentions that help others,our intentions that lead us away from the delusions of individuality toward the immutable verities of enlightened awareness. Conscious intention colors and moves everything.”
~ Master Hsing Yun
Flashback Thursday, September 27, 2012 – This is my pick photo for today and stars lovely rowan berries with a spider web.
Flashback Friday, September 27, 2013 – This is my pick photo for today and it stars one of the hummingbirds. I don’t know if it is a migrant or one of the residents.The weather is turning and soon they will be gone for the season. I’m trying to enjoy them before they go!
Saturday, September 27, 2014 – One of the last hummingbirds (one of two that are left) has a crooked beak. It rained steadily all day. Here is little crooked beak in the rain perched on mullein.
“Cultivate the habit of being grateful for every good thing that comes to you, and to give thanks continuously. And because all things have contributed to your advancement, you should include all things in your gratitude.”
~ Ralph Waldo Emmerson
“Piglet noticed that even though he had a Very Small Heart, it could hold a rather large amount of Gratitude.”
~ A. A. Milne
Our hearts give thanks for the Grace in the Universe!
Namaste ~ Raven
Our Hearts give Thanks for the Grace in the Universe!
I have been taking basically the same walk everyday since I started this blog with the exception of one day when I came back by adding the next street over on my return route. I have also been visiting some of the same plants, trees and rocks and taking pictures. Yesterday I found a surprise on one of my stops.
Somebody had put a nicely arranged snail shell and sumac seeds on a very pretty rock. It sparked my curiosity and I asked myself, “Did someone leave me a gift or an opportunity to photograph a lovely arrangement?”
Why ever this arrangement was created and for who doesn’t really matter. I totally enjoyed the beauty. If it just happened to be for me, I’m truly grateful. If it was created for someone else or just for fun, I feel gratitude and appreciation as I really enjoy it.
I saw some other gifts yesterday, too, and being myself I do believe that they are for me.
I found this piece of lichen that just might be the one I was looking for the other day and it wasn’t too far away from the sumac/snail arrangement.
Yellow lichen sits in hubby’s glove on February 9, 2013.
This oak leaf wasn’t too far from the lichen.
When I got home from my walk I saw this snowflake and totally knew it was for me because I prayed for it 🙂
Great big snowflake on February 9, 2013.
I had to go away after this little present. When I returned I was brought home by a friend and the roads were dangerous from ice and snow. We almost had a serious accident when a truck spun out of control on the icy road. She managed to avoid it and we made it home safely, another fine gift. When we walked in my husband showed me this present he had made out of some video I had taken. It is called “Spirit Sounds”.
We would like to wish you Happy Chinese New Year of the Snake!
Cowboy (red-tail boa) wishes you good luck during the Year of the Snake 2013.
Our hearts give thanks for the Grace in the Universe!
Grace and Mystery 