My lavender is in full bloom with lots of pollinators. This bumblebee and skipper are super cute 🙂
in seeking sweetness
you find each little blossom
lavender lovers
~ Raven Ariana Simons ©2017
Bright Bee and Butterfly blessings, Namu Amida Butsu, Namaste
~ Raven
“Hold fast to dreams,
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird,
That cannot fly.”
~ Langston Hughs
Flashback – Monday, January 9, 2012 – Here are juniper berries from the extra photos.
Flashback – Wednesday, January 9, 2013 – In this photo you can see that the sparrows seem undisturbed by the scrub jay.
Flashback – Thursday, January 9, 2014 – Lots of snow on and off today and a little bit of thunder, too.
Friday, January 9, 2015 – I was able to get some ice crystals on Oregon grape as well on lavender and some other plants.
“We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty.”
~ Maya Angelou
“red and green spiked leaves
show off the shards and crystals
of ice from the night”
~ Raven Ariana Simons
Our hearts give thanks for the Grace in the Universe!
Namaste ~ Raven
To find the universal elements enough; to find the air and the water exhilarating; to be refreshed by a morning walk or an evening saunter… to be thrilled by the stars at night; to be elated over a bird’s nest or a wildflower in spring — these are some of the rewards of the simple life.
~John Burroughs
Flashback Saturday, December 29, 2012 – This is my pick photo for today and it stars a pair of spent lavender stalks in the snow. I love how the snow sparkles!
Flashback Sunday, December 29, 2013 – This is my pick photo for today and it stars the berries on euonymus. I asked my neighbor what these were, as they had caught my eye, and he also told me that the birds love them!
Monday, December 29, 2014 – Yesterday hubby bought me some of my beloved soap from one of my very favorite companies that make soaps and lotions, Pre de Povence. The soap is “The Queen’s Honey” and is made from honey, shea butter and lavender and is specifically made from the honey gathered by the honeybees that pollinate the company’s Provencal lavender. The fragrance is heavenly. Another of my favorites that the company makes is called “Angel’s Trumpet” and is based on the fragrance of night blooming brugmansia or datura. As night grew so did a heavenly perfume that filled my house. It was a total mystery because I kept thinking it was my new soap, but when I smelled the soap, it smelled of lavender honey (as it should) and why was the scent getting stronger by the hour?
Photo from the website of Pre de Provence.
Today I figured out the mystery!
One of my orchid cactus had bloomed and it is a night bloomer. Because the flower faced the window it lives by, I didn’t see it until today while I was caring for my plants and it was past its prime! They bloom for a single night. This variety is called a zigzag orchid cactus. The good news is that there is another bloom that will hopefully, with prayers, come to open while I can watch it. Did you know that the Victorian’s used to have flower watching parties in their conservatories just to watch the night blooming cereus (another night blooming succulent) open? The children were allowed up to watch the opening of the glorious blossom and it was made into an occasion!
I imagine that it was quite a sight to see me trying to juggle holding a flashlight that I kept dropping from my teeth or one hand and my camera in the other as I attempted to take photos. Hubby wasn’t home yet to be my helper! I hope that you enjoy my results of this impromptu portrait attempt and the story of this fun mystery! I give thanks for the Great Spirit and Grace everyday! Truly this made my day awesome 🙂
“Perfume is magic. It’s mystery. We recreate the smell of a flower. Of wood. Of grass. We capture the essence of life. Liquefy it. We store memories. We make dreams,” he told her once. “What we do is a wonder, an art, and we have a responsibility to do it well.”
~ M. J. Rose
“heavenly fragrance
a magical mystery
hidden flower”
~ Raven Ariana Simons
Our hearts give thanks for the Grace in the Universe!
“Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.”
~ Apple, Inc.
Flashback Thursday, October 4, 2012 – This is my pick photo and it stars this sparkly pink begonia. I love how the late afternoon light shining through the petals have this lovely sparkling effect.
Flashback Friday, October 4, 2013 – This is my pick photo for today and it stars a cute little bird in Russian Olive 🙂
Saturday, October 4, 2014 – Today was lovely and sunny and I was blessed to see a little skipper. There have been very few butterflies or moths this year and I’m happy that I have a few stalks of lavender that re-bloomed late after a trim that seemed to draw the attention of this lone skipper. Today is day 4 of the month long poetry challenge.
“pretty blue sky day
almost like gentle summer…
soon there will be snow”
~ Raven Ariana Simons
“sunbeams and skippers…
on this lovely day it seems
this one steers the world”
~ Raven Ariana Simons
Our hearts give thanks for the Grace in the Universe!
Beautiful Butterfly Blessings and Namaste ~ Raven
Flashback Thursday, August 16, 2012 – My pick photo for today stars this evening’s sunset. These colors are super dramatic and while I don’t appreciate the forest fires and heavy smoke, I can see the beauty of the colors and play of light.
Flashback Friday, August 16, 2013 – This is my pick photo for today and it stars a closer shot of two native bees in the family melissodes (possibly melissodes agilis) resting in a sunflower 🙂
Saturday, August 16, 2014 – Today is National Honeybee Day (in the USA) and people swarmed the globe to bring awareness to the decline of pollinators. They protested and handed out information to people so that they could decide whether or not to use poisons on their lawns and gardens. I participated. I only have two photos of sidewalk chalk messages because I don’t want to show the humans protesting and I have some bees, honeybees and a native bee, feeding on plants at Home Depot. Sadly these plants have been treated with systemic poisons that hurt bees called neonicitinoids.
“How could intelligent beings seek to control a few unwanted species by a method that contaminated the entire environment and brought the threat of disease and death even to their own kind?”
~ Rachel Carson
“A corporation, essentially, is a pile of money to which a number of persons have sold their moral allegiance.”
~ Wendell Berry
“Truth and beauty can still win battles. We need more art, more passion, more wit in defense of the Earth.”
~ David Brower
Our hearts give thanks for the Grace in the Universe!
Bright Bee Blessings and Namaste ~ Raven
Flashback Monday, June 11, 2012 – This is my pick photo of the day and stars a ladybug perched on some of the last milkweed blossoms. I have a few unopened blooms leaving nice food for the visiting pollinators for at least a few more days. The purple in the background is my lavender in full bloom 🙂
Flashback Tuesday, June 11, 2013 – This is my pick photo for today and it stars my neighbor’s peony in full bloom with an ant. Ants really love peonies and when I posted photos of this plant last year with ants, I discovered that both co-exist happily together 🙂
Wednesday, June 11, 2014 – My lavender is in full bloom and the honeybees are loving it 🙂
“A kind gesture can reach a wound that only compassion can heal.”
~ Steve Maraboli
“One man practicing kindness in the wilderness is worth all the temples this world pulls.”
~ Jack Kerouac
“Always try to be a little kinder than is necessary.”
~ J.M. Barrie
Our hearts give thanks for the Grace in the Universe!
Bright Bee Blessings and Namaste ~ Raven
Grace and Mystery 