Full Moon 6/9/17

I am enjoying a full moon. Earlier I visited damselfly, ladybug and wasp, all considered “beneficial insects”.
wasp and ladybug
great hunters in the garden
seeking their dinner
~ Raven Ariana Simons ©2017
awesome damselfly
you are settled and resting
then you’ll be hunting
~ Raven Ariana Simons ©2017
breaking through the clouds
the light of the moon shines bright
illuminating
~ Raven Ariana Simons ©2017
Bright Blessings, Namaste, Namu Amida Butsu
Our hearts give thanks for the Grace in the Universe!
~ Raven

Mr. Peanut and Friends (10/2/15)

“Don’t be afraid to be weird, don’t be afraid to be different, don’t worry too much about what other people think. Whatever it is that’s original in you and your work might sometimes make you feel uncomfortable. That probably means you’re on the right track, so just keep going.

Dare to be foolish.”
~ Terri Windling
October 2, 2015 – Day two for OcPoWriMo brings rain, hail, and the tiniest bit of sun which I took advantage of.

Once apon a time (today) I went out in my backyard and met a squirrel.  Just for fun, we’ll call him or her Mr. Peanut.  The photo at the top of this post was the best and only glimpse you’ll get today of our friend.  Mr. Peanut got her/his name because she/he is one of a pair of young squirrels that have been raised in the yard and when I would make a certain sound, as they played, I’d place some peanuts in the arbor vitae because they would always come and chat with me. They’d make cute little chirps, rather than the scoldings or warning barks that I’d previously heard from the neighborhood squirrels. The jays got wise to this trick and started listening in for my special smoochie sounds and would often beat the squirrels to the treats.  I always made sure to hide a few extras and I know that the Peanut Pair would find them.  I originally bought the peanuts to make friends with the neighborhood crows before I was befriended by the squirrely adolescents.  There are many creatures of different types (including the plant people) that inhabit my yard and we’ve had lots of adventures together. I’m not sure what my neighbors think when I’m out and about in yard and neighborhood chatting with my fellow beings.  Most likely many find me odd.
“the bees are busy
while a wasp tries to sneak in
wasps aren’t invited”
~ Raven Ariana Simons

“The simple truth is that being a creative artist takes courage; it’s not a job for the faint of heart. It takes courage each and every time you put a book or poem or painting before the public, because it is, in fact, enormously revealing.”
~ Terri Windling
“a moment of sun
on a changeable fall day
brings out little friends”
~ Raven Ariana Simons
Bright Bee Blessings, Namaste, Nama Amida Butsu ~ Raven

December at the Oasis 12/1/14

“Humans! They lived in a world where the grass continued to be green and the sun rose every day and flowers regularly turned into fruit, and what impressed them? Weeping statues. And wine made out of water! A mere quantum-mechanistic tunnel effect, that’d happen anyway if you were prepared to wait zillions of years. As if the turning of sunlight into wine, by means of vines and grapes and time and enzymes, wasn’t a thousand times more impressive and happened all the time…”
~ Terry PratchettFlashback Saturday, December 1, 2012 – This is my pick photo for today and it stars a gargoyle guarding the historic Salt Lake City/County building in downtown Salt Lake City. This gargoyle has been on duty since the late 1800’s.Flashback Sunday, December 1, 2013 – This is my pick photo for today and it stars my neighborhood flock of crows coming to roost in a cottonwood 🙂Monday, December 1, 2014 – A very mild first day of December with wasps, honeybees, and other creatures coming to drink at my little urban oasis. “this little wet place
a refuge in the desert
keeps wildlife refreshed”
~ Raven Ariana Simons “A miracle is when the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. A miracle is when one plus one equals a thousand.”
~ Frederick Buechner“birds drink here and bees
neighborhood pets and wild things
water filled haven”
~ Raven Ariana SimonsOur hearts give thanks for the Grace in the Universe!
Bright Bee Blessings and Namaste ~ Raven

November Oasis 11/19/14

“The past has no power over the present moment.”
~ Eckhart Tolle

Flashback Monday, November 19, 2012 – This is my pick photo for today and stars the waxing moon of Reed at around 11:00 P.M. this evening. I saw this moon when I was driving and hoped I’d be able to get a good shot before it set or got lower in the sky.
Flashback Tuesday, Novmeber 19, 2013 – This is my pick photo for today and it stars an Oregon grape leaf with lovely rain 🙂
Wednesday, November 2014 – Here are a few of my visitors from today when it became warm enough for them to come and drink.
“Sometimes letting things go is an act of far greater power than defending or hanging on.”
~ Eckhart Tolle
“thirsty visitors
faded flowers and leaves rest
autumn oasis”
~ Raven Ariana Simons
“Always say “yes” to the present moment. What could be more futile, more insane, than to create inner resistance to what already is? what could be more insane than to oppose life itself, which is now and always now? Surrender to what is. Say “yes” to life — and see how life suddenly starts working for you rather than against you.”
~ Eckhart Tolle
Our hearts give thanks for the Grace in the Universe!
Namaste ~ Raven

Wasp and Honeybee Drink Together 11/10/14

“Creativity is thinking up new things. Innovation is doing new things.”
~ Theodore Levitt
Flashback Saturday, November 10, 2012 – This is my pick photo of the day and it shows the powdery snow on branches and a patch of blue sky with snowy trees in the background. I love the softness of this picture and the feeling of tranquility.
Flashback Sunday, November 10, 2013 – This is my pick photo for today and it stars two of Yomama Hive’s drones. I was sitting with the hive today and heard a low buzz only to see an incoming drone! I was super surprised because I would have thought that there wouldn’t be anymore drones this time of year. But we still have them and their sisters aren’t kicking them out yet.
Monday, November 10, 2014 – Today is the 4th day of the photo challenge and I’ve chose a honeybee resting after a drink.  I saw a wasp drinking with the honeybees, as well as a beautiful sunset.
“I’ve been forty years discovering that the queen of all colors is black.”
~ Henri Matisse
“Creativity is contagious. Pass it on.”
~ Albert Einstein

“a wasp and a bee
sitting next to each other
sipping peacefully”
~ Raven Ariana Simons

“There is no use trying,” said Alice. “One can’t believe impossible things.” “I daresay you haven’t had much practice,” said the Queen. “When I was your age, I always did it for half an hour a day. Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.”
~ Lewis Carroll
Our hearts give thanks for the Grace in the Universe!
Bright Bee Blessings and Namaste ~ Raven

Curious Pods and Maple Leaves 11/6/14

“Curiosity killed the cat, satisfaction brought him back!”
~ Eugene O’Neill

Flashback Tuesday, November 6, 2012 – This is my pick photo for today, Election Day, and yes I voted! These honeybees are catching a drink in water I keep for animals, birds, insects and such 🙂
Flashback Wednesday, November 6, 2013 – This is my pick photo for today and it stars some insects dancing in the last rays of the sun before it sets behind the mountains.  They look like fairies when they dance in the sun 🙂
Thursday, November 6, 2014 – Partly cloudy and mild day today with leaves still on some of the trees.  The dried pods that hold the seeds of horehound form curious looking little balls.
“Curiosity is, in great and generous minds, the first passion and the last.”
~ Samuel Johnson

“bright colors on trees,
seed pods, grass, and textured leaves,
autumn is in bloom”
~ Raven Ariana Simons
I think, at a child’s birth, if a mother could ask a fairy godmother to endow it with the most useful gift, that gift would be curiosity.”
~ Eleanor Roosevelt
Our hearts give thanks for the Grace in the Universe!
Bright Bee Blessings and Namaste ~ Raven

Little Bees, Dragonfly and A Wasp 10/30/14

“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”
~ Benjamin Franklin
Flashback Tuesday, October 30, 2012 – This is my pick photo for today and features the blossom of a New Guinea impatiens. This flower reminds me of a face, maybe one of those Chinese New Year’s Dragons.
Flashback Wednesday, October 30, 2013 – This is my pick photo for today and it stars the leaves on one of my hazel trees.
Thursday, October 30, 2014 – On this 30th day of the month long poetry challenge I have two types of native bees, a wasp, and a dragonfly.  This first bee is so tiny that I had to put the sweet alyssum photos (including the one at the top of the post) to show you just how small it is!
“teeny, tiny bee
do you think there’s nectar here
in sweet alyssum?”
~ Raven Ariana Simons I’ll mix up the rest of the photos for fun along with the rest of my written offerings for this day before the very last day of OctPoWriMo 2014 🙂
“almost Halloween
how many trick or treaters
will we have this year?”
~ Raven Ariana Simons
“Love the trees until their leaves fall off, then encourage them to try again next year.”
~ Chad Sugg
“someone’s been nibbling
on this forsythia leaf
a leaf cutter bee”
~ Raven Ariana Simons
Our hearts give thanks for the Grace in the Universe!
Bright Bee Blessings and Namaste ~ Raven

Nature in My Neighborhood 10/17/14

“Great things are done by a series of small things brought together.”

~ Vincent Van Gogh
Flashback Wednesday, October 17, 2012 – My pick photo for today stars a hoverfly.

Flashback Thursday, October 17, 2013 – This is my pick photo for today and it stars a dragonfly at the very end of the season. It will be freezing soon.
Friday October 17, 2014 – Here we have the last datura flower, which may have not been pollinated (because they usually fall over sometime the day after their evening opening), and a datura seed pod opening.  We also have a scrub jay, wasp, mourning dove, and the blossoms of fushia and centaurea.  It is day 17 of the month long poetry challenge 🙂


“mountain bluet or
centaurea montana
name like a story”
~ Raven Ariana Simons

“The main thing is to be moved, to love, to hope, to tremble, to live.”
~ Auguste Rodin

“wasp, birds, and flowers
right in my own neighborhood
nature is present”
~ Raven Ariana Simons
Our hearts give thanks for the Grace in the Universe!
Namaste ~ Raven

Poetry and Pollinators 10/7/14

“The tears I feel today
I’ll wait to shed tomorrow.
Though I’ll not sleep this night
Nor find surcease from sorrow.
My eyes must keep their sight:
I dare not be tear-blinded.
I must be free to talk
Not choked with grief, clear-minded.
My mouth cannot betray
The anguish that I know.
Yes, I’ll keep my tears til later:
But my grief will never go.”
~ Anne McCaffery
Flashback Sunday, October 7, 2012 – This is my pick photo for today and it stars volunteer basil in the late afternoon light.
Flashback Monday, October 7, 2013 – This is my pick photo for today and it stars a pair of horses in a field by where I work.
Tuesday, October 7, 2014 – Fall can be a melancholy time when you know the sunshine will be giving way to colder days.  I am seeing fewer and fewer pollinators and most of the ones I see are honeybees out gathering before the cold sets in.  Today I was lucky and saw one native bee and a flower fly.  The wasps are pretty needy now around the hummingbird feeders as their days grow close to an end.  Today is the seventh day of the month long poetry challenge and the prompt is “silence”.
“in a busy life
five minutes or a moment
silence is refuge”
~ Raven Ariana Simons
“can grief be purple
is it silent or tearful
when time is changing”
~ Raven Ariana Simons
Our hearts give thanks for the Grace in the Universe!
Bright Bee Blessings and Namaste ~ Raven

Happy Lushnassadh 8/2/14

Flashback Thursday, August 2, 2012 – This is the third shot of the unknown bee ( I now know that this is a long horn bee – melissodes) type that was visiting one of my sunflowers this afternoon. After hubby told me that he thought that this shot looked like the bee was posing I decided it should be my pick photo for today  🙂
Flashback Friday, August 2, 2013 – This is my pick photo for today and it stars a little goldfinch against the blue sky. Happy Lughnassadh 🙂
Saturday, August 2, 2014 – Today we have an interesting wasp and a couple of native bees.  The one on the catmint is a carder bee.
“Play is our contact with our love for life. It brings us back into our joy at being alive and shows us where our freedom is. Play moves us out of our fixed mindsets: it offers freedom from the tyranny of habit, freedom from the mundane and ordinary, from the rational and need to know and be in control. It’s freedom from rigid identification with race, class, gender, and even species.”
~ Gwen Gordon
“I think we dream so we don’t have to be apart so long. If we’re in each other’s dreams, we can play together all night.”
~ Bill Watterson
Our hearts give thanks for the Grace in the Universe!
Bright Bee Blessings and Namaste ~ Raven