Early Evening Glory

On May 8, 2015 By Anna EastlandIn Photos6 Comments

Last week, after a vivacious spring day of intense showers interspersed with golden sunshine pouring through steely grey clouds, I snuck out while my kids were having their bedtime snack to drink in the early evening glory of the garden.

I love the peppery purple scent of lupins…they always make me think of high school graduation because they were blooming abundantly in our back yard when I was finishing grade 12. We took pictures of me in my velvet green ( :> !) grad dress in front of a pink, purple and blue sea of lupins in our garden.

Everything is glorious after the rain…the delicate ferns curling their fingers artistically…the billowy cotton candy clouds that look so bouncy and fluffy you could surely dance on them, if you could only get up there….the little pansy playing peekaboo underneath the blooming thyme bush.
Is it any wonder, with a garden like this (I take no credit; it’s my green-thumbed and maybe even fingered landlord) that taking out the compost is my favourite chore?

Wishing you all a beautiful Mother’s Day Weekend, with many flowers and gorgeous sunsets!

Curl Up With Me

On April 28, 2015April 28, 2015 By Anna EastlandIn Poetry5 Comments

There are days when everything feels like so much

and I hide from You, Lord,

thinking I have nothing good to say about all this

and can’t deal with anyone else.

But when I hide under the covers

seeking the solitude of sleep,

I discover You there,

waiting like a loyal, warm cat

ready to just curl up and be with me.

And then I open the eyes of my heart a little

and start to see you everywhere…

in a single star in the early evening sky

in the eternal beauty of a long low bank of gray clouds on the horizon

in the tiny green shoots of sweet peas bravely emerging from the soil

and in the purple blossom of my flowering Josephine plant

saying, “I am here, I am here.”

The Consolation of Beauty

On March 28, 2015 By Anna EastlandIn Photos3 Comments

Since sorrow hit my heart I’ve become more of a photographer. I hoard the consolation of beauty the way a dragon does pearls.

There is something about the ruggedness of naked branches, tangled and bare, but alluring, that speaks to me. They seem to say, “We have been stripped of everything but hope, and though we seem lifeless, sap pulses within us, and new buds will sprout again from our fingertips.”

Edit

Welcome Spring!

On March 22, 2015 By Anna EastlandIn PhotosLeave a comment

Time of hope and loveliness…

The Fruit of Silence

On February 23, 2015February 23, 2015 By Anna EastlandIn Photos4 Comments

Fruitful words are born in silence, as blossoms from a barren tree.

Sunset Blushing

On February 16, 2015February 16, 2015 By Anna EastlandIn Photos, Poetry6 Comments

How beautifully the day dies
with slow and solemn gracefulness

Each cherished moment
revealing golden glory

Day taking her time
to say her wordless goodbye

And blushing gently
as her heart melts
into the evening sky

Inspiration

On February 14, 2015February 14, 2015 By Anna EastlandIn Photos, Poetry1 Comment

Liquid Sky Blues

On February 2, 2015February 2, 2019 By Anna EastlandIn Poetry3 Comments

Glassy blue-green perfection
Of the still mountain lake
You are like a magic mirror
A portal into another world
A solemn reflection
With treetops pointing down
To a sky so far below
I feel I could fall for miles
before I reached it

Here on the dock it seems I’m far above the earth
Looking down on a highway of clouds
Wondering if you’re down there somewhere
In this other world
And if I could reach you

The sun shines brighter for a moment
And glows as a golden orb
Floating in that watery sky
Beckoning me
Sending me rippling smiles
As the brightness surrounds me
Here on the dock
On the quiet lake

Before I leave
I plunge in my hand
Into the liquid sky
To feel the coldness
Of the January water

My hand burns a little
And I imagine
It’s almost as cold as you are now
I choke and stand up
Lamenting that I can’t reach Heaven
By jumping into this sky

Fall Forest Scavenger Hunt

On November 24, 2014November 24, 2014 By Anna EastlandIn Homeschool, Photos4 Comments

A simple homeschool or weekend outing with the kids is a fall scavenger hunt. We found a list in a forest book of seasonal items to look for, put on out coats and boots, and took our camera for a walk. We found gorgeous mushrooms, multicoloured leaves, chestnuts, a strange moss nest, a squirrel too quick for our camera, and various bugs.

Of course, taking along a Pumpkin Spice Latté is also a great idea; after all, it’s very seasonal!

And if you can bring along a willing uncle, that helps, too!

They tend to prefer truck spotting over squirrels…

A play at the park is always a good prize at the end!

You can do a walk like this any time of the year, and chat about the seasons, nature, plant growth, animal migration, etc! Easy science lesson, plus exercise! Doing drawings or paintings if your nature pics is another way to extend things. We did a collage.