Nature is Amazing!

Love slushies and slurpies? Well, here's a slushie to beat all slushies!

Enjoy.

Karen

Moments to Savor

I heard a quote in a movie yesterday that I've always liked, that always makes me stop and think:

"Live for today, for yesterday is gone forever, and tomorrow may never come."

Do you savor today? Do you take time each day to stop, even just for a moment? To look--really look--at the world around you?

To recognize the gift of each day?

I can't say I always remember to do that. But today, I did. Today I stopped. Not for long. Just for a few moments. I sat in our yard swing and looked around. And saw so much beauty!

In case you didn't get a chance to do the same today, here is a taste of what I encountered. May you find in these snapshots what I did: a reminder that the God of the universe loves beauty. And He loves to share that beauty with His favorite creation of all time: you and me.
Peonies, in all their splendor!



A peony visitor, and Columbine



Last year the woeful lack of honey bees meant almost no peaches or cherries. This year, the honey bees are back! And with them, our peaches and cherries! Yippee!



Don't know what the red flower is, but love it. And aforementioned honey bee visiting the lavendar.



California poppies went to town this year! Along with most of our other flowers. SO pretty!


Peace, all.

Karen

Get Wild!

I found a cool thing while surfing the web tonight: Live Webcams at the SanDiego Zoo! You can watch the polar bears, apes, elephants, and pandas in real time. It's a blast, especially when the animals are active.

So give it a try.

I can hardly wait 'til they put on in the tiger enclosure!

Karen

Nature: A Window Into God's Creative Genius

How can anyone look at the beauty of nature



and doubt it came from anywhere but the hand of a loving Creator? Astonishes me. The intricacies, the interconnectedness, the simplicity...no way it came from a blob of ooze crawling out of a pond. And we see that Creator's heart reflected in people who create beauty as well. Be it classic or contemporary art, or a unique and playful way to bring beauty and imagination to life, the urge we feel to create stems not from some evolutionary development, but from the truth that we are made in God's image, inside and out.

My older brother sent me a video that illustrates this...well, beautifully. The beauty here is twofold: the nature of the surroundings, and the engineering brilliance that created a path through it. I don't generally mind heights, and I've got a bit of an adventurer's spirit, but I gotta say, couldn't pay me enough to walk this path.

Take a look, and be awed at the wonder of creativity, both from God's hand and the hand of His children.

Peace to you today--

Karen

Open Your Eyes

When's the last time you stopped and looked around you--really looked--at the beauty nature has ready and waiting for you? I was sitting in a hotel in the Seattle area not long ago, sipping my morning coffee, mind occupied with what I was going to say at the workshop I was teaching that day at a writer's conference. I glanced out the window, not really focusing, but a splash of vibrant color just reached out and grabbed me. I focused in on the flowers bobbing in the wind and rain--hey, it was Seattle--and discovered an entire ballet taking place. Huge, full tulips danced atop slender green stems, bowing and rising, tapping one another and backing away, all perfectly in step with each other and the weather.

It was beautiful.

I set down my coffee--a miracle, that, considering it was my first cup of the morning--and made a beeline for my room. And my camera. By the time I got back downstairs, the rain had passed, so I went out and shot the following to share with you.

Hope you enjoy them as much as I did. And that you open your eyes to whatever beauty there is around you today.

Peace, friends.

Karen