here's to green!

I'm not Irish. I don't have a drop of Irish blood in my veins. But all the beautiful moss on our walk at Derby Reach today got my camera all excited. And what better day to share this lovely green than on St. Patrick's Day?

Here's to green!

Elephant toes

Moss - lounging

Braided branches

Moss arcing the stream

Writing against the sky

Upholstered log

Feel the soft

Calligraphy on the forest floor

Red heart of an old tree

2012's foggy end

Though the sun was out in town, the Fraser River at Derby Reach was swathed in fog on Sunday when we took our walk. Still, we could see a little—this sea gull sitting on the roots of the giant tree that came down in spring's flood and is now beached on the gravel foreshore ....

these pilings, mirrored in the placid water

and this valiant little tugboat, dwarfed by the loaded barge of sawdust it's pulling.

keeping my nose to the joy trail (#579 − 589 of 1000 gifts)

"You have to sniff out joy. Keep your nose to the joy trail"- Buffy Sainte-Marie

It's been a summer week of getting a few things done, and waiting for the sun...

579. Historic sight on the river — a canoe full of coureurs de bois? It was definitely French we heard, drifting across the water.

580. A secret garden (not mine; I wish it were).

581. Quiet days for getting stuff done.


582. Lots of rain. No need to water the garden.

583. These are out. Does anyone know what they're called? They bloom in abundance along the river flood plain and smell of fresh laundry.

584. Platz - made for lunch with friends on Saturday (the recipe is here in case you're interested in making this dessert that uses almost any fruit you have on hand). For this one I sprinkled a layer of frozen cranberries over thawed peaches and nectarines to give the filling a wonderfully tangy edge. It's so good with ice-cream.

585. Coffee with friends in the charming atrium of a square of shops in Fort Langley. Saturday was a rainy day so we had the place to ourselves.

586. Frogs. These cuties seem to be loving the weather.

587. A birdhouse that gives new meaning to the verse:

"Blessed are those who dwell in Your house;

         They will still be praising You" - Psalm 84:4.

     

588. Vivid lilies seen at Driediger Farrms, to which we found our way quite by accident on our rainy day drive. Besides these photos, we went home with flats of fresh strawberries and raspberries!

589. Inscribe Christian Writers' Fellowship. It's a Canadian writing group I'm so pleased to be a part of. I blogged about them today at Line upon line. If you're a Canadian Christian writer and not a member, come on over to see what you're missing.

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If you'd like to join me and many others collecting One Thousand Gifts, please do. Some members of this gratefulness community post their gifts on blogs, while others list them in private journals. Instructions on how to join are here.

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"...all things have their beginning by the love of God" (#413 - 430 of 1000 gifts)

"And in this he showed me a little thing: the quantity of a hazel-nut, lying in the palm of my hand. And it was as round as any ball. I looked upon it with the eye of my understanding, and thought, What may this be? And it was answered generally thus: 'It is all that is made.' I marvelled how it might last, for I thought it might suddenly have fallen to naught for littleness. And I was answered in my understanding: 'It lasts and ever shall, for God loves it. And so have all things their beginning by the love of God'" - Julian of Norwich, Showing of Love (From the Library of A. W. Tozer, p. 247).

And so I continue my list of the tokens of God's love, these from the past week:

413. The camaraderie of poets — our first Blue Moon Reading of the year.

414. Even green trees are in gorgeous flowering bloom.

415. Cool spring temperatures so the blooms last, and last and last...

416. The gusto of the final (we hope) spring storm.

417. Powerful software that one can adapt to a variety of projects. (I've been using it on trial but finally decided to actually purchase. After watching the video tutorials, I'm getting all kinds of ideas of projects I can put together.)

418. Spring's lavish abundance.

419. Pink.

420. Yellow.

421. And more yellow; sunshine shredded all over the lawn.

422. Son is home from his travels — all in one piece and full of enthusiasm for Spain. I can dig it! (Takes me back to my Europe trip way back, when we used to say such things.)

423. Cream.

424. A stellar Saturday warm as summer. I love how the neighbourhood has that summertime buzz.

425. Rust paint. Hopefully it will add years to our patio table.

426. Abandoned nest...maybe it will have occupants soon?

427. Resurrection Sunday worship. Loud and enthusiastic praise that would like to tear the roof off the top of the church!

428. A Sunday walk along Bedford Channel.

429. A stand of trout lilies. They're shy and keep their heads down.

430. Advance polls. We have already discharged our civic duty and cast our vote in the federal election (main vote May 2nd).

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If you'd like to join me and many others collecting One Thousand Gifts, please do. Some members of this gratefulness community post their gifts on blogs, while others list them in private journals. Instructions on how to join are here.

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complex

Mossy floor

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Thursday Challenge

Next Week: SPRING (New Life, Green, Melting Snow, Pleasant Weather,...)

my placid life (#156-163 of 1000 gifts)

Things seem to be piling up in my life. It's one of those seasons when all the things I'm involved in seem to come due at once. I was feeling a little overwhelmed until, on Saturday, I met the woman who is leaving today to visit her son in Uganda and has agreed to take some documents to my nephew's family, thus we drove them over.

She was in the middle of packing, still had a couple of papers to finish for a course she was taking at her church, and had had to take charge at a church woman's event when the speaker failed to show the night before. She and her husband are responsible for their church's Christmas shoeboxes, so donations and unassembled boxes were in piles near the door. She was making plans for people to look in on her husband while she was away as he recently had a heart attack. One of her daughters was in labour as we met Saturday morning. And in everyday life when she's not traveling, she works full-time. By comparison, my situation is a placid bore, and I love it! That's my #156 of 1000 gifts this week.

157. My son took me out for a date last week. We grabbed a coffee at Wendell's, went for a walk along the river and then browsed a Fort Langley antique shop. Sweet!

Those were different times!

158. Meeting with old friends. On Thursday was the funeral of a friend from our former church. It was quite overwhelmingly wonderful to see so many old friends and connect again over those few hours.

159. My bic pens. They're cheap and reliable and I love it that they run out! Indeed, it gives me a good feeling to actually throw a used-up pen in the garbage because I've written out all the ink. (I'm hopelessly old fashioned, but with some kinds of writing I have to do the first drafts by hand before I enlist the computer.)

160. Naps. Short midday naps are highly underrated and grossly under-used.

161. The fireplace. Ours is gas, but it still creates a cozy ambiance.

162. Quesadillas at a local eatery. The Chicken Q's on Saturday at ABC were particularly tasty!

163. This song by Andrew Peterson. Awww...





Hat-tip: Sonia (thanks!)

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If you'd like to join me and many others collecting One Thousand Gifts, please do. Some members of this gratefulness community post their gifts on blogs, while others list them in private journals. Instructions on how to join are here.