Have you ever looked at the same thing day after day, then suddenly one day it looks different? This was the case with the rooftops below and it wasn’t just the snow. Suddenly they looked like a painting, an illustration for a children’s book … something different.
And I am grateful for fresh eyes!
I was visiting the site of a fellow blogger, 47whitebuffalo, who periodically offers themes for us visitors to add to with musical choices. Her most recent was the theme of Love to fly in the face of the upcoming Friday the 13th. And one of the most magnificent pieces of music came to me. I added it to her blog, but then … why not share it here?
We’re going back in time on this one – What Love (Suite), (which I have on vinyl, BTW), was released by The Collectors, a Canadian band, in 1968. One could discuss the merits of various pieces on the album, but the sax solo is indisputably one of the most soulful pieces of music I have ever heard in my life.
There are no stunning visuals on this video – its all for your ears … enjoy.
Driving backroads out my way, as I’ve mentioned elsewhere in this blog, is a visual feast, but more than that, it is something else. For me, it is nourishment for the soul.
The views I find along my travels feed a part of me that treasures the beauty and peacefulness, and the best part about it is that wherever I go, there they are. The changing of the seasons only adds to the richness of it all.
I wonder, to a fresh set of eyes, do these views appear boring? In our electronic age, where everything moves at the pace of a nanosecond, do they seem stilted or irrelevant? While I commit some of the images to my camera, I am snapping far many more and recording them in my memory. These simple views offset the pace and insistence of the many electronic communications and devices that make up the day.
The wildness of nature or the orderliness of a farmer’s fields … it doesn’t matter … either conspires to awaken in me the knowing that whatever might be happening in life, there is still beauty in my surroundings. It’s in all our surroundings; we only need to stop and look, and take in the view.
This morning had me out early running an important errand. As I drove over the mountain, the sun just beginning to burn off the fog that nestled along the roadside and hushed around the now-turning fall foliage, this came on the radio. And it made me smile.
That million watt smile of his doesn’t hurt any either. Happy Thursday!
There are always wonderful things to love about wherever we live. Out my way, in a highly agricultural area, there is fresh produce.
I am so grateful that from the first greening of asparagus in the Spring through apples and pumpkins in the Fall, there is always an abundance of fresh fruits and vegetables available. And even though they are not grown in my part of the state, (fairly) local blueberries and cranberries can be found in season as well. (Did you know that New Jersey is the #1 producer of blueberries in the U.S.? And #3 for cranberries!)
New Jersey has an unfortunate reputation of being like the very small area of smoggy highways and industrial refineries located in the eastern part of he state. But hello! New Jersey is the Garden State, and best known for its seasonal unfolding of tomatoes, corn, apples and everything in between. We are joined by nearby Pennsylvania in offering a true harvest of delicious and healthy foods from early April through late November.
Particularly in Fall, the beauty of apples, squash and pumpkins is a treat for the eye and palate, and an inspiration to cook and bake. Local farmers often have up to 10 varieties of apples daily which change as the trees come into fruit. Their own fresh-pressed cider tastes completely different each week thanks to the blend of apples they include.
To live in an area where I can stop and pick up fresh, locally grown food along any number of routes is indeed a blessing, for which I truly am grateful.
Life is an interesting journey. Here are journals, stories, reflections of a traveller of this journey. (songoftheheartsite@gmail.com)
Sharing my journey of a calm, intentional life.
Sharing Information About Writing and Illustrating for Children
Aren't songs of grief lullabies to the lost?
Immersive Tales for the Curious Explorer
Life in a flash - a bi-weekly storytelling blog
Becky Ross Michael: author & editor
Observing, Gathering, Gleaning, Sharing
Official Home of Lavinia and Rick Ross
Thoughts on life, writing, creativity and magic
Canadian Author & Memoir Writing Coach
Still A Dreamer 