In response to Cee’s Black and White Photo Challenge: Pets
B&W: Pets
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Author Archives: Maggie C
Wordless Wednesday (Week 6)
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Waking Up
I awoke today
to warm sunshine,
and
birds singing and flitting through laurel hedges,
and
the soft coos of the Eurasian collared-dove,
and
tiny leaf buds forming on the dogwood tree,
and
daffodils, just about to blossom,
swaying on sturdy green stalks,
and
squirrels cavorting — yes, cavorting — on the lawn,
perhaps in search of acorns
tucked away last autumn for safekeeping.
And I wondered if today
just happened to be the day that
springtime chose to burst forth
in all its glory and promise,
or
was it me just waking up this day,
groggy from a long, dark winter slumber, and
finally noticing
that spring is, indeed,
approaching.
Waiting for No One
it flies or stands still kind to some cruel to others always marching on
Daily Post’s weekly photo challenge: Time
Wordless Wednesday (Week 5)
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Water Colors
despite wet grey days keeping winter gloom at bay nature paints with rain
Daily Press weekly photo challenge: Vibrant
Wordless Wednesday (Week 4)
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The Writing is on the Wall
As our culture moves away from cursive writing and becomes more and more reliant on keyboarding, texting, Skype, video sharing, and the myriad other forms of digital communication, penmanship is rapidly falling by the wayside.
Once a required course in elementary schools, handwriting is no longer generally seen as valuable or relevant enough to take up school curriculum time. While that may or may not be the case, learning penmanship can still be beneficial.
Handwriting proponents point to advantages such as improved brain development, greater retention of information when one takes notes manually, and the ability to read historical documents that were written in cursive.
As with handwriting, many skills lose relevance as we evolve. I guess we pick and choose which to keep alive. Maybe learning penmanship in this day and age is akin to students of my generation learning Latin. Or the Macarena.
I hope my grandchildren learn penmanship. I will gladly teach them if they are interested. I hope I continue learning skills for communicating digitally. Maybe my grandkids will offer to teach me.
I kind of doubt that I will ever learn Latin. I can live with that. And the Macarena… well, that’s another story.
Where the Grass is Greener
It rains a lot where I live. And the landscapes are very green here. At times I get a bit gloomy about so much rain, but I always appreciate the lush greenery.
For me, green is the color of optimism.
I also appreciate “green” environmentalism and sustainability efforts. While I don’t go around hugging trees (well, sometimes I do, but only ones that I know really well), the fact that there are people committed to helping nature survive our negative impacts makes me feel optimistic about the future of this planet. And that same responsible and farsighted commitment makes me optimistic about the nature of humankind.
I try to steer away from politically controversial topics on this blog, but nature isn’t a political entity. It has no hidden agenda. Nature does not discriminate against anyone or anything on any basis whatsoever.
Nature holds no ill will, covets nothing and demands nothing. Yet it gives us life. We owe nature some serious respect, and the most conscientious, careful and caring guardianship we can give.
Each spring when I see new growth on the trees around me, I feel renewed hope. For me, green is the color of optimism.
Daily Post’s weekly photo challenge: Optimistic
Wordless Wednesday (Week 3)
What Rhymes with Stanza? 