Hussy in the Garden

I've been waiting all week for my pink peony to bloom. Today, it finally did and it's even more stunning than last year! It's almost fluorescent pink, with bright yellow centers. Here's a few shots I took this morning before my camera batteries died. The close-up is not re-touched in any way. The second photo I played around in Photoshop very briefly. I'm still learning about the different filters and stuff, so bear with me!

Hope you enjoy my flowers!

A Little Unexpected Help

Yesterday afternoon I decided to go sit down on the dock for awhile. I didn't have an agenda, I didn't take any fishing gear or the phone. I just wanted to BE, and try to sort some things out in my head. I'm still feeling effects from all the MS "stuff" that happened in March, April, and May. I'm trying to figure out how to get back on my feet, and get on with my life.

So, I thought that I would relax down by the water. Well, it was very nice outside when I walked down there. I didn't see anyone else around. I asked the elements to help clue me in on what to do next, and started with some general prayers. The answer I got came in mere moments! I closed my eyes to help clear my head. All of the sudden I felt the dock start rocking a bit more, the wind picked up and waves started coming across the surface of the lake.I opened my eyes and there were small whitecaps running up on the shore. I closed my eyes again and let the whole scene wash over me: sounds of waves, wind and birds calling. Oh, so this is what I'm supposed to be doing~ getting cleansed! This IS what I needed. Duh!

It felt like ritual was starting, so I called in the Goddesses that came to mind, one for each element(I never do this, but it just came to mind): Yemaya~water, Gaia~earth, Bridget~fire, and Diana~air. I have no idea why Diana was representing as the Eastern goddess to me, but I wasn't going to question it too much. As soon as I said Diana's name, the wind got crazy and whipped the lake even more! The dock was rocking around so much, I was afraid to stand up, so I just sat in my chair, arms and legs uncrossed. What a ride!
When I felt like I had what I needed, I thanked the Goddesses. The lake gradually returned to normal, and the wind and waves stopped.

I've done some small rituals down there before, but never had this kind of thing happen. I'm not a weather witch. I leave that to a few friends I know with that talent. But this was pretty cool and really did work. I feel a bit better. I figure that the cleansing will continue to do it's thing, as I go about my life this week.
I feel like I can breathe now. Ahhh...

Meet Stubby!

Well, it's almost Summer and the signs are everywhere! Like this little sign, propped up on my front porch railing this morning. I haven't seen the robin's nest around, or any babies until today.
I'm calling him Stubby! He (just seems like a little guy) got a little stubby tail, cute little stubby wings and a little stubby call. He's got the cutest tufts of feathers sticking out from his head. Mom robin has been feeding him, and after a couple of hours on the railing, Stubby flew up into the Laurel bush next to the porch. Not the most graceful of maneuvers, to be sure! That's a much safer place for him until he can figure out how to get back to the nest, wherever that is.

Too cute, and I thought that I would share.
What signs of Summer are going on around you?

Gettin' up early

A few weeks ago, my household moved towards a new schedule. My husband is now working a 2nd shift schedule. This means staying up later and sleeping in later. Well, while I really like it when Tim works this kind of schedule, it really screws up my fishing time!
So, today I happened to wake up early. I grabbed some coffee, my fishing gear and headed down to the dock to drown some worms. I got to watch the sun come up over the trees, the bald eagle take his morning constitutional flight over the lake, and listen to all manner of birds. Gods! what have I been missing by sleeping until 9am?! I even caught a couple of nice bass! The first one was good size, but I threw him back. The second one I caught was twice the size, so I kept him for lunch! (I apologize to my vegetarian friends) This bass weighed in at about 2 pounds. I caught him on a Gary Yamamoto Worm. My local bait shop owner told me that these are what the tournament fishermen use. They really do work, too! We'll be grillin' this nice big boy up, and serving with rice pilaf and some veggies. MMMMM!!!!
I didn't get any photos from this morning, but here's some from this past Summer.
Got a fish tale to share?
~tracyw