Have you ever been on vacation or a get away and stumbled upon a surprise, a gentle reminder of God’s love? I have, on my camping trip with Theo, my mother in law and friend. As far as I’m concerned the gift was no coincidence…
I sat on a metal folding beach chair when my right foot skated across a smooth surface, a rock. It was partially hidden in the shallow depths of the sand. I love finding special rocks and the few times that they are unique, they are secretly stashed in the folds of my pocket for the trip home.
This particular rock was not only smooth and beautiful, but a heart shape! It’s not the only heart shaped rock I have stumbled upon, for years ago I found a big rock that my mom painted for my garden and last year a pinkish heart rock that decorates my shady garden. It seems that I’ve started collecting heart shaped rocks simply by fate.
This heart was a sign from God for a few reasons. I believe he coaxed me to find it so that I was reminded of his presence and His love. It also served as a reminder to drop anxiety and relax during the trip. I’m grateful for these signs, for they just appear suddenly when I seem to need them. I’m always on the look out for them, for if I’m not paying attention it may just pass by without meaning. Be on the look out for little signs from Him, however how small. There’s always a reason and you must figure that out for yourself.
I must mention in the wake of Charlottesville and recent terrorist attacks, I’m thinking of how the news focuses on all the evil in the world. Please remember to focus on the love that people freely give to each other instead of the evil and hate that occurs! Our steady army of people who refuse to give in to hate stand strong with an unwavering faith in good. God’s love lives in all of us who believe and fight for love and peace! Blessings and peace to you all.❤❤❤
I think an amazing sunset is one of God’s pure gifts!
Hello Readers! I’ve added a new page to my blog, Empty Nest Notes. I started writing it last year and forgot about it. Now I’m launching this page in hopes of sharing my empty nest experiences. Hopefully this will help you mamas who will be going through this too!❤
A few months ago I read somewhere that “comparison is the thief of joy.” Ever since I keep revisiting that thought. It stuck with me because truthfully I’ve compared my life to others, when I was younger. Haven’t we all compared our life to another at one time or another? Maybe you’ve had fleeting thoughts of that how unfair it is that a person gets all the good breaks. How come that person seems anointed with luck and you continue to receive the short end of the straw?
It all stemmed from insecurities and what seemed to be competition from others. I think I, like many people, have developed a strong sense of self and with that competition and comparison has thankfully fizzled! As that maturity ages like a fine wine, my realization has been that engaging in this is a negative act.
I know some people who compete with others in everything they do and fortunately I’m not made of the same cloth. I’m just me and live the way I want, free of that whirlwind race. It shows how unhappy some people are and how comparisons can be toxic and damaging to their lives.
I try to think of it this way, EVERYONE LEADS A DIFFERENT LIFE! You have been led on a unique path, a collage of all your experiences that have happened to you. Have faith in your path and remember that your journey is entirely unique.
Stop comparing! Be happy with what’s dealt to you and refrain from toxic comparing. Sometimes it seems like others have a free ride, but you don’t know the whole story and they may not be happy. What matters is your joy and truly loving your moments, without longing for someone else’s life. Feel the joy in your life and cherish those special moments without comparing. Once you LIVE and LOVE YOUR life, there’s a freedom and a let go of comparisons.
Relish the joyful times and stay strong during the rough bumps. Maybe you’ve had a hard period and times have tested you but it WILL end. Stay positive, pray for guidance and be happy for people. You will join them in your own blessings soon enough but for now it’s a test. Do you have the strength to pass? I think so!
Here is the landscape where the poor helpless fawn wandered into. Perhaps the doe on the right from last year is his/her mother.
On a bright sunny Saturday afternoon the birds were chirping as endless cars raced down our road. The day before strutting busy turkeys appeared in a nearby field as well as a huge bear sighting the day before. If you’ve read my posts before you may remember that we have two game trails on either side of our house, which is a fabulous way to spot animals all year long. Wildlife sightings are special to Tom and I and we look forward to those precious moments.
As I worked on my garden and flower boxes, I happened to look up at the right moment to spy a new fawn walking across our road a hundred feet away. The young fawn was gingerly crossing behind our pond.With wobbly legs and an uncertain gait, the newborn could’ve been about a week or two old or maybe even younger. I continued to watch apprehensively because it’s mother was nowhere in sight. Being a mother myself, my gut instinct was to make sure that she was around. What would I do anyway….nature has to take care of itself. Perhaps it already crossed, I hoped with an open heart.
The afternoon wore on as my husband and I did yard chores and he left to work on one of his client’s lawns. Hours later, towards the end of the afternoon Tom and I sat at our outside table enjoying the last moments of the day and talking. He held a cold beer as we laughed and talked and reminisced about our day. Suddenly we heard a wild crying. Something was wrong but what was it? Tom knew right away the source of the crying…it was the fawn. Evidently it strayed from the mother and was parked in our woods, lost and alone. I wondered what the poor thing had be doing all that time! Probably it played in the woods and became tired and laid down to rest.
Tom wondered if maybe the mother doe had twins, like one of the deer who lived nearby last year. It can be tough watching two little ones and if one runs off, it would be hard for the mother to find it with another baby in tow. Tom said that the piercing crying would alert the mother and she would follow it to her baby. I hoped so because I didn’t want the ending to go bad. Awful thoughts of a coy dog or another predator haunted me.
It’s cries gave me goosebumps all over my arms and legs and I had a tight sick feeling in my gut. These unforgiving incidents of nature breaks my heart! I’ve witnessed a few heartbreaking scenes in nature and even though that’s what’s meant to be in nature, it’s still painfully hard for me the older I become. I’ve seen a neighboring farmer run over a hiding newborn by accident and the desperate mother doe seeking her young days after. The frantic fear and desperate longing sat deep within me, I knew just how she felt. The worse part of the situation was that I was helpless…if I could’ve done something to help her I would have!
The every fawn’s cries forced me in the house because I was helpless in the situation. I went about my housework and vowed to go back out later to investigate. Hours later upon revisiting my yard, I saw what I had longed to see. The mother deer was attempting to herd her young across the street and all the while the wobbly legged fawn confusedly ran here and there but not where mama wanted her. Watching keenly, the scene reminded me of many child rearing episodes when I desperately tried to steer my boys on the right path. They didn’t always want to do that…their young independence and nativity surfaced many times.
It’s been a week since I’ve seen mother and her young fawn and random thoughts come to me. My worst fear is that they became separated again or that something tragic happened to the young fawn. I pray that they fare well in their world and that little fawn learns how to defend itself and follow mother’s lead.
The only regret I have of this post is that I don’t have a picture to share with you. Everyday I bring my camera outside with me just in case I am handed the golden opportunity of capturing this beautiful pair. Who knows…possibly by the end of the summer I’ll be granted the magical moment and I’ll share it with you all.
Two weeks ago my husband and I planted our annual vegetable garden. It was quite a project and took longer than we expected. As the sun warmed the earth, there was that sticky change in the air. It was the distinct sign of rain, as bugs went crazy in our face and nibbled at our exposed ears. Although our bout with the annoying insects drove us crazy and tried our patience, we still persevered at our gardening task with a farmer’s steadfast determination.
A tilled sandy garden plot from the very beginning of the season.
My husband and I are quite a team because we work together in tandem like a well oiled machine, but we should, as we have been doing this for a few years now. It’s our fourth year planting here at our home overlooking our pond. Before that we worked and enjoyed a vegetable plot for sixteen years. It’s just what we do in June with persistent faith in what will grow. Tom raked the rows and I planted the seeds and plants. After it all was planted and marked, we watered the rows for the first time.
Here we are immersed in the June season…a time to start anew and plant in hopes of mother nature’s cooperation. It’s a rush to plant because if you wait until now it may be too late. The growing season is so short lived here that time is of the essence. I always start the first weekend of June for I fear the weather will have a frost or my delicate saplings won’t make the cold weather. So we plant hurriedly in hopes of a harvest in July, August and September depending on what vegetables they are.
A little view of our planted product in the early stages!
A New England tip for gardener’s is to not only sow seeds but buy or start plants for a head start. I don’t have a sun room or anything ideal to start seeds in February, although a greenhouse would be nice someday! Buying started vegetable plants boosts your garden and you will harvest much quicker than if you started planting seeds. Some veggies grow super fast, so those you can sow seeds and it’s fine. They are green beans, carrots, spinach and lettuce, herbs, and radishes to name a few. I always choose tomato, squash, cucumber and eggplant plants so that I can harvest in June for the cukes and August and September for the rest.
In previous years my dad always has his ground seeds planted by mid May while my plot hasn’t even been tilled yet! The amazing thing is that he lives even more north of me and has different weather but it seems to always work out for him. I have to remember that he’s retired as well and has more time on his hands than me! This year he has a little greenhouse with shelves in it to grow veggies in containers and then he’s placing the containers outside where his garden was. I wish him well with his new system and there will be less weeds doing it this way.
my spooky owl that hopefully will scare little critters from our harvest.
This year we had a deluge of rain, raining just about every day and as that happened, our brook bordering our woods was churning and bubbling fast because of all the water rush. I hoped that our seeds wouldn’t rot in all the muck but with wishful thinking and the warm sun pulling its weight now, it all will be fine.
Gardening takes lots of patience…patience for it to happen on it’s terms and not yours. Here it’s been two weeks since I planted and little has changed with the plants, although most planted seeds have sprouted from the earth. I can continuously check every day like an anxious elementary child who has sown her bean seed in a little cup. Even so, if I constantly watch for some growth, it’s definitely not going to speed up it’s progress.
This year our vegetable garden includes corn, green beans, carrots, two kinds of cucumbers ( straight 8’s and pickling), beets, spinach, Swiss chard, lettuce, basil, thyme, broccoli, cauliflower, eggplant, buttercup squash, zucchini and summer squash, tomatoes ( cherry and early girl), and marigolds lined up as soldiers to ward off the pests.
Have you planted your garden yet? What did you plant for your family and friends? I wish you many harvested goodies from your countless hours of gardening! The pure gift of sunshine and freshly fallen rain helps a bunch and a never ending faith of what will be.
All My Best,
Heart and Soul
My little row of carrots, broccoli, and Swiss chard. Oops! A footprint!
I’m Suzy Barker. I love to write and I adore photography. Oh, and I should mention – I’m an eternal optimist. My cup is always half full. Welcome to my website.
