Category: Nature

• Under His Wings

  Today is a beautiful spring day – a little cool, but a day that makes me so thankful that I live where I live. As I sit at my desk on the lower level of our condo (built on the pasture of the farm where I grew up), I keep looking through the patio doors…

  Marian

  April 29, 2023

  God’s Love, Nature, Reflections, Spring

  eggs hatching, geese, goslings, pond life, under his wings

• A Vacation Filled with Kind Strangers

  Last week Mim and I returned home from our third vacation of the year. We’re making up for the past 16 years of almost no vacations while we were doing assisted living in our home. This vacation had lessons for us to learn just as our earlier two vacations this year had. Our July vacation…

  Marian

  November 8, 2019

  Book Recommendations, bucket list, Nature, Reflections, Vacations

  Cape Cod, Cape Cod National Seashore, Cleveland, fall colors, fall foliage, Finger Lakes, Indiana Dunes National Park, kind people, kind strangers, kindness, kindness of strangers, Lebanese restaurant, make someone’s day, Mike McIntyre, National Women’s Rights Historical Park, October vacation, paid for dinner, Penniless across America, Plainfield CT, random act of kindness, school security guard, Seneca Falls, Sturbridge Village, The Kindness of Strangers, timeshare, vacation, women’s movement

• It’s Complicated, Floey. But Kindness is what matters.

  “Floey, you’re barking so loud I can’t think. What’s wrong?” “Don’t you see him, Mom? Look. Across the pond. A stranger is walking along our trail. What do you think he’s up to? He doesn’t belong here!” “Oh, I see him. That must be the trapper our neighbor Tom told me about.” “What??? A trapper!…

  Marian

  February 21, 2017

  God’s Love, Life’s Challenges, Music, Nature, Reflections

  barking, complicated, Fill us with your love, fish, Floey, God will take care of you, goose family, Jesu, Jesu Jesu Fill Us with Your Love, neighbor, neighborhood, otter, pond, refugee, relocate, trapper

• God’s Garden – and Mine

  I think God laughed a little at my lazy approach to gardening on the deck this summer, but decided to bless it anyway. The lettuce did very well in its bed of Miracle-Gro® Potting Mix. We’ve had several salads, and the lettuce keeps coming back when I cut it. It’s not quite as sweet and…

  Marian

  July 19, 2016

  Assisted Living, Gardening, God’s Love, Nature, Reflections

  95-year-olds, abundance, butterflies, Charlie Chipmunk, cherry tomatoes, chipmunk, delight our senses, garden, Genesis, God’s Garden, goldfinch, Happy Summertime, hotdogs, Jones Dairy Farm, listening for God, milkweed, Miracle Grow, Miracle-Gro, potting mix, radishes, Sweet 100, tastes of summer, The Message, thistle seeds, thistles, whispering winds, wild canaries

• A Summertime Conversation with Floey and God and me

  Floey and I had quite a conversation during our morning walk yesterday… Early in the walk, Floey trotted over to the biggest shade tree between the sidewalk and the street and rolled onto her back. Then she twisted and turned to rub every inch of her back on the cool, shady grass. Next she lay…

  Marian

  June 28, 2016

  God’s Love, Nature, Reflections

  baling hay, birds singing, conversation, five senses, Floey, frogs singing, goldfinch, gopher, how God talks to us, Jesus Calling, listen to God, monkey pile, rolling in grass, sarah young, shade tree, stalking a gopher

• God and I Planted a Garden. And it was Good.

  God spoke: “Earth, green up! Grow all varieties of seed-bearing plants, Every sort of fruit-bearing tree.” And there it was. Earth produced green seed-bearing plants, all varieties, And fruit-bearing trees of all sorts. God saw that it was good. It was evening, it was morning – Day Three. [Genesis 1:11-13  The Message] One of the…

  Marian

  June 21, 2016

  Gardening, God’s Love, Life’s Challenges, Nature, Reflections

  being present at creation, container gardening, creation, creation story, cut flowers, cutting flowers, digging new potatoes, experiment, garden quotes, gardening, gardening experiments, Genesis 1, Genesis 2, lettuce, Miracle Grow, Miracle Grow Potting Mix, planting a garden, pumpkins, radishes, The Message, tomato, vegetable garden, zinnias

• To Hug Or Not To Hug

  

  “Floey, did you see that story on the news last week? The one that said dogs don’t like to be hugged?” “Yeah. I saw it, Mom.” “Well, what did you think about the story? Do dogs like to be hugged, or not?” “Mom, it’s not exactly a yes or no question. I love to cuddle.…

  Marian

  May 3, 2016

  God’s Love, Life’s Challenges, Nature, Reflections, Spring

  awning, building nest, cuddle, cuddler, cuddliest dog, Floey, hard-hearted Mim, house finch, hug, kindness, Megabyte, Mim, Mr. Finch, Mrs. Finch

• And God Said …

  And God said, “Marian, wake up.” And I said, “But God, it’s only 3:00 a.m.” And God replied, “Of course I know what time you think it is. But you have a lot of work to do before the funeral at 11:00 this morning.” “O God, go away. More sleep is what I need most…

  Marian

  August 4, 2015

  God’s Love, Life’s Challenges, Music, Nature, Reflections

  bullies, bully, Cat Stevens, church music, dying bully, funeral music, God said, grieving bully, Morning Has Broken, sleepless, strumming guitar, The Message

• Another Talk with My Friend Floey

  “Hey, Floey. What did you think about your new class last week?” Floey grinned at me and replied, “I loved it! When you first told me I would be going to another class, I really wondered why. I passed my class last winter with flying colors. I couldn’t imagine why you thought I needed to…

  Marian

  June 30, 2015

  God’s Love, Life’s Challenges, Nature, Reflections

  different gifts, dog class, Floey, go to mat, God’s creation, human development, humans and animals, Intermediate Class, Joan Chittister, kinship with nature, Mim and her kittens, people and animals, people and dogs, relationship between humans and animals, soul, The Monastic Way, unawakened

• Mindfulness – the Earliest Gift of Spring

  I just got back from a walk with my dog Floey. It’s a beautiful spring day in southern Wisconsin. I felt the gentle breeze on my face, and smiled. The birds were singing again. A few weeds next to the sidewalk were beginning to show the first hint of green. Yes. Spring is really coming.…

  Marian

  March 17, 2015

  Life’s Challenges, Nature, Reflections, Spring

  birds singing, first robin of spring, Floey, grill, hamburger, listening for God, mindful, mindfulness, present moment, reflections, robin, spirituality, springtime, Thich Nhat Hanh