Category: photo

  • Mayday


    jasmine, originally uploaded by pilgrimgirl.

    Picture: A closeup photo of two white jasmine blossoms.

    Happy Mayday my friends!

    If you were here with me, I’d cut you a petite bouquet of flowers from my garden. But since we’re only virtual neighbors, you’ll have to feel my good flowery wishes headed to you via cyberspace…

    When I was a little girl I remember making paper cones, filling them with flowers, and hanging them on neighbors’ doorknobs. Yet I don’t think my kids have ever commemorated this particular holiday in school. What about you, do you have childhood memories of MayDay? And/Or do you still celebrate it somehow?
    :)

  • edible


    broccoli, originally uploaded by pilgrimgirl.

    Flowers are even better when they’re edible. :)

    I’ve discovered that home-grown broccoli has a richer, nuttier flavor than broccoli bought from the store. Yum! :)

  • angel


    cherubic, originally uploaded by pilgrimgirl.

    Picture: cherub statue sitting on a wooden bench in a garden. A spray of dark red roses cascading over the top of the statue.

    I believe it was CatGirl who rescued this little statue from a trash heap somewhere around the garden. It’s a pretty forlorn looking cherub–both wings are broken off and it’s cracked and dinged in various places. But it still manages to keep watch over the climbing roses and the various flowers sprouting in the center of the garden. From my favorite seat in the garden (on the flagstones by the rosebushes), I have a good view of the angel’s perch. Looking over that way never fails to cheer me.

    Today in Meeting someone’s sharing led me to contemplate Fear. For the past few years, I have let go of much of my fear-motivated behavior. I no longer worry much about what lies ahead in my future. I also don’t make choices based on fears of divine reprimand. Though I am still afraid of death, I am no longer afraid of any kind of reckoning or judgment in conjunction with my death.

    Instead, I am only afraid that this day will pass I won’t have taken the time to enjoy the beauty of it.

    So I will eat my lunch (some garden greens and broccoli) and head for the garden. I have weeds to pull and beans to plant. And I crave time to just be there…feeling the way the wind blows my hair across my shoulders.

  • sweet peas


    sweet peas, originally uploaded by pilgrimgirl.

    Picture: Purple sweet pea flowers against a background of blue sky.

    These sweet peas are growing in a neighbor’s garden. Today she let me cut a small bouquet, which I placed in a little cup on my nightstand along with a bit of blue cornflower and some mini pink and burgundy roses. My whole room smells so lovely now. :)

  • it’s a small world


    it’s a small world, originally uploaded by pilgrimgirl.

    Picture: closeup photo of the inside of a poppy with a small black beetle.

    Saw lots of bugs and critters at the garden today, including this little fellow who was chillin’ in the cup of a poppy flower.

  • budding


    budding, originally uploaded by pilgrimgirl.

    Today I went to the garden at noon. It was difficult to take good photos because of the harsh lighting. But I managed to get a few winners. It felt so good to be behind the camera lens again!

    While I was taking photos of some lovely ‘native plants’ (aka weeds) near a fencepost, one of the grandpas who gardens nearby came over and kinda laughed a bit at me(he doesn’t speak any English, so our interactions are usually limited to smiling and pointing). You see, my garden is all tumbly and random and just slightly shabby-looking. Whereas his has nary a weed in sight. I suspect that he thinks ‘my way’ of gardening is rather unproductive. But he is always so generous with sharing his produce with me, I suspect that he might just understand that some of us need to grow flowers, too.

  • Whenever I touch a velvet rose


    peace, originally uploaded by pilgrimgirl.

    Picture: a rose with yellow petals, tinged with pink and red at the edges.

    “My Heavenly Father Loves Me” was my all-time favorite Primary song when I was a little girl. One reason I loved it was because each time we sang it Miss Tammy would choose a handful of kids to hold pictures representing the images of the song: a bird, a rain shower, etc. and I would raise my hand high, hoping to be one of the children chosen to for the special job of holding a picture while we sang.

    It seems fitting to me that even now when I contemplate the song of a bird or the breeze rustling through the trees I am overwhelmed with gratitude for the beauty of the world and I feel closer to the divine.

    Whenever I hear, the song of a bird
    Or look at the blue, blue sky
    Whenever I feel the rain on my face
    Or the wind as it rushes by
    Whenever I touch a velvet rose
    Or walk by a lilac tree
    I’m glad that I live in this beautiful world
    Heavenly Father created for me.

  • feelin’ bubbly


    Picture: close-up of half of a soap bubble.

    If you need a momentary diversion, check out Just Bubbles.
    All bubbles, all the time. :)

  • pilgrimage


    canterbury cathedral & me, originally uploaded by pilgrimgirl.

    Today in Meeting I thought about my life’s journey. So many unexpected twists and serendipitous surprises! I think I’ve always been curious, a seeker, the type of person who relishes life and who savors each moment .

    At lunch today with Friends we spoke of our family’s trips to Europe. I shared the deep connection I feel to places like Paris and London. CatGirl added her insights from our various journeys abroad. Such lovely memories!

    As we talked I thought about how my travels are a pilgrimage of sorts–yes I’m sightseeing, but I’m also feeling to places on a more metaphysical level, using my imagination to get a greater sense of the people who inhabit these places now or who have lived there in years past. Canterbury cathedral was such a powerful space that my bones nearly vibrated with the thoughts, hopes, and dreams of the many pilgrims who had trod its well-worn steps. Our wizened guide opened our minds to the legends and lore that surround each stone in the structure. Our visit to the petite hospital where the infirm awaited their anticipated healing was heavy with the hopes of thousands of pilgrims, as was our cruise around the river running through the town. Such a holy place. And such a privilege to have experienced it with my loved ones.

    Someday I intend to make a pilgrimage journey on foot–to somewhere old, ancient and meaningful. But for now I navigate this path of my everyday life and I attempt to imbue each step with the fervor of my convictions. For I desire to live each moment as if in expectation of the miraculous, or as if a prelude to divinity.

    PS: Kudos to John and the many lovely photos that he’s taken of me during our travels together!
    PPS: Do note the presence of my favorite black sweater in this photo. :)

  • unfolding


    unfolding, originally uploaded by pilgrimgirl.

    Picture: Pink rosebud, about halfway opened. An ant crawling on the edge of one petal.

    This is a photo from last week. This morning I went to the garden but I didn’t take the camera with me. Rather than taking photos to share with you, I let myself wholly relax. I smelled, listened, and pondered.

    There was hummingbird who splashed in the spray from the hose, bumblebees in the lavender, a bright yellow bird flitting around in some weeds by the back fence. It was just lovely. So were the two strawberries that I picked and enjoyed while they were still sun-warm. So, so tasty.

  • just peachy…


    peachy pink, originally uploaded by pilgrimgirl.

    Picture: a photo of a branch of pink peach blossoms

  • lavender’s blue, dilly dilly


    lavender’s blue, originally uploaded by pilgrimgirl.

    Picture: a closeup of a single wand of lavender against a blurry background.

    Contemplating lavender tonite. For relaxation. :)

    I have two huge lavender bushes in my garden. I trimmed them back to a bundle of woody stems last fall and they are now back in full bloom. They smell absolutely delightful when I’m watering or at dusk when the scents rise from the plants in the evening breeze.