Such a beautiful breeze, beckons me out today,
\ndown to the pond to greet the day
\nLittle frog and Big frog are both out sunning themselves
\nand on the far side I see a toad
\ninching his way in
\nI am quite happy to see him
\nand I assure him
\nin my recent fascination with the frogs
\nI have not forgotten you lovely toads
\nas if buoyed by this confession
\na lovely little fellow hops into my path
\non his way to the garden
\nbeautifully brown, camouflaged perfectly with the dirt
\nI offer him praise on his attire
\nas it is now mid to late August
\na most unwelcome gang is gathering
\nand have begun to pester almost relentlessly
\nthe notorious yellow jackets
\nI try my best to ignore them, as my focus is
\nbeauty and Gratitude only
\nturning from the pond I see that my most loved thistle
\nhas now burst herself wide open
\nand is ready to fly
\nhow courageously beautiful she gleams in the sunlight
\nI know just how grateful the finches are for her seed
\nand as the breeze blows
\nthe sailing of these little garden fairies
\nis to me the sight of
\nJoy
\nnot many newcomers among the flowers lately
\nstill I show my appreciation
\nto the ones I see everyday, still beautiful
\nin all stages, coming
\nand going
\nit appears the apple tree won’t have much
\nto offer this year
\nprobably just the birds and squirrels
\nwill reap the bounty
\nand that’s ok
\nas it reminds us to appreciate the
\nmore ‘fruitful’ times
\nlessons from the apple tree
\nI look at all the things I should trim
\nlift and replant, deadhead
\nmaybe move
\ntake a few quick pictures
\nand watch the Blues as they gather
\nas well as the usual visitors
\nthe sun briefly shines through
\na sky full of clouds
\nand lights my smile
\nas well as my heart
\nI close my eyes and smile wide
\nat the sky
\nwith great Gratitude
\nto you this day ….<\/p>\n
and then a bee
\nsuddenly
\nstings me on the toe
\nand I am reminded<\/p>\n
head-in-the-clouds<\/p>\n
there are things to be done
\ntoday \u00a0\u2665<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"