263: Lovely morning

Today's view of the pond

Try to be mindful, and let things take their natural course.  Then your mind will become still in any surroundings, like a clear forest pool.  All kinds of wonderful, rare animals will come to drink at the pool, and you will clearly see the nature of all things.  You will see many strange and wonderful things come and go, but you will be still.

~ Ajahn Chah

If the summer days to come are all like today, I think I could easily fall in love with summer.  We’re not officially into summer yet, but even with today’s mild temperatures, it looks and feels like summer, especially around the pond.

Tiger lilies in bloom

I went out early for my walk.  The temperature was a cool, mild 60 degrees with a nice breeze.  Thin clouds drifted across a beautiful blue sky.  As they moved out, the big, white puffy clouds moved in.  Although it was dewy, the air feels dry.

Daisy, daisy...

The air smells fresh and clean, except near the woods where it smells a lot like skunk.  The woods are dark, green, and the underbrush is tall, making it difficult to get to the creek.  I’m going to have to brave it sometime soon, just to get a photo of the creek on the solstice, but today was not the day to try to trudge down there.  I might need a machete to clear out the jungle-like plants growing on the path that leads down to the creek.

Jewel-like dew on the jewelweed

We have a young deer (a buck) living at the back of the pond.  We see him early in the morning, and then again in the evening, lying on a patch of grass under one of the trees in the corner to the right at the back.  Yesterday a mother and fawn spent some time resting in the timothy grass meadow.

My morning companion

There is so much life out there now.  It’s amazing.  Everywhere I look something is moving or growing or flowering.  It has been a few days since I took a slow walk around the pond and even in that short amount of time, things have changed considerably.

Yarrow

The yarrow is blooming.  Yarrow is said to represent healing and inspiration as well as protection.  It has a number of medicinal uses, from stopping nosebleeds to detoxifying the body.  There are some who believe if you make a wish on the first blossoms in a yarrow patch, it will come true.

Flowers have a mysterious and subtle influence upon the feelings, not unlike some strains of music.  They relax the tenseness of the mind.  They dissolve its vigor.

~ Henry Ward Beecher

Queen Anne's Lace

The Queen Anne’s Lace looks like it will be blooming soon.  Queen Anne’s Lace is, to me, the summer flower.  Once it starts to bloom, summer truly has arrived.

I have no idea what these flowers might be, but they are sure are pretty little things.

What a desolate place would be a world without flowers.  It would be a face without a smile; a feast without a welcome.  Are not flowers the stars of the earth?  Are not our stars the flowers of heaven?

~ Clara L. Balfour

Reflection by the cattails

And now, as promised, the mystery fruit (which is no longer a mystery).  Let’s start with the flowers, just to refresh our memories.

April's flowers

June's fruit

It’s an apricot tree!  We only have two apricots on the tree, but it’s a very small tree so I’m thrilled we got any fruit at all.

Yesterday's sunset

That’s about it from the Bogs for today.  I’ll be back tomorrow with another edition of my Great Outdoor Adventures.  Thanks for dropping by and joining me on my walks.

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