Petal by petal, each opening day
presenting itself in its perfect way.
Reveling in every moment sublime,
revealing nothing before its time.
The delicate softness, the biting thorn,
Something to celebrate, something to mourn.
Sticky sweet nectar the butterfly brings,
will also attract the honey bee stings.
The darkness, the light, embrace every day
Until, petal by petal, they all fall away.
In the coming year,
the only drama I want to see
is that of a bird taking flight,
or a riotous garden of blooms.
The only shade thrown is
sunlight through leaves.
The only influencer I want to follow
is the one who encourages me
to be still, the one who welcomes me
with branches spread wide,
like grandmother’s arms,
the one who caresses my face
with winds that whisper in high tree tops-
“Welcome home.”
© Amy Porterfield 2021
Autumn morning,
golden, delicious,
crisp as a ripe apple.
Rising sun
lifting a blanket of fog,
waking the world,
whispering secrets into the wind.
Listen.
Be still, and listen.
© Amy Porterfield 2021
I’ve been interested in photography as a hobby for a while now, but I have found it to be prohibitively expensive. So, several years ago my husband bought me some little lenses that stick on your phone’s camera. He found them on Groupon Goods for $7. You can read more about them here. The set came with a wide-angle lens and a fish-eye lens, but I have had the most fun with the little macro lens. We are having a real winter here for the first time in ages, and I was able to get up close and personal with some flurries.
We are expecting several more inches of snow over the next few days. This will be the biggest snow event we’ve seen since I was little, and I’m so excited for my kids to experience a “real” winter snow! Hopefully I’ll be able to get some good shots of the kids and the snow this week. Fingers crossed that we don’t lose power during all this. I made sure to get our bread and milk yesterday 🙂
Stay safe and warm, and enjoy the snow!
“Trees are poems that the earth writes upon the sky.” From Sand and Foam, Kahlil Gibran, 1926
Step softly into this sacred space
Of prayers, whisper-soft
Carried on bird’s wings
To heaven, shining through leaves
Of stained glass.
Step softly into this cathedral
And walk into
The welcoming arms
Of God.
© Amy Porterfield 2020
I happened upon this tree while I was walking my dog and I was so struck by it. The tree has grown up through the fence, and now the fence is a part of the tree. I thought, well, it’s kind of like life, isn’t it? We don’t get to choose the circumstances into which we are born, or the obstacles and challenges we will face. But we were meant to grow through them. Our challenges make us who we are. They grow us into who we are meant to be.
That, and it also looks like the tree ate the fence.
om nom nom…
In response to November Writing Prompts at https://puttingmyfeetinthedirt.com/.
I went for a walk today to take in what may be the last of the fall colors. Most of the trees are near naked now, but I did capture a few gems.
The colors have been beautiful this year, a literal feast for the eyes. Autumn is my favorite time of year.
Yellow butterflies
flutter on a summer breeze
Harbingers of Fall
It’s the end of the summer and these yellow butterflies are everywhere. I did some reading and I learned that they are Yellow Sulfur or cloudless sulfur butterflies, and they are migrating. And they are damn hard to photograph.
Oooh, look! Here’s one!
Ah! Here’s another!
Look at this one!
I finally managed to catch one in my dad’s azalea bush. So lovely…
I think they overwinter in Florida. I’d like to go with them.
Dormant trees sleeping
Silhouetted against the
Brilliant rose-gold dawn.
I love watching the sun rise. I see it every day and it is always exhilarating. My pictures can’t do it justice, and my words can’t communicate my feelings. Beginning every day in awe-struck wonder, excited like a little child, “Oh boy! I get to live in the world today!”
Simplicity truly is a gift.
playing in the dappled sunshine 