A Little Gratitude

There is so much we overlook, while the abundance around us continues to shimmer, on its own.

Naomi Shihab Nye

It’s Thanksgiving in the United States as I write this week, so I thought I would just share a few images that I’ve taken over the past few weeks that made me grateful- just a few little things that made me smile as I was walking. I hope they make you smile, too.

If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough.

Meister Eckhart

Thank you so much for being here. I will see you next week!

Wandering With Wally

I haven't been everywhere, but it's on my list.

Susan Sontag

Wandering With Wally

Wally is a tiny walrus

A plastic one at that

He doesn’t speak, but he captures hearts-

My silent diplomat

I have to carry him everywhere -

His feet were not made for walking

He soulfully stares as we wander the world

from the corner of my pocket.

He probably wishes it was cooler

In the places we go together,

But he doesn’t complain; he just goes along

No matter what the weather.

A diplomat, my Wally is -

He’s always making friends

So I always take him with me

When I go to explore new lands.

Overlooking the Atlantic on the way to A Guarda in Spain along the Portuguese El Camino

Resting on a cliff in the Cies Islands National Park in Galicia

Wally carrying a little burden on the Portuguese Way…

Sitting on a signpost along the Portuguese El Camino.

In Italy - sitting on a terrace overlooking the mountains in Emilia Romagna

Resting among the leaves on a sidewalk in Fort Worth

Wandering through a unique historic district of Fort Worth, Wally posed on an outdoor tap dance stage, and beneath the eggplant at a community garden.

We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.

George Bernard Shaw

I’ve been traveling a lot this fall - to Europe for three weeks, then a quick trip to Indiana and then Texas for my mom’s 80th birthday. Everywhere I go, I bring Wally with me. I found him in a rest area parking lot on a road trip a couple of years ago - he was a little dirty, a little banged up, but adorable. (Click Here to see the first Wally post). Over the past couple years, he’s been stuffed in my luggage, backpack; purse, pockets and/or camera bag - sometimes I just carry him in my hand while I’m walking or running. I’m always looking for photo ops for him while I’m out wandering. He’s very photogenic. He lightens my mood and makes other people smile. Maybe they just think I’m crazy. Either way, it’s ok - I learn a lot by trying to put him into a scene; to have a little fun with perspective, to inject a sense of humor into my travels. I hope you enjoy the results.

Thank you so much for being here! I will see you next week!

Wistfully watching the sun rise over the mountains in Emilia-Romagna, Italy.

Return of the Sandhill Crane

There is symbolic as well as actual beauty in the migration of the birds, the ebb and flow of the tides, the folded bud ready for the spring. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature - the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after the winter.

Rachel Carson (The Sense of Wonder)

Every year hundreds of sandhill cranes return to these fields. It’s a small town, and a small area of a small town, and they have come here for as long as anyone can remember.

Feathers so fine and smooth along the neck scallop at the shoulder then lengthen across the back until at the tail, each one is long and distinct, gracefully rounding.

They know I am here.

Everybody grooming for the camera, while the bodyguard keeps the paparazzi away. (me, anthropomorphizing)

Two heads are better than one.

It’s not exactly graceful when they come in for a landing…

She’s skeptical…

But they do manage to land…

With so many birds in one place, sometimes feathers get ruffled - these birds were just walking around minding their own business when a couple decided to stir up some trouble.

So many giant birds in one place. It’s magical.

The earth was dancing with the cranes, and the low sun, and the wind and sky.

Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings

I know the sandhill cranes come here every year (if you want to know more about them, click here), but I don’t always go to see them, even though it is only a few miles from my house. This year, an overpass on the road I usually take is being repaired, and the detour takes me past the fields where they land along their migration route. So, I’ve seen them nearly every day for the past few weeks. I kept thinking I should stop and get some pictures, so one warm day last week I brought my camera and a tripod along with me. It was hard to decide where to focus. There were literally hundreds of birds in the shorn fields. I hope I chose well - and you enjoy the pictures.

Thank you so much for being here! I will see you next week!