No Strings Attached

In a busy government building,
People all around
Standing in line, shuffling their feet
No comfort to be found.

Some are here for the food stamps,
Some for much more
They all seem embarrassed
And watching the floor.

I lower my own eyes,
And look! What a find!
A beautiful heart!
What treasure! Divine!

My poetry is cheesy
But it's the best I could do ...
At least I tried!
How about you?

Mayonnaise Anyone?

The Jar!

The Lid!

Imagine my surprise when I opened the mayo jar to make a late-night sandwich and found these totally random hearts!

Windblown and Waterlogged

This week's pounding rains and yesterday's windstorm are just memories now ... I see blue sky this morning for the first time in a week! When I ventured outside, I saw storm damage everywhere ... branches and limbs lying in the street, mosses and lichens torn from treetops and thrown to the ground.

Then I noticed this little heart. It looks cold and wet, but it warms my soul.

Moss on Fir Needles

A mossy heart
Blown down by the wind
Rests for a moment
On a bed of fir needles
And twigs

Sexy Heart tattoo?

I couldn't help "dressing up" this old piece of wood to show off 'her' awesome heart tattoo! (You may need to enlarge this photo to see it clearly)

Tiffi's Treasure

"Okay, Tiff, we have 5 minutes to find a heart, can you help me search?" ... my niece and I, bound and determined to find a heart and only a few minutes to spare. She'd gone out of sight for just a moment when -- "Hey Aunt Clytie! I found one!". Sure enough on the bark of the tree around the corner ... a perfectly beautiful and perfectly new heart scratched lightly onto the tree! Good job Tiffi! Because you know what? There are times when you really need to make your own heart!!!

Thank you for that reminder, Tiff. I can't wait to see what you come up with next time!

Cradled in Bark

I wasn't sure this heart would show up in the photos (just barely, but it's there!). The sun was in the wrong spot; traffic was whizzing by the road 2 feet from my behind; my camera was having seizures; the neighbor's dog was running at me. I took 2 pictures, then fled. I am so very glad they turned out - better than I thought they would! I love the way the curling bark cradles the heart, trailing ribbons below.

Tombstone Heart

I did not expect to find any hearts here in this pioneer cemetery, but I found one anyway!

Another Lichen Heart

I found this heart on an old wind-fallen fir branch just inside the woods. I think it's perfect!

Victoria's Hearts

I totally overlooked these beautiful leaf (Cottonwood, I think) hearts, and walked on by. But my daughter saw them and pointed them out to me. Even though they are worn and torn, they are still Random Hearts.

Dainty Cloud

Thank you to Beth at Beth Niquette Fine Art for reminding me to not just look, but to see the clouds. Her cloud paintings are fantabulous!!! I remembered to look up this week, and found this beautiful heart ...

Towel

From the mundane to the totally unexpected! I was putting away towels this morning, rolling them up as I normally do, when I came across this heart. In fact, it's kind of a heart within a heart!

Sit Here A While

Okay, so it's a little mundane, and the chair back is a little worn and scratched ... but who would have expected to find a heart here?

My Puzzle Tree

When I was about 4 I was fascinated with pine trees, and the way their bark flaked off in the shapes of puzzle pieces. I must have collected a million of them when we took a driving trip to Yellowstone. That year for my birthday my parents took me to a nursery and I got to pick out my very own "puzzle tree", a small sapling almost as tall as I was.

A few (ahem!) years have passed since then, and my tree is all growed up, straight and tall. It still isn't old enough to "puzzle" very well, but I found my tree has given me a wonderful heart.

Gummed!

I had a long hard day today, with a lot of driving and waiting. During one of my 'waiting' times, I found this beautiful heart in the parking lot. Someone's used chewing gum ... poor thing -- chewed out, spat on, squashed flat, driven upon, never noticed ... and yet still, somehow, a stunning heart. There's a lesson here for me....

Back Porch

I felt like whining today.
The wind is gusting something fierce.
The rain is pouring down.
The low spots in the yard are mudpits.
How can I take my daily picture-taking walk?
When I can't see?
When I can't feel my hands?
When I can't even stand upright?

I don't feel like whining anymore.
The wind is still gusting something fierce.
The rain is still pouring down.
The mudpits are still growing.

But I found what I wanted to go out searching for ...

Right on my own back porch step!

Yellow Lichen

I found this yellow and red lichen heart the other day.
The sun made the colors seem to glow!
Alas, it would have not worked today.
Cold. Windy. Rainy.

Spilled Paint

There's a spot on the railroad tracks in town where some local painters apparently think it's okay to dump their paint ... they just pour it out randomly over the rocks ... I found this beautiful heart here, along with abandoned paint cans, dropcloths, and trash. It doesn't seem like anybody cares, because this mess has been here for months, added onto several times over. What a shame.

Stretchy Heart

I found these broken rubberbands near the compost bin, and couldn't help seeing the heart created!

Frog Eggs

My dad loves his little pond ... complete with itty bitty goldfish, and small but perfect water lilies (Not now, of course, but in the summer they are gorgeous!). This time of year, though, it appears our froggie friends are doing a little more than just waking up ...

I happened upon some frog egg clusters and decided to take some close-up pictures. That's when I noticed the heart! I'll have to keep a close watch on this one.

Search (for) Your Heart

I snapped this random picture of the front of the abandoned megachurch across the street. When I enlarged it, I noticed a heart. Can you find it? Hint: It's broken ...

I don't want this apple anymore

My daughter handed me her apple after taking several bites admonishing me to "please finish this, I'm full". Then she snatched it back -- "Wait! There's a heart here, mom!". Sure enough, she had given me a beautiful heart!

Fluffy Heart

Does this heart make my butt look fat?

By the way meet the heart-shaped fluffy butt of one of my Ladies. Isn't she cute? She sleeps on the wood box in front of the house with her good friend "Vulture Chicken" and they spend hours staring at us through the window. Kinda creepy sometimes, but they seem so happy and safe there.

Hands Holding Heart

This amazes me.
Something or someone brushing against an old metal chiller ...
Creates the image of
Arms ... hands holding a heart!
Holding it out to me!
Holding it out to you!

Yes, Deer

Meandering through muck and mulch, following whatever trail I came to ...
What should I find but the much used trail of deer ...
Which, much to my ultimate happiness ...
Yielded this one perfect heart ...

Which shall not compare to the hearts submitted ...
By my "deer" and 'heart'y (yet loonie) friends ...
Of ultimate coolness and imagination ...

http://paintedgarden.blogspot.com/

and ...

http://nostalgiatodayandyesterday.blogspot.com

I thank you heartily. You have lived up well to the challenge from Random Stuff and Beth Niquette Fine Art!

Antsy

Okay, I admit it ... I broke my own rules! I set this one up! We had a sudden invasion of sugar ants this morning and I just couldn't resist!

Melted Plastic

How did this partially melted plastic bottle end up in the woods? Who knows ... but it now resides RIP in my recycle bin, where it should have been from the beginning. Except then I wouldn't have seen the heart of the bottle ...

Bird Bop

Okay, so I couldn't be outdone by my sister Beth's "elk dung" heart! So without fanfare, I present "bird bop" heart! It is a little blurry, but I guess that's okay ... maybe even a blessing?

Another Burning Heart

In trying to capture another heart in the hearth ... I noticed tiny speckles of light on the end of a piece of wood ... could they be? ... I enlarged ... yes! they are! Little burning hearts all over!

Burning Hearts

Hearth Ash Heart

Burning Heart

We use only a wood fireplace for heat in the house. Imagine my surprise to find these hearts here!

Barred!

Hearts can be found in the most unexpected places. I found this barred window in the old town part of Oregon City in an alley near the courthouse. Just beneath the barred window, I found this curious pile of clothing. They don't really go together, but they do.

Another Mushroom

I am always delighted at how Nature distributes her hearts. I am thankful to be given the "heart" to find them!

Flourescence

I found this heart amidst the broken fluorescent light fixtures at the abandoned church building across the street. I really like the way the heart truly reflects what is underneath ...