Caterpillar Cafe

For the past week, tiny green wiggly caterpillars have been drifting down from the trees on silken threads. They must be getting ready for the biggest change in their little lives ... after eating these hearts into the filbert leaves (yes, there is more than one heart here!).

Tiiimmmmmberrrrrr!!!

The old birch tree had to go. During the last windstorm it leaned closer and closer to the house, surely to go completely over next time. After a brief ceremony (which consisted of tying a rope to the tree, the other end to the car, my brother starting a chainsaw -- GO!), the tree came down. Safely. And missed the house. After it was cut up, we found the reason for its demise -- a rotten spot, in the shape of a heart. I tried to show my mom, but her response was "I'll read about it in your blog!!!" Does she know me or what?

The Root of the Matter

I nearly tripped on this exposed root yesterday morning. When I looked down to see what I stumbled on, these beautiful little hearts were staring back at me!

Dandelion Fluff

I am still amazed that my little camera caught this dandelion (it doesn't do movement well). The wind was blowing, and the fluff was fluffing away. Only later did I recognize that the center was a very fat but still recognizable heart!

I Yam What I Yam!

I brought home some massive sweet potato "yams" from the Gleaners last Friday. Dad decided to cook one, but had to cut it into pieces so it would fit into the microwave. He gave me a piece ... I don't think he realized he gave me a heart within a heart yam!!!

Broken Bracken

I hated to see this bracken fern broken off from the stem, just left on the ground to dry up and blow away. Then I noticed it's shape ......

Fir Needles Blown in the Wind

On a lonely cement slab, exposed to the elements, fir needles have been blown by the wind and shaped by the rain into a heart.

I like the way this heart lies on the crack in the cement, sort of like a bandage of love.

For My Friends ...

There are times in life
When my camera is silent
Colors drained from the day
Words empty.

It is during these times
That YOUR friendship becomes
Treasured
The highlight of my day!

Thank you all
Friends old and new
- Most never met in person -
From the bottom of my heart!

(Please click to enlarge this photo -
My heart for you)

Rhododendron

The rhododendron plant beneath the oak tree has been there for years ... but the flower clusters this year are massive = and "hearty"!

Moon Over Heart

It's my cherry tree again
Giving me another heart!
Adding to the charm
The moon!
Just above, enjoying the moment!

The Fine Heart of Paintball Wars

Late last week some young warriors overtook the abandoned church in a valiant battle, leaving behind their spent and unspent ammunition -- paintballs! As I was perusing their leavings ... okay I was running around jumping on unused paintballs making them EXPLODE underfoot!!! ... I found this lone heart on a rare unbroken window.

White Lilacs

The scent of lilacs takes me back
To my childhood --

Grammie's house
Surrounded by lilac trees, purple ones

White lilacs are like Grammie
Her soft fragrant beautiful white hair

I miss her.
But I still have this lilac heart.

To remind me.

Scrap Wood

A friend of ours knew we were having a firewood shortage this late cool spring. He had a load of scrap siding that he was going to bring to the dump, and offered it to us instead. It burns fast and hot, just the sort of wood we need for a short warm fire on cool mornings before the day heats up. I found this stylish heart on one of the scraps we were breaking up the other day.

Thank you, Don.

Kicked In Wall

The rest of this wall at the abandoned church has been completely destroyed, but the vandals left this heart.

Wooden Heart(s)

I found these hearts on a piece of log in the woodpile. They're almost too pretty to burn! Shhhhh maybe I can sneak this one away to my little garden area. Happy happy hearts! Safe at last! And I don't think anybody noticed!

Cheesecake "Sweet"heart!

See the heart I found on my birthday cake? I also found a beautiful red bird! The best birthday cake ever!

Foaming River

Do you see the hearts here in the foam?

A boat tour heading upriver to see the falls close up. I didn't realize until later that I also captured a beautiful heart in the upper right corner!

Look to the Clouds ...

Once again I thank my sissie-kins Beth and her awesome cloud pictures for reminding me to look up. Yes, I do tend to walk around with my nose to the pavement and sometimes forget there is life above. I find all sorts of interesting things on the ground, but looking up yields its own rewards of outstanding beauty - and sometimes amazing hearts!

Charmed!

I grabbed my umbrella and went out for a walk. It was better than sitting in the car for 2 hours, waiting for their class to be over. The wind tousled my hair into an unmanageable mop, and I must have looked a sight! At the bus stop, a bunch of scary looking goth wannabees lurked and I was a little nervous, walking with my head down to avoid meeting their eyes. That's when I saw a flash from the sidewalk and there was this beautiful heart charm. I stopped caring about the scary people ... after all, they are just people trying to make it in their own worlds. It's all in the perception! I took the picture, then snatched up my hearty prize and decided to walk by the river instead.

The water was high because of the recent heavy rains. There were numerous pieces of driftwood washed onto the boat ramp. But only one of them had this beautiful heart. For a rainy yucky day, it was certainly a beautiful one!

Eeensy Weensy Brand New Heart

I found this tiny new heart yesterday on a small tree. Like all tiny things, it was so precious, so special, so full of wonder. And like so many tiny new things, it was gone today. Nearly half grown already! Which shows us that we should treasure the little things in life -- because they grow so fast! If we don't concentrate on the beauty in front of us, we might very well miss out on something totally wonderful.

Leafy Heart After Rain

Last fall's leaves
Caught beneath the oak
Waiting for me
To capture their heart!

Buttons, flower and mushroom

I found these while cleaning out some boxes of old stuff. I don't think they make elegant buttons like this anymore - not that I've seen.

If you look very carefully, you can see that the raindrop caught in this tiny forget-me-not flower takes on the shape of a heart.

Can you stand another mushroom heart? I can!