Birdhouse

This bird box was originally meant to entice native bluebirds back into our area.

The local squirrels, always on the watch for a warm comfy place to live, have altered the opening - into a heart!

Dried Puddle

Just a hint
Of a heart
Here in the gravel
Of the parking lot.

If I found it again today
It would be overflowing
Thunderstorms
Rain. Rain. Rain. Rain.

But yesterday
It was there
Waiting to be filled
With today's abundance.

Avocado Pits

I was making a follow-up appointment for my uncle at the eye doctor when these beautiful hearts caught my eye. I asked about them, and the receptionist told me one of their customers carved them himself - out of avocado pits!!!

What a wonderful idea!

I asked if I could take a picture of them and she said yes. I don't remember her name, but I thank her from the bottom of my avocado pit!!!

I didn't notice the fortune taped in front of the hearts until later. It reads "You find beauty in ordinary things. Appreciate this gift." Perfect.

Farmers Market Cabbage

I came across the Portland Farmers Market quite by accident while waiting for my uncle to have cataract surgery. It was jammed with people (lunch hour and all). The merchants were doing a booming business.

I found this container filled with beautiful cabbages. As I looked closer, I saw the heart.

Bark

One of the first rules I set for myself for this blog was that I cannot set up a shot of a heart. They have to be unexpected, random shots that I find by accident.

This heart could have been set up, but it wasn't! It was sitting on the tarp covering the woodpile - just as you see it!

I could hardly believe it was just waiting for me.

Mirrors of the Soul

Hearts
Random patterns in chaos
Vivid beauty in ugliness
When I see a truly remarkable heart
I think of you -
All of you.
My friends.
Without your encouragement,
My hearts would stay hidden
In my camera.

Tired and Bored ...

"Tired"

Er, "Board". Tee hee.

Burlap Bag

Something got spilled on my daughter's cute little burlap bag. When I unfolded it, I found this totally random, stunningly perfect heart.

Acorn Squash

Even dinnertime can be "hearty"!
Check out these acorn squashes.
They were delicious, by the way.

Crraacckkk!
Another log met the log splitter!
To become a warm fire,
Heating our house, protecting us from the cold.

To see a heart here was the last thing I expected.
I enlarged the picture to see the details ...
and found another teensy tiny heart, just to the left of the one I first saw.

Today I am blessed.
Today I am warm.
In more ways than one.

A Hearty Walk With Sissie

Last weekend my sister Beth and I went for a long walk in the woods. What fun we had tramping through the "playgrounds" of our growing-up years. Hearts were everywhere that day, some captured on film, some not.

Cedar Tree

An old cedar tree, arms lifted to heaven, offered a surprise glimpse into its heart.

Set in Concrete

Sometimes a heart
Is just a vague impression
Set in concrete
Or a reflection
If you move just a little
It can disappear
Or you may never see it at all.

Which is probably why I see "random" hearts
Instead of just "obvious" ones.

This heart rocks!

Uncle Dale doesn't drive ... so I had to take him to the doctor's office and wait for his appointment to be over. Sitting was never fun, so I decided to take a short walk. It was well worth the effort when I spied the heart in this retaining wall nearby.