Lady slippers

9 05 2012

How do you feel when you see these beauties?

Lady slippers.





Lady slippers

9 05 2012

The lady slippers are out! With all the blowdowns this past year, I hoped they would manage to erupt through the rubble. A group of fifteen to twenty plants, a third of them blooming, are yet again scattered across the curving slope of a conglomerate outcrop.

Lady slippers. The concept of orchids growing in New England is staggering. I think of them as tropic, difficult to raise, picky and delicate. Not winter-hardy or robust enough to flourish in our acidic woodlands.

And their blossom is, well…I’ll say it. Erotic. Scrotal. Yet girly pink. Maybe showing us the common ground shared by our two genders.

Native Americans, calling it moccasin flower, saw it with different eyes. Some said it could invoke spirit dreams just by its presence. Others used is as a sedative for mental health issues and women’s issues.

Me? I see them as a symbol of resistance, persistence, and spring. Welcome back, beautiful ones!

And you?





In Retrospect: A to Z Blogging Challenge

7 05 2012

How was it to participate and COMPLETE the April A to Z Blogging Challenge? Take a peek:

In Retrospect: A to Z Blogging Challenge.





Entering contest

6 05 2012

I’m going to enter my gypsy story into the “Dear Lucky Agent” contest.





HealingNatureCT workshops in June

5 05 2012

Do you miss that peaceful feeling you get from spending time outside?  Would you like to be inspired by nature? Are you interested in advocating for nature’s creatures? Join a four-class session, HealingNature, offered through the Middletown (CT) Park & Recreation Department for an introduction to ecotherapy to help us balance ourselves through connections with nature.

Instructor Beth Lapin brings 20 years experience as a field biologist and an equal amount as a social worker — and masters degrees in both – along with decades of experience leading outdoor excursions and therapeutic groups. “Not just another hike in the woods, although that’s included, we will use our senses to strengthen our connection with the natural world,” she explained.” Anyone with questions can contact her: Beth@HealingNatureCT.com or call 860 398 4470.

Sessions will meet on Thursdays in June from 6:30 until 8:00pm at Ron McCutcheon Park at Crystal Lake in Middletown, CT. Pre-register by May 21: send a completed registration form (email for copy) and check for $65 to Middletown Park & Recreation Department, 100 Riverview Center, #140, Middletown, CT 06457. Open to all mobility levels.





THankfulness

2 05 2012

Last but not least.

THankfulness.





SHadows

1 05 2012

 

We all have them. Can they help us? SHadows.





Zest

30 04 2012

 

Zest.

PS Don’t forget that I’ll be posting SH and TH also…stay tuned!





Yearning

28 04 2012

 

Every get this feeling? Yearning.





XOXO

27 04 2012

We all need ’em. Read it here.