Flowers!

I just love it when these bloom! Such joyful flowers!

Amethyst Falls Wisteria

Stone and Flora

We hope to create a lush haven in the area of our small stone terraced beds; many more hosta are needed, as well as other shade-loving plants. The steep hill to its far side needs a hardy ground cover.

Most of our small property consists of this steep, rocky slope; very few places are level, and nearly all areas are in shade once spring has done its dance of leafing.

We will take our time and do our best. It's been many years since previous owners provided much in the way of TLC to either house or property. May our efforts be blessed.

I am, however, inspired by today's post "April Showers" over at the Vicki Lane Mysteries blog, showing areas of her farm in North Carolina bedecked by lush greenery!

The Cycles of Spring

I've been delighted this spring, witnessing the cycles of growth all around me in yard and woods. First were the daffodils and forsythia, then came the flowers of vinca vine and redbuds; several trees leafed out quite early, including our broad-canopied mystery tree near the front porch, while others remained externally dormant. Soon appeared wild sweet william near the cultivated tulips, and now emerge the pastel wild geraniums along with the dogwood whose large white petals are now dancing in the breeze instead of the small purple ones of the redbuds.

Having spent most of my adult life among coniferous forests in Colorado and Maine, I'd little idea of how the deciduous trees pulsed into life in their own rhythms. The hickory, walnut, and oak trees are leafing out last, our heavy weekend rain giving them a burst of energy!

So many more plants and trees to become acquainted with!

Flower Therapy for Cats

Blooming Cholla

The many varieties of Cholla are blooming, as is the Ocotillo, and the Prickly Pear is just starting. Along with myriad other plants, these desert survivors continue to blossom and thrive, which is still amazing to me since we haven't received any rain in weeks. As I walked through the desert, splashes of bright color met me in every direction.

Don't the Ocotillo flowers look like birds?

Red Flowers on Cholla Cactus

Cholla, Ocotillo and a young Saguaro

Yellow Flowers on Cholla Cactus

I don't know what this bush is but it's everywhere!

The Bottlebrush tree in our yard, in full bloom!

Starting to Show

Abundance of flowers just starting to show, to burst out.

Vital, yellow, green ... stamens extending far beyond the petals

and waggling in the wind

shaking with the barest hint of air upon them

profuse and prominent.

Not only does this agave produce

phallic symbol extraordinaire,

the thousands of blossoms shoot forth boldly

like a rush of sperm all striving to survive.

The agave says in its awareness of the

union of sacred masculine and divine feminine energies ...

"Before I die, I am going to sow everything I've got,

producing seeds galore.

For years I've lived a steady life, growing, expanding, building, patient, nurturing.

Now, as I near death, now is the time to give back in profusion.

I feel the need to produce as many seeds of wisdom as possible, 

to spread myself around, to move and be transported elsewhere, everywhere,

my seeds going wherever there is the potential for growth."

Between Rocks and a Hard Place

Desert Blooms

Fairy Duster

Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum

Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum

Tohono Chul Park, Tucson

Spike

Spike has grown fairy flowers -- tiny, yellow, beloved of bees. The five-petal flowers huddle along the edges, between the barbs, protruding from the thin edge rather than the soft center. A delicate display of darlings that arch their backs in the sunshine, open-hearted, and smiling into breath. 

The golden ginger in my tea bites the tip of my tongue like one of the barbs protecting diminutive flowers that often bunch in threes on satin skin, contrast dancing hand-in-hand. 

The flowers speak as one: 

“I am the container for the mid-spaces, the nectar of the in-betweens for those rushing edges and intense barbs. I blossom in the middle of extremes, often out on a ledge of vision and inspiration, inhaling every breeze and nuance of color that plummets from the sky or pushes up from the earth as She breathes. My nibs have bloomed in a moment of daring. I offer my soma to the occasional stray bee who has flown off his path seeking something more than the others in his hive. Will he tell others about me? He has to make lots of stops, pausing as he buzzes from one fragile waxen flower to another, picking up bitty amounts of precious pollen one pinhead dot at a time. He flies away but then comes right back ... “just a little more” he says and then gathers. Does he wonder if he will ever get enough? I rest in the peace of offering what I have created, blooming through both dark and light.”

Beauty

When the flower wilts,

as it must,

it is not beauty that passes away

but merely the form

on which

beauty is reflected.

~ Pandit Vamadeva Shastri

Poppy

Bud in the heart ... and in the flower ...
where in every moment her love is a shower
of blessings that guide us and share in the night
the wisdom of peace over power of might
and so is the little one growing in height
receiving the blessing of full moon's cool light.
See the bud opening from sleeping in white,
so tiny and faithful, a golden delight.


     Clear and sweet is the message of the flower bud, awaiting its turn to shine yet already drawing to it the butterflies and hummingbirds, all hovering to find out who she will be and what gifts she brings into their world. Their glorious colors mingle with hers ... she is darker at first, contracted, arms wrapped around herself, also waiting in this moment yet already knowing her purpose that rises upon the wind, her scent going out, seeking and showing.
     She allows the food she needs to flow gently into her roots and leaves but she doesn't have to do anything except open to the bounty all around for she has adapted and what others see as scarcity, she sees as opportunity and a serene wisdom in knowing now is her time. Now is her moment in the sun before the long sleep of the cycles that continue, repeating themselves within the illusion of form that is cherished.

     I open a random book and read " ... your fleeting steps kiss the dust of this world into sweetness ... "

     There is a mesmerizing appeal to reading Rabindranath Tagore (the quote is from The Fugitive). His words flow like poetry yet their rhythm is that of prose holding itself proud and tall upon the stems of Divine flowers, second to none and absent the rigid affectations of some poems that spit in short, concise stutters upon the page as if they fear saying too much and expect us to glean their hidden intent by digging without the proper tools (I love poetry but some definitely has this effect upon me). But Tagore's writing ... what a glorious feeling to watch the shapes of the words and sentences bend in an arc that covers the pages like a rainbow, the imagery heart-felt. It is as if Tagore knew the intimacy of the Sacred World and the Divine Source as One and merely opened himself to their harmony.

______________

I remain devoted to the lovely Arizona Poppy and her sweetness. :-)

A Simple Sip

Drink from the flowering chalice of gold, 

never to die and never grow old,

for sunshine and light are always here,

only our form may fade ... disappear.

So sip from the cup of awakening Soul,

feeling the warmth in which we are Whole.

     She opens her arms and offers all she is, ever allowing and loving, accepting the journey for what it will be and knowing the warmth of love will soften and gentle the rigid contours of the resistance that fell from the sky when we thought we had to protect ourselves.

     As the five yellow petals cup her warmth, they welcome us into the center where orange overlay is sweet as marmalade and hold us softly. There are no other concerns, only the love that rests at the center, warm with welcome and the wrinkles in the petals like tissue paper that tear easily. 

     Easily uprooted by the winds and carried somewhere unexpected yet the sun emerges after the rain and the roots seek new soil, delicate thread tendrils winding through the rock with soft caress and they settle to bloom again, one at a time; some tiny, some larger, yet so similar are they really different sizes or is it illusion?

     Much green upholds the slender stem that attaches to the blossom tentatively. Lots of tiny leaves line themselves up along the stronger stems in graduating narrow ovals, barely allowing any distance between them, they are a strong community, joined together to nourish and uphold the light of wisdom and the birth of warm embrace to those who seek the sweet nectar of awakening.

     The petal-cup curves with gentle touch, firm at first as if to catch the morning dew but only receives the rare raindrop for dew is unknown here. And yet, she breathes in and out a whisper of faith. Her time is now and she cannot wait for the water that may not arrive, she has to dance now for now is all she has.

     A dainty chalice warm with welcome. Petals of gold rays of sunshine melted and molded into the flower of the sun.

     Petals of gold, a sunshine mold, made from peace, our heart to hold. 

     Leaves of green that overlay while they grow and play in the shadow of the sun, unborn yet One.

     Feel the warmth of changing world within the flower the anther twirls, dancing on the curving stage where none can harm and there is no age. For only now is what we know, when dancing in the bloom that shows us how to be warm with welcome in the lee of wind and rock and burning sun ... warming, holding, all are One.

     A ladder do the leaves begin, overlaid long and thin, graduating as they grow into the branch of all we know, one lesson learned upon the other, family, friends, commune together. Watch the little figures grow, expanding with a gentle flow of green distinctive edges showing, yet reliant upon the one defiant. All together, they are stronger and can support the culmination of their life as One that rises high on slender stem to catch the eye, a vision splendid only dreamed and come to life. 

     A magic in this little flower, living, dying, within a few short hours. To be here, now, to rise and fall, as the fragile tissue paper petals dry and thin and tear becoming ragged and then shriveling into a papery shell of what it once was, to fall into dirt or fly upon the wind carrying it seeds, its message far away and await its turn to warmly welcome once again within the natural flow in faith.

Song of the World through Flowers

Here and now, in this beautiful moment, follow the rhythm of the pen and the ink, the words that flow in their lines and swirls ...

Photo Courtesy of Green Hope Farm
all rights reserved 2012

I am amazed at all the world
feeling so free and light this morning--
odd in that the humidity is heavy 
this monsoon day from rain last night. 


The breeze carries messages of moisture
the 'memory of water'
that holds the vibrations
rhythms of flowers plants birds mammals
their voices and the howls of coyotes
and the cooing of doves 
echoing across the desert in song.


Just imagine the particles of water 
flowing in the air currents
holding the song of a flower's transcendence
into more than what we see
feel the touch of a thousand blooms 
as they drift upon the air
able to follow the rhythms of life
and world far from where they
grew and bloomed.


Their subtle energy patterns 
dancing upon the water molecules 
like fairies upon the fields of forever
in distant memory when we were children
and all was ephemeral and magical.


Sitting outside in the humidity
can we feel the rhythm of drums from long ago
that left their prints within the earth
that provides nourishment to the to
slender flower stalk that
when it blooms
beats with the hearts of millions
past present and future?


All we need to do is open
be present to the wonders of Nature
the amazing orchestra that is Gaia
upon the winds and 
within the rivers and oceans
where high above in the mountains 
a solitary flower nods her head and the
whole world bursts into song
carried upon the wings of a butterfly.

Photo Courtesy of Green Hope Farm
all rights reserved 2012

We are blessed with incredible wonders.
Can we feel the rhythm?
... the ebb and flow, the flutes and drums and 
strings of theory that wise ones knew in the beginning
that have been reborn into the present?


Feel the rhythm of blood 
flowing with the wet air
hear the thunder of awareness 
sharpen our senses
and the bolts of lightning illuminate our souls 
as we feel the charge chase itself 
upon our spines
and going deep, deep into Mother Earth
connecting the songs of all life as One.


We synchronize
and harmonize
and offer up space for solos
that we honor
who then step aside for the next unique display of love
bound in courtship with all life in Community.
This is feeling the rhythm
the pulse of the Universe
of the Divine
that is pounding and rushing at one moment
then gently cascading the next into a
sweet slumbering stillness
where we can hear the voice of the flowers
and the rocks and billions of organisms 
creating a wonderland of labyrinthine passages
beneath our feet and
within our own bodies 
where we all live in harmony
recognizing when we stumble that another will pick up the thread
the tune of another melody just as valuable
just as amazing.


Feel the rhythm of the world 
dancing in and out of existence 
with each breath, each thought---
my thought or yours or the thoughts 
of the quail walking the wall in witness to Life.


Feel the perfect rhythm that is Gaia manifest 
and we know the song in our own hearts ...
we listen and hear Her voice calling and 
we join in the rapture of Life.

Photo Courtesy of Green Hope Farm
all rights reserved 2012

When I partake of flower essences
it is as if I open to feel the cosmic rhythm 
that is carried through them and birthed into the world, 
their pure love and grace of abundance. 
When they offer their subtle energy into the world, 
and into a form that connects us all
---the precious water of Mother's Womb---
then they are singing the rhythm of healing and harmony 
into the Song of the World.
And sometimes, 
in those rare moments when we feel 
completely open and vulnerable and willing, 
we feel their rhythm 
across the illusory bounds of time and space 
and millions of flowers 
sing us into the Rhythm of Life.










______________________
I could say that this piece began this morning from a Clarity Works prompt "feel the rhythm" and I simply followed the beat ... but it was far more than that, and began much earlier. The past several days have seen me settling so peacefully into Self and Space that I once more felt the flowers calling me through their Essences. Specifically, it was the Green Hope Farm Flower Essences calling my body-electric and I give thanks to the Flowers, their Angels and Elementals, and the magic that is Molly and those who join her in providing their offerings of healing Essence.

radiating light from our core

Another photo of "Bella" our Bottlebrush tree ... 

I also made a flower essence from her, and you can read the messages she shared with me HERE.

May your Light shine brightly!

Center of the Circle

Desert Willow (chilopsis linearis)
photo courtesy Wikimedia Commons

"Do you want to improve the world?
I don't think it can be done.
The world is sacred.
It can't be improved.
If you tamper with it, you'll ruin it.
If you treat it like an object, you'll lose it.
. . . 
The Master sees things as they are,
without trying to control them.
She lets them go their own way,
and resides at the center of the circle."


~ Tao Te Ching #29, Stephen Mitchell


      I knew when I woke yesterday morning that it would be a day of respite . . .

soft and gray

mist at play

soothing senses deep

calm the day

Her gentle ways

bring rest and silent sleep

     The muffled sounds wrapped around me like a fleecy blanket that cocooned me from the world and my own anxieties, easing me into a space of stillness where could rejuvenate . . . slowly, easily, quietly. Yesterday, not even any music playing, only the breath of life, the sighs of contentment, the exquisite sense of slumbering senses as muscles relaxed, tension waned, release came and a curtain of pure peace was draped upon my soul. Without pushing myself, I spent most of the day writing, reading and snuggling with the animals.

     The final essence I read about as dusk eased into the house was Desert Willow and the flower's image enthralled me even before I read of its healing energies; it's "harmonizing qualities are those of being flexible, feeling respite and 'in the flow' of life, moving to the perspective of comfort and ease no matter what the situation" (Desert Alchemy Flower Essences). I paused to meditate upon this beautiful, gentle plant and Her spirit, feeling Her resonance. 

     Then, before falling asleep, I opened the Tao to where I had left off reading many weeks ago, and the passage quoted above was the one revealed. I repeated the last two sentences of it over and over, in meditation, and felt the 'three control issues' I'd been struggling with this week simply melt away. 

Yarrow

www.fesflowers.com

A few years ago, Yarrow seemed to be reaching out to me, asking me to include her in the sunshine flower bed. I accepted her invitation and selected four varieties. I was fascinated by them -- their strength and subtlety, the smallness of the flowers belying their sturdiness, and I loved how they created a delightful canopy of blooms atop the tall stem.

With all the issues recently relating to environmental stress and potential radiation increases, I turned to Gaia and Her flowers. Within the world of vibration and energy, the flowers sing of harmony and healing, flooding our being with joy. And Flower Essences are able to share these blessings from blooms across the country or around the world.

There are many vibrational remedies and essences that will help to alleviate the imbalances created within our systems by an overload of radiation and/or environmental toxins. Which one(s) I use and what approach I take with myself, the animals or clients, depends upon where my inner guide is leading me in each individual situation.

Because I was once again feeling a strong call by Yarrow, I sought out options for this particular Flower Essence. Recalling that FES had created a blend, although I hadn't explored very many of their essences (there are many flower essence lines available!), I bought a bottle of Yarrow Environmental Essence ("YES") and waited eagerly for its arrival.

YES is a fabulous formula! With the first four drops, I felt it moving through my system smoothly and powerfully; and I loved the odd taste which confirmed that I needed the cleansing, self-healing energy shared by the flowers, plants and crystalline structures within this blend. The sensation reminded me of how, when the Yarrow in my flower bed blooms, I immediately feel like a breath of fresh air has moved through me like Mother Nature's broom! I will continue dosing for a week or so, or until I sense that the clearing I needed can continue on its own without the subtle catalyst shared by the flowers.

Just say YES!

Peace

SoulCards(c) Deborah Koff-Chapin

I sit upon the incline, dreaming of life in its mysterious ups and downs.
Below lay the twinkling sea of opportunity, glittering in its invitation.
Yet I look up to the heavens, an Auroric night of flashing insight . . . openings into Being.
I feel expansion and light as I sit in the presence of Gaia.
Peace.


____________

This image represents a mirror of my Soul. I remember when I used to hike the mountains; I remember finding an outcropping and just sitting, looking, listening, feeling. Not for extended periods of time back then, but it was a vital form of renewal and rejuvenation . . . to pause in peace.

I sit at ease and feel the breeze within the pause of peace.
I raise my face into Her Grace where all resolves without a trace.
And sitting here I feel no fear for She has dried my tears.
So now I feel my heart can heal for Love is all that's real.

Chiana

A simple message, a precious image, and one I can appreciate deeply today as we prepare to assist one of my beloved companions in the transition out of her current form. Chiana is ready, has been for a while probably, and so am I--finally.

I've lived with many incredible companion animals over the years, present in the transitions for fifteen of these precious souls, yet each one is unique and the decision to assist has never been easy--probably never will be, and perhaps that is as it must be. The journey of each soul is a treasure.

photo courtesy Green Hope Farm,
all rights reserved

I was drawn intensely this week, thanks to Molly's timely blog post, to obtain a bottle of Coralita, a Green Hope Farm Flower Essence--to untangle my emotions, to receive clarity--and I feel Coralita has been an angel, a lovely source of peace and presence for which I'm very grateful. Sometimes I feel like there are so many strands running through my life that I get all tangled in them, like a kitten playing with a ball of yarn . . . until it becomes dangerous and hard to step out of, the threads clinging and confusing. The more I would move, the more knotted they became. And the only way to find freedom is to relax, accept, let the vibrations be pure; to accept and let the strands fall away like magic for they have only the energy I feed to them, these thoughts or worries or even joys when there are too many to manage without beautiful clarity. Coralita helped me to be still, feel the clearing and supportive vibrations, be present.

As in the SoulCard image, I pause now, contemplate and light fills my mind, sweeping away the overwhelm, leaving only peace and love. I allow my heart to open . . . and it is filled with love.

Choose to be a Wallflower

I am a flower near the wall

with bright and cheerful face.

This is my choice, I say to all,

to harmonize this space.

I started thinking about the term "wallflower" and how it has such negative connotations, or it certainly did when I was a girl. And yet, the original Wallflower or Cheiranthus cheiri is a beautiful, sweet-smelling flower often growing along old rock walls or near castles, providing a lovely contrast to the sturdy stone. The figurative apparently came into use first in an 1820 work by a woman writing to describe those young ladies sitting on the wall at a dance.

But you know what? In this day and age, where women are free to ask someone else to dance rather than sit around waiting, and where women have the choice to participate or not in a party, meeting or group function, the negative energy can be overthrown.

I am reclaiming and empowering the term "wallflower" and returning it to a place of honor and beauty!

My selected definition of a wallflower?

"Someone who enhances or embellishes the scene

without choosing to participate directly."

________________

Photo Copyright © 2005 David Monniaux

shooting star synchronicity

This synchronicity thing always amazes me. Let me share...

I was so drawn to a passage (quoted below) last week in Women Who Run With the Wolves by Clarissa Pinkola Estes PhD that I had marked it clearly for future reference. Then, while writing on my new novel yesterday, I needed to depict an alpine flower so I googled and found one that was striking and I was immediately drawn to it. I checked to see if there was already an essence for it in one of the various flower essence lines - yes. And what does it address? Quite similar issues that were triggered for me in the passage I had marked only last week; specifically, I felt that the essence could address and support the sensation of unity we need in order to live in both worlds, not to feel alienated from the “topside life” but to find the balance within for living and loving in both. Love it. Needless to say, I ordered a bottle of the Shooting Star Flower Essence!

_________

CPE is talking about journey and transformation and initiation and says...

“A woman, at this time, is often torn in two directions, for there comes over her an urge to wade into the forest as though it is a river and to swim in the green, to climb to the top of a crag and sit face into the wind. It is a time when an inner clock strikes an hour that forces a woman to have sudden need of a sky to call her own, a tree to throw her arms about, a rock to press her cheek against. Yet she must live her topside life as well.

“It is to her extreme credit that even though she many times wishes to, she does not drive her car into the sunset. At least not permanently. For it is this outer life that exerts the right amount of pressure to take on the underworld tasking. It is better to stay in the world during this time rather than leave it, for the tension is better and tension makes a precious and deeply turned life* that can be made no other way.” (p. 453)

_____________

photo copyright Richard Katz, FES

Love Prevails

One night, as I was drifting off to sleep, I 'heard' that I should take Love Prevails Flower Essence the next day. I did and felt so deeply comforted all morning that tears kept welling up in love and gratitude.

A little backstory...

I am blessed to live with many companion animals and have for several decades. Because many of them are elderly, this year has been a challenging one as I have lost three of my beloved older felines (Liette, Imhotep and Demeter), the latest was on 9/11. And I have yet several dogs who are elders with chronic challenges that had flared up. At the same time as the above-mentioned sleep-message, one of my middle-aged cats, Khepra, was taken to the vet for exam because he had begun to exhibit a strange, sporadic hind leg paralysis; the vet said he has a heart murmur, and we sent blood off for a chemistry panel. So that evening was...well...difficult. I was already taking various flower essences supportively. But I was ever so grateful for the message to take Love Prevails, as the energy I felt from that essence blend was so loving and nurturing, bringing incredible additional peace.

I sent a heart-felt "thank you" to Molly, and everyone at Green Hope Farm (where Love Prevails Flower Essence comes from), for their sensitivity and intuition, and most of all thank you to the Flowers, Angels and Elementals, and all Light Beings of the Infinite for such precious gifts.

Later, after taking the essence and writing about my Love Prevails experience, I read about the making of it in the Venus Garden. I was struck by Molly's description of the Pink Cleomes; not knowing what they looked like, I did a search on the web. Imagine my surprise when I saw that Cleome was the flower growing wild in my Mom's yard in August that I took pictures (shown here) of because I loved it so much, was drawn to it so strongly, but didn't know what it was! She didn't know what it was either because the yard was Dad's hobby and he died two years ago. As Molly said with eloquence: "the Flowers were there blessing you and carrying your dad's love to you across time! I am really moved by the beauty of love and the synchronicities all around us and the special way your dad's ongoing love for you was revealed to you." So, another beautifully magnificent piece of Love Prevails fell into place for me.

We are all blessed in so many ways and the flowers open our hearts, souls, and minds to the unseen miracles and energies within and around us every moment... AMAZING.

In deep love and compassion to and for all Beings...