After a day of cloud and wind and rain

Sometimes the setting sun breaks out again,

And touching all the darksome woods with light,

Smiles on the fields until they laugh and sing,

Then like a ruby from the horizon's ring,

Drops down into the night.

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Travel and Transition.... these will be the theme words for my summer. And thus, I'm afraid I won't be blogging much. But I wanted to part with this photo of the sunset from my deck. It is quite representative of my journey right now, but with hope that the dawn will be even more glorious.

I may be able to stop in here and there. And you can also e-mail me through the address on my profile if you'd like to keep in touch that way. I will miss every one of you and wish you all a wonderful summer!

Nature Art

(Taken on a Spring hike behind my house....)

Seneca Spring.....

This was just one of the many beautiful Spring sights I saw in my travels this past week. The mountain roadsides were lush with Redbud, Dogwood, Phlox, and many other blooming trees and wildflowers. These lovely trees happened to be at the base of Seneca Rocks.... majestic in every season.

I'll post soon about the Dulcimer retreat..... after I unpack and unwind from my intensive, but fun week.

Wordless Wednesday
"Timeless"

"I think the extent to which I have any balance at all, any mental balance, is because of being a farm kid and being raised in those isolated rural areas."

- James E. Jones

(more wordless wednesdays here.)

"It is of the soul, and of the soul alone, that we can say with supreme truth that 'BEING' necessarily means 'being on the way'...."

-Gabriel Marcel

( photo taken on an appalachian backroad in fall.... and i will be taking a week or so off from blogdom to spend some much needed quiet time with my soul and heart, away from the distraction of the computer. much love, friends...... )

Oh, the weather outside is frightful..........

The big picture...

And just for sh**s and giggles... (pun intended)

This is what greeted us yesterday morning as we awoke. I ventured outside just long enough to take some pics, but as you can see, I had to watch my step. :) We'll be staying inside and cozying up next to the woodstove this weekend.....

Two things I wanted to pass along, though: First, a friend of mine just started a new blog. She has her first post up, so if you get a chance, click over and welcome her to the blogging world.

Second, The Outdoor Bloggers Summit is declaring next week, 'Blogging for Appalachia' week, and is encouraging people to blog about Mountaintop Removal. I will be participating and encourage any of you who may be up to the task, to also post about it. If you do, let me know and I will link to it. It has the potential to reach thousands if we all do it.
Stay warm, everyone......

It's Here........

That southerly wind blew in our first snowfall of the season. The first snow of the winter always brings out the child in oneself. I think I get just as excited as Sir Laughsalot. His school let out early and he came home and started playing in the white fluff as soon as he got out of the car. And, of course, mama had to play, too.... with her camera!

Morning Has Broken......


"Morning has broken, like the first morning
Blackbird has spoken, like the first bird
Praise for the singing, praise for the morning
Praise for the springing fresh from the word....

Sweet the rain's new fall, sunlit from heaven
Like the first dewfall, on the first grass
Praise for the sweetness of the wet garden
Sprung in completeness where His feet pass...

Mine is the sunlight, mine is the morning
Born of the one light, Eden saw play
Praise with elation, praise every morning
God's re-creation of the new day... "

- Traditional Hymn by Eleanor Farjeon

(photo: morning view from my front porch..... )

Whisperings........

(Ponderings inspired in Cataloochee Valley)

Venerable valley, that time has forgotten.......do you mourn for those who left you behind?

When the winds blow and make these old boards creak and groan, does it stir up memories of life now gone?

The plow no longer digs deep in your ground... No more laughter, no more singing, no more church bells sound.....

But I believe you still remember, because you whispered it to me.... I heard the murmur on the cool mountain breeze.... You sang softly of age-old mysteries... and of life and death in this ancient valley......

Wordless Wednesday...

An Appalachian sunset....

More Wordless Wednesdays here.

Roadside Art......


This is one of my favorite farms that I drive by on the way into our new town. It's literally on the outskirts of town and today, when I drove by, it looked like a watercolor painting. The red, green, blue, and yellow hues caught my eye, along with the light and shadows. It all melded together to form a most picturesque scene.
I pulled off the road to pause for a moment and take it all in. Peace and serenity embodied in a landscape.....

Thank God I'm a Country Girl...........

Roadsides In Bloom..........

I've been inspired......

As mentioned in my last post, Fred First has started a project called "Unplanted Gardens: America's Roadside Bloomery". Wildflowers being near and dear to my heart, of course I had to participate.

With the craziness of my summer so far, my camera has been gathering dust..... not to mention it is currently being held together by duct tape until I can afford a new one. I have not been inspired to go "picture hunting" for a while now, but this project made me start seeing through a photographer's eye again. So I have been taking particular note of the roadside blooms again and have been snapping, snapping, snapping. :)

I submitted a photograph....the fifth one in the gallery, of wild daisies. But here are some extra beautiful blooms that have been catching my eye, also.

What a beautiful world, indeed!

So now that the word is out, you have no excuse! I have yet to see wildflowers in the gallery from Missouri (Mike!), the Pacific Northwest (Kirsten!), New York (L.L.), California (Sue!) or Florida (Moi and Christianne!)...... hint, hint! You can click here to see the official rules and gallery so far.......

Hope to see some of you over there soon........

Daydream Believer........

This candid shot was taken of Sir Laughsalot during a train ride through a nearby valley last weekend.

I think Momma is not the only Daydreamer in the family.........

But with views like this, how could one not be?

Mountains and Rivers........
Even with a yucky headcold, I was able to enjoy the 70 degree weather as we picnicked at this park yesterday. It sits along the Potomac River and is near one of the offices where my husband works. We had spent the morning looking at real estate and this was a nice reprieve for Sir Laughsalot after riding around in the car all morning. Not a bad view, huh?

As I am feeling a little under the weather and don't really have much to post, I'll refer you to my friend Elise and THIS wonderful, moving post on some cherished time with her daughter. Enjoy!

"Beautiful dreamer, wake unto me, Starlight and dewdrop are waiting for thee."

- Stephen Foster "Beautiful Dreamer"

"Stars shining bright above you, Night breezes seem to whisper "I love you" ,
Birds singing in the sycamore tree....
Dream a little dream of me"- - - - Gus Kahn "Dream A Little Dream of Me"


"Was it a vision, or a waking dream? Fled is that music: - do I wake or sleep?"- - - - John Keats

" Dreams are ... illustrations from the book your soul is writing about you."- - - - Marsha Norman





"I arise from dreams of thee, In the first sweet sleep of night.... When the winds are breathing low, And the stars are shining bright."- - - - Percy Bysshe Shelley "The Indian Serenade"

I have been in a dreamy mood as of late...... maybe it is spring with all the new life and color. Or maybe it's the rain and fog we have been having. Or it could be that I have been staying up too late and tend to be in a haze during the days because of it. Whatever the reason may be, the beauty of the Appalachian mountains that surround me has not been escaping my senses....... it has all taken on a dreamlike quality and has been resonating within me.....

The photos are from various seasons here in the wildness, but all reflect how I am feeling. My friend Anna seems to be dreamy lately, too..... as reflected in THIS wonderfully romantic photo...

Wishing you all a wonderful, dreamy day!!!!

(sidenote: My sister, Motherskylark, has just put up a post after a long blogging hiatus. If you have a moment, stop by and welcome her back....her link is in my sidebar....)

Spring Has Sprung....

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April 4

Father, set the lonely in families. Specifically I pray for Jose, that he would be adopted by a loving, stable, faithful, and encouraging forever family.

Nature's Playground........

With the advent of the first official day of Spring, came a lovely Spring day. We held our weekly playgroup at a nearby park where all the moms and kids basked in the sun, blue skies, and the opportunity to be outside after the long winter months. As I've said before, I am so grateful to be able to raise my son in such a beautiful part of the world and that nature IS his playground. With the lure that electricity brings- video games, T.V.,

and computers, it can be an uphill battle to instill that love and respect for Creation. And not only enjoying being outside in nature, but learning about it- knowing that the acorns he finds are from an Oak tree, and the little purple flower popping out of the ground is a crocus, and the river that we drive by everyday is the Potomac. Things learned best outside, at play.....not in an artificial environment like a classroom, where many pre-school age children spend their days and learn about nature and their world vicariously. As Charlotte Mason wisely stated about educating children, "Never be within doors when you can rightly be without."

I spent my childhood days out in nature on our 65 acre farm in Kentucky....being inside on a nice day would have been torture for me. I hope to pass that legacy on to my son. Leave No Child Inside is a relevant and thought-provoking article on the loss of outside play for children and it gives suggestions on how we can reverse this trend in our own communities. Take a look if you have a moment.....

March........ In Living Color........

These were taken on two different days, as you can see from the skies......

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March 20

Lord, raise up workers for the harvest. Raise up Christians who will take responsibility for orphans, so that we will no longer abdicate their care to governments and institutions.