Friday, June 15, 2007

Very Big and Very Small

My husband and I just returned from a vacation with our son and his family. We went to the coast of Oregon and then to Northern California to see the giant redwoods. This is my third time to see these mammoth trees, and yet their size still amazes me. It was fun to share this natural wonder with two of our grandchildren. The trees are quite the contrast with the smallest harbor! Enjoy the photos!

















The world's smallest working harbor is in Depot Bay, Oregon. Quite a contrast from the Giant Redwoods!














Saturday, June 02, 2007

Coming to My Senses

By Marlene Depler


Yesterday morning we were blessed with light showers. By afternoon the sun appeared, so I decided to squeeze in a walk even though I was busy doing laundry and housework. I headed out the door with a myriad of thoughts running through my mind.

Step by step my senses gradually came alive. The fragrant sweetness of the late-blooming Japanese lilacs awakened my sense of smell. Then the aroma of something freshly baked wafted from one of the homes I passed. Brown sugar and cinnamon, I thought. I was tempted to stop in and ask for a taste.

It wasn’t long before I noticed the hum of a lawnmower along with various tweet, tweets and chirp, chirps. Then there was the whir of tires on pavement as cars headed toward home at the end of a work week, and a train whistle in the distance.

My eyes couldn’t miss the giant pink and white blooms on the peonies, the little puffy clouds that looked like tufts of cotton, or the beautiful blue of the sky. I examined every yard for anything and everything that was blooming.

The sun warmed my skin. I reached out to touch the soft new green growth on a pine tree.

Yes, little by little I came to my senses. And as I did, my appreciation for those senses increased. I was reminded to experience life fully by enlisting each of those senses.

Perhaps you need a gentle reminder to do the same.