We Will Continue

 

*Today is their 86th day walking for peace...

Martin Luther King Day...

May we learn from the past, remember the past and keep those lessons alive in the future...

The bracelet says; "Be your own hero"...the ring says: "Namaste"

A post to mark today, to mark where we are at this point in time. May the lessons of the past rise to the top of the current moment...and be seen and understood.  I seem to be out of meaningful words, but feel I must continue in some way. Today this is my way: well-worn quotes and recent videos filled with love and peace and respect. May our world catch up with the movement these Monks are bringing across the miles. May the voices of the people rise up with strength and song. May we continue...

How will we move forward? 

 

May you find a way

May you live with hope

May you live with love

xo

Photos by NAE @pomegranatetrail ©2026

Lights of All Kinds

 Off I went to the bridge...

There was a family at the bridge, taking a Family Photo. A large family: grandparents, parents 3 teenaged grandchildren...then the rest of the family arrived: more parents, more grandchildren (younger, maybe 4 & 6 years old). All of them in black and deep wine, hair and makeup done. Chattering, smiling...talking to the photographer.

It was such a delightful thing to see.

There were so many out on a Saturday afternoon, including many bike riders. After hearing a strange sound over the river...a noise louder that the singing toads...I notice a drone flying around. I never did see the operators, but that thing seemed to have the same plans as I did. Mmm...

Later, closer to home, there was a beautiful sundog. It was long enough to read as part of a rainbow. My photos don't do it justice.

*NOTE: All of the strange floating things on the photos are the result of an old camera lens.

I played around with the first sun pic when I uploaded it into my computer. Isn't that fun? A big fiery sun!

At day's end, after lighting the menorah, I thought a photo would be nice. I took one with the flash and not liking it much, I took another without the flash. 

When I took the second pic, I tried to hold my hand very still (impossible to do)...and look what I got...now, this is a message of Love if ever I saw one! Isn't that grand?!

How do you see an average day? Is it really average?

May you seek the light

May you bathe in the light

May you be the light to yourself and others

xo

Photos by NAE @pomegranatetrail ©2024 

#goodenough

Thankfulness

 

It's Thanksgiving weekend...a time of Thanks and Giving (as Marti likes to say).

Whatever you do or don't do about this holiday...it is always the season for gratitude. It is always a good time to notice and give thanks. It is always a good time to give to others (and to yourself at the same time).

Here are a few pics of things I am grateful for these days.

Thanksgiving 2024 I am thankful for so much and among the things that hold the most meaning for me are you my friends. I am grateful for our many years of friendship, for your good hearts and deep caring...for you just being you.

May you keep a good heart 

May you sharing gratitude with loved ones

May you keep wonder, awe and love alive wherever you go

xo

Photos by NAE @pomegranatetrail ©2024 

Frame

 

In the past few days, I've completed 5 Holiday Themed Medicine Bags. I used typical Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa colors. I made one in the "end of the day" colors, as I did last year.

I re-read some information about Kwanzaa and revisited some of the symbols used to celebrate. Here is a LINK to the Official Kwanzaa Website. The symbols page explains the colors of the flag: Black, Red, and Green. Those are the colors I chose for the Medicine Bag again this year.

Here is the story and photo from last year about the "end of the day" colors...

"A story: Once upon a time, in the beginning of the 1980's, a woman and her daughter went into an antique store to browse. The store had many items made of glass. Many classy, expensive items. It was quite upscale. Anyway, one of the items that the daughter noticed and fell in love with was an antique 'sugar shaker'. It was very beautiful. The many colors dancing in the light of the spaces of clear glass. Stunning. The daughter fell in love with it right away. The owner of the store explained to her that this one in particular was called an "end of the day" sugar shaker. This meant that at the end of the day, once all of the single colors were created, the makers would toss the all of the extra bits into the making, hence the multi-colored end result. The daughter was young, maybe 20-21 years old at the time and did not purchase the colorful shaker, but she held in her heart for the rest of her days. Beauty stays.

This story is about my mom and me, hanging out together in Northern Nevada. It is a favorite memory of time spent together. The sugar shaker looked very much like the one below, but with more colors. I remember reddish, green, blue...dreamy!

UPDATE: I forgot to write the whole reason for telling the story above! lol

Anyway, I warped the loom again, started my thought process...but then Holiday Season ended before I could complete the Medicine Bag! haha So I decided to mush all of the holiday colors together. Doing this reminded me of the "end of the day" sugar shaker and off my brain went 🙂 So, this Medicine Bag is an "end of the season" one. 🤣 It is not slated for anyone, just another CMB, except I forgot to take it today. Next time."

**Screenshot from this LINK

The reason I made these Holiday bags is because I may have an opportunity to pass them along in a different way, so I wanted something seasonal to add to the Blues and Browns. We'll see.

🪶   ⌘   🪶

I read this in a comment on a 'ways to save money' video: "I use linen impregnated with beeswax to wrap our bread." Huh? 

Yep, it's a real and big thing I guess within some communities. You can search yourself or look HERE. I haven't made my own bread in a million years and we don't buy/eat a lot anyway, so this is not something I have a need for...but the conversation around this one little thing was something to learn about. Every day I learn something new. Today it was the term "chestfeeding". Who knew?

I wonder what new tid-bit I will come across next?!

I find it fitting that today's Sky photo is and 'end of the day' photo. I never got to a bright blue sky photo today...and boy am I glad! The patio view this evening turned out perfectly framed, thanks to the flash. This made me think about how we frame and reframe things in our lives, especially the harder things.

May you celebrate in small or large ways

May you retell the treasured stories

May you frame things in ways that best support you

xo

Photos by NAE @pomegranatetrail ©2024 

Sensory Delights (some imagined)

 

VISUAL/TOUCH: 

Two of the 'peach' medicine bags are wrapped and ready to go. All of the peach bags are gifts, not CMB to be planted, but hopefully planted in the hearts of those who receive them. I forgot to photograph a close up of the second bag before I'd wrapped it up. So, here they are together in a cropped version of the previously posted pic. They will go out at the first of the year. ❤️

It was brought to my attention that  “Peach Fuzz” is Pantone’s pick for the 2024 color of the year. You can read about the "Color of the Year" HERE.

LINK

AUDITORY:
You can hear how and why he created this beautiful song HERE. When in doubt, when the world becomes too much, look for the beauty and rest there a while. This is such a beautiful man, song, story.  

LINK

TASTE/AUDITORY/SMELL:

I saw this video and was so captivated by it...all of it. The 'art of cooking' presented so wonderfully. The wooden board & bowl...the sound of the chopping...the simplicity. I told a friend that it almost made me want to cook! haha  And it left me really pondering about how pickles would taste in potato/carrot soup! What do you think?

LINK

"Soulshine" Lyrics

When you can't find the light
That got you through a cloudy days
When the stars ain't shinin' bright
You feel like you've lost you're way
When those candle light of home
Burn so very far away
Well, you got to let your soul shine
Just like my daddy used to say

He used to say, "Soulshine
It's better than sunshine
It's better than moonshine
Damn sure better than rain
Hey, now people don't mind
We all feel this way sometime
You got to let your soul shine
Shine till the break of day"

I grew up thinkin' that I had it made
Gonna make it on my own
Life can take the strongest man
Make him feel so alone
Now someteimes I feel a cold wind
Blowin' through my achin' bones
I think back to what my daddy said
He said, "Boy, in this darkness before the dawn

Let your soul shine
It's better than sunshine
It's better than moonshine
Damn sure better than rain
Yeah, now people don't mind
We all feel this way sometimes
You gotta let your soul shine
Shine till the break of day"

Sometimes a man can feel this emptiness
Like a woman has robbed him of his very soul
A woman too, God knows, she can feel like this
And when your world seems cold
You got to let your spirit take control

Talking 'bout soulshine
It's better than sunshine
It's better than moonshine
Damn sure better than rain
And now people don't mind
We all feel this way sometimes
Gotta let your soul shine
Shine till the break of day

Oh, it's better than sunshine
It's better than moonshine
Damn sure better than rain
Yeah, now people don't mind
We all feel this way sometimes
You gotta let your soul shine
Shine till the break of day

Source: Musixmatch

Songwriters: Warren Haynes

Soulshine lyrics © Buzzard Rock Music

❤️

May you fill up on goodness

May you brave the rain

May you let your soul shine

xo 

Photos by NAE @pomegranatetrail ©2023

March 17, 2023

~~~ 🌿 ~~~

It's St. Patrick's Day...which to me, as a teacher, is "don't forget to wear a green shirt day". 

It is also the 3rd anniversary of the day we went home from work due to covid.

The two will always be merged in my mind.

There is more to life than increasing its speed.

~Gandhi

Wednesday's Sunset in the corridor, like walking into the light, eh?

Even though it is dry today, the road still has places blocked off from the recent flooding and the hills seep excess rainwater. It is quite the sight for around here.

What is life? It is the flash of a firefly in the

night. It is the breath of a buffalo in the winter

time. It is the little shadow which runs across the

grass and loses itself in the Sunset.

~Author: Crowfoot, Blackfoot

Yesterday, I played with watercolors and paper, gifted to me. My small goal was to paint one whole page in shades of green. I put "the board" (a family history piece) on my ironing board, which was my brilliant idea of the day. For two months, I've been trying to figure out how and where I could play like this. When it warms up and dries up a bit, I can use the patio. Anyway, this was not the peaceful adventure I've been wanting, but it was doable and enough (two key words these days). The plastic paint caddy I got worked great. It is deep and sturdy and has a spot to stand the brushes to dry. Unfortunately, the brushes that came with the paint are too stiff for my taste and skill. I wanted to have a more flowing experience. I played with adding more water when blending, but well...I'll keep playing.

Long grasses catch my eye and later they show up in the paint.

Forget not

that the earth delights to feel your bare feet

and the winds long to play with your hair

Kahlil Gibran

I see an super green corridor here 🙂

Dwell as near as possible to the channel in which your life flows.

Henry David Thoreau

~~~ 🌿 ~~~

May you grow

May you thrive

May you continue

xo

Photos by NAE @pomegranatetrail ©2023

4th of July, 2022

❤️ 

I planned to come here and show the latest CMB...

I had intended to chat about Pico Canyon Park where I'd just been

I meant to get back to some sort of blogging rhythm about typical things

...for there was gifted yarn used...

and loud crows, in some sort of conversation...and five-lined skinks

and one small feather floating down through the brilliant blue sky - Forest Gump style...

and the best natural scent of Oak and California scrub brush and dirt and...

and a giant Wishing Rock...

wishing rock

....and

     ...and

          ...and

If wishes could really come true...

I know what I'd wish for today.

💔

For we left the house as our local parade had just wrapped up…lots of traffic and folks walking down the main street in their red, white and blue…families...

For we came home to the news of the shooting in IL, at their parade…people evacuating, scurrying and ducking under yellow police tape, families...children being held or holding adults hands, so they could keep up…dressed in their red, white and blue…

Surreal 

These are such strange, really awful times. The news said that the area of the shooting has a large Jewish community. Children among those shot. Again.

...large Jewish community...

♡

May we continue to support one another, holding each other up if need be

May we turn to the ancient Oaks and Wishing Rocks

May we listen for the crows and the needs of the people, all of the people

xo

Photographs by NAE ©2022

A Woman's Prerogative

 

So, I changed my mind. What else is new?

Anyway, I went ahead and planted the four Holiday CMB today.

I went back to the Railroad Bridge bike/walking trail. It was so busy, it took a long time to wait for a quiet moment (remember, I like to be stealth!). There were many families there. In the parking lot, there was two little girls (maybe twins?) gushing over a black puppy. I thought they'd be great candidates, but they never left the parking lot. I finally figured out this was the meet up place to pick up their new pup. No wonder they were gushing!! Then there was the family with two young boys & their bikes. i helped explain this new to them bike path when the father asked if they could ride there. Of course! I thought they'd be great candidates too, but they rode right past them. I sat in the little table area for several minutes, enjoying the weather of the day and the amount of activity, healthy activity. Then I abruptly stood up, deciding it was not mine to see who finds the bags, it is mine to Give them. I went home.

It's funny how much they don't really jump out at you, yet they always seem to be found.

I've left many at this trail head in the past, mostly because it is a very easy walk, there is a lot of usage of this trail and they are so easy to hang here. However, I have yet to hang one from the exact same fence post! Plus, we're supposed to (maybe) get rain on Thursday! Fingers crossed, as we could use it. I wanted to give the CMB time to get gone!

I had to hide behind some large shrubs to plant them!

This photo above shows the large shrubs/tree (in front of the parked cars) that I went behind, so as not to be seen. To the left is a bit of the cover for the table area and unseen to the right is the trail head (where I hung the Christmas stockings). The big white SUV with the hatch up is waiting for the black lab pup. 🙂

It was a nice outing.

It feels challenging to write these messages, but I do find things worth saying.

I look to the natural world for solace during this silly season (as some call it).

The sky, the sunlight...the uniqueness.

A comment by Jude over at her place and my response led me on today's online search. I landed at Weaving a Life, where I explored for quite a while, remembering the Earth Loom from long ago. the YURT is completely amazing! Saskia, Grace it is a must see! The Earth Looms...inspirational. The masks a journey! I chuckled when I saw the Amulets...Yay! More Medicine Bags! I put the links here individually for easy exploration.

Weaving A Life

YURT

MASKS

EARTH LOOMS

AMULETS

Season is everywhere! Silly is a kind word for my thoughts on all of this.

From over done, keeping up with the majority car decorations, to Black Santa treats to eat. What will be thought of next? At least the humor of the bottom pic was something to laugh at and maybe worth being 'naughty' for! lol Yum!

May you find the humor

May celebrate the beauty

May you have the freedom to change your mind

xo

Photos by NAE @pomegranatetrail ©2021