Thursday, June 12, 2014

The Woods and Home Again

We don't go to the mountains often, but just this year we will have gone three times before July even arrives!  When we arrived in Vail we were greeted with spring blooms!  Ours are long gone, here in the Mile High City!
 
A big extreme sport game festival was just winding up.  Fancy a kayak ride?
 The waters were rough in most of the spots along the river!


 Picnic?  Or just a rest?  The woods are life-giving, don't you think so?
 Green mountains!  Just right.


 When someone gives me a gift card, it burns a hole in my pocket.  I drove to the nursery pretty soon after arriving home.  Aw!  The geraniums!  Expensive, but it's free to take photos.



 Rose are blooming all over our neighborhood.  Tea roses smell so clean and clear.  This is a grocery store rose that we put in five years ago or so.  Lovely!
This morning I planted an herb garden by the back door.  The soil was so dry, but now I'll keep it moist.  I planted lavender, hysop, lemon balm, and basil.  That's probably a funny combination, but it smells good already!



Granny has two little girls arriving in about an hour.  It's cool today, so we'll play in the Wendy house and dig in the dirt.  
I went to a new book club yesterday.  It was interesting and the ladies are nice.  The book wasn't as conducive to soul-talk as it could have been, but that's okay (The Examined Life by Stephen Grosz). The friend who invited me asked me what my plans are now that I am home full-time.  This isn't a rare question, but I did find myself replying, "I don't think I'm going to be super productive."  Ha!  What does productive even mean?  I like this quote from Josephine Moffett Benton's The Pace of a Hen:

Those monasteries which have had the most lasting influence were usually patterned after the order of Saint Benedict, where equal emphasis was laid on work, study, and prayer.  "In its greatest representatives, the rhythm of adoration  and work is seen in an accentuated form.  These people seldom or never answer to the popular idea of idle contemplatives," Evelyn Underhill says.  "They do not withdraw from the stream of natural life and effort, but plunge into it more deeply, seek its heart.  They have powers of expression and creation, and use them to the full."


There you have it.  Perfect.

12 comments:

Gigi said...

Lovely lovely mountains - life giving indeed. And I'm so glad you don't intend to be too productive -- I do hope you take it very easy -- at least for a a while. Enjoy listening the song of life!
Happy Retirement!
❤️❤️❤️

Farm Girl said...

The mountains are just beautiful. I love that picnic bench. Your quote just intrigues me. As the name of the book " The Pace of a Hen." I think a person who quotes Evelyn Underhill would be worth reading. I think you have the right idea about being super productive. Have a lovely day with your girls.

Lisa Richards said...

You now have the time to plunge into the stream of life more deeply and seek its heart. :)
I must get that book!
(Well, I may have to take a few deep breaths and wait a bit. I've been ordering a LOT of books lately!)
Loved the mountain photos. The stream is so refreshing and brings back so many memories of my youth in Colorado. Thanks!
Your herb garden sounds lovely. Plant what you love!
XXOO

TexWisGirl said...

beautiful shots! enjoy your two girls!

libbyquilter said...

"powers of expression and creation" . . . who could ask for more?

your photos of the mountains are full of wonder and peace. i hope that that means you are too.

enjoy the grands.

:-)
libbyQ

Kezzie said...

Oooh lovely flowers and I reaaaaaally want to kayak now, even more than I did already!!! X

Elderberry-Rob said...

Your woods look fresh, I bet they smell of pine - the river has such clear water, I would want to paddle. I think you need to practice the art of doing nothing! and not feel guilty - it could be a contemplative, meditative sort of nothing ... and I think you will find you ARE then productive, as you are a creative soul and when you have nothing much to do, your creativity will have a chance to surface. Maybe you will write that book! Betty x

Amy at love made my home said...

The mountains are beautiful!! I am sure that as time goes on you will work out exactly what you do and don't want to do now that you are home all the time! Just take your time and enjoy it is what I would say!! xx

Sara at Come Away With Me said...

Well said, and may your days be filled with just that! People do love to ask how we plan to spend out days when they learn we have retired. I finally decided to just say I plan to enjoy living life one day at a time. No grand plans here.

ann said...

The mountain wild flowers will be glorious this year with all of the moisture. You will find that you will have so much to do that you will wonder hoe you ever got it all done before. Ow you will do things that you truly love, like having the grqns over more often. Enjoy.

M.K. said...

Beautiful photo of the mountains! Looks like your summer is off to a grand start. Share your herb garden with us when it gets along!

Leslie said...

Wow, oh wow! Beautiful woods. I want to go there.

Will you keep going to this book club? What will you read next? Book clubs are fun but they can also be painful in my opinion.

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