Impressed in a place that is yours.....

Red Top State Park

I wasn't sure what I would be getting myself into at Red Top State Park the day after Monday's flooding. To my surprise I was still able to hike the one trail that I like. There were two other hikers checking things out just like I was, but other than that it was desolate. The water glistened as it submerged the green grass. Trees had fallen and mud was everywhere on the trail. It wasn't until after I got off the trail did the sun begin to peek out. It felt good. :)

Sun please :)

I'm sitting here with the urge to run. After being in the house for 3 days because of the torrential rain, I've had enough. With flooding all around and the sun being bashful, it's taken all of my strength to not scream and say "enough already"! Can it be that my vitamin D is so depleted that I've resorted to screaming? Me?
.......Well, after looking at the text I've just written, I think it's about time to venture out. I will take my camera, change out of my fun pink boots and head out to the state park and see what I find. :)

Loving Georgia Rivers ---Paddle Georgia 2009

Another year of Paddle Georgia has come and gone since that first little blurb of an add in the Sunday paper 5 years ago. It was Dave who found the article, pushed me to go and sent me on my way. I had paddled since the young age of 17 when I bought my canoe and tent with those first summer paychecks, but it was a trip like Paddle Georgia that I wanted to explore. With canoe in tow, this mother/son team set off. Five years later we are still enjoying these excursions. Exploring different rivers in a state that is new to me, I have come to love the rivers of Georgia. Needless to say, we embarked on a journey that has left us thirsting for more.

We have paddled over 500 miles on the Chattahoochee, Etowah, Ocmulgee, Flint, Coosawattee and Oostanaula Rivers with this group. We have witnessed many challenges that the Riverkeepers face and that the public should be aware of. Along the way, friends kept coming back every year with their same gusto, same sense of humor, and that same lack of sunblock. But, they all left more aware of the issues that are put in front of them on the Georgia rivers.
Now, if I can only find a way to do this full time. :)

Georgia Network Blog on Paddle Georgia 09

Phoenix Botanical Gardens

Grand Canyon

Here are a some pictures from the past few days at the Grand Canyon. :)

Take it all in

Looking through the lens of life and past the obvious, I see the beauty. How peculiar that we each visualize differently while looking out. We close our eyes and imagine everything in it's place, but open to a different focus. Searching, for what we feel is needed, can take from what is to be. I looked through the lens on this particular day and saw beyond what is expected.

Spiraling newness

I was asked today "what's new?" as someone was racing past me. Did they really want to know what's new in my life, in the world or was it just a rhetorical question? My reply? "Nothing." My thoughts were screaming "are you serious? Nothing??" Why is it that I hold back responding while my brain is thinking that the zillion new things going on in my life has me scrounging for something familiar? "Nothing"? On the contrary. My thoughts went directly to my daughter who is graduating this weekend and moving to Phoenix. With that, should I worry about her living close to Mexico and the swine flu threat or is the former Mexico President that is speaking at the Emory Commencement enough of a concern for me? Or does the proximity really matter with this virus? I then blinked and thought of my Dad who just this past weekend was hospitalized because he passed out while driving. Heart condition? Stroke? Tests proved negative, but getting back in that driver seat is something new to really think about. And yet another blink had me thinking of my best friend who is trying to move to California to pursue work. But "nothing"?? Really??? What I should have answered was "did you know that today the art world is stirring up controversy that Van Gogh didn't really cut off his own ear, but his jealous live-in did it?" I think the race would have stopped at that note.

Mixing it up and Feeling Good

Once again, and old song resurrected the other day on American Idol.
This particular one goes back to the 60's, was written for a musical
and has been sung by many artists. I like this version from Muse and
thought I'd post it here. If anything, you know how I feel. :)

Comfortable silence

Canoe race

First and second place this year at the CRBI Waterfest Canoe-a-thon last Saturday. Our son and his girlfriend tried hard to beat these old timers, but something about the tortoise and the hare came to mind all through the race! :)
The 13 miles brought us in at 2 hours 43 minutes!

Coosa River Basin Initiative

This is the River Race that we've been participating in for the last few years with my canoe. The race is next Saturday the 18th. I'll let you know the results!

Surpassed our fund raising goal of $500 donation to CRBI. Yea! The overall money raised this year at the festival doubled. This supports clean water on our rivers! :)

The perfect sounds

I would have to say that the sound of rushing water always has me
mesmerized. From scoping out the Natahala River for a possible kayak
run to hiking on the Appalachian Trial, this past weekend left me
breathless and wanting more. Escaping to my passions, I was not disappointed.

Bruschetta di Pomodoro

Yes, it tasted as good as it looks! I picked these tomatoes at a farm while in Florida last month. There's something about a fresh tomato that seems to zest up anything you make. The smell alone while picking them was enough to have my mind racing with numerous recipes to satisfy that sense! From bruschetta to marinara sauce and everything in between, those tomatoes tasted every bit as good as that first taste while standing in the acres of plants with mud on my heals and a smile on my face. :)

Revealing volumes

"I believe in your love for me. I believe in my love for you. I believe that every remaining beat of my heart belongs to you, and I believe that when I finally leave this world, my last breath will carry your name." The Gargoyle ~ Andrew Davidson




These lines came from the last book I read and stood out to me instantly as I fell upon them. They reveal volumes while standing on it's own. It's always a nice surprise when something like that happens while engrossed in a story. Almost as if those lines are in bold print highlighted just for you, that make you stop, reread and say... I wish I would have wrote that.

Kayaking to Mound Key Island

Dan and I went on a kayak trip to Mound Key while in Fort Myers, Florida. The Island is accessible only by boat from the south end of Estero Island. We had a great time at this archaeological site that was framed with mangrove trees. The shell mounds on Mound Key are more than 30 feet above the waters of Estero Bay and the highest point for miles around. It's almost all an artificial creation from 2,000 years of human activity. When the first Indian inhabitants arrived on Mound Key, the fish and shellfish were abundant around the island. As the centuries of fishing and shellfish collecting went by, discarded shells, bone, and pottery piled up! As time went on, the island grew larger and higher. This really was a interesting island to explore. Plus, it was fun because we were the only people on the island that day. Hopefully we'll get back there someday to do more exploring. :)

Perfecting the art of being overlooked

Hand written with love

I love a hand written letter. The kind you not only put thoughts into, but all your senses to make it happen. A letter that can be held in your hands and know that the sender also held it. A letter that sometimes holds smudges of ink or stains from tears to have it expressed.

As a teen I stumbled upon such letters that were written by my parents to each other. I kept going back to that pile that was neatly tied and surprisingly stored in the fruit cellar, and read them over and over. I decided then, that somewhere along the way, I would have a neatly tied pile of my own. Hand written with love expressed. Mainly, a letter filled with words written only for me.

As the years went by, I have written many cards instead of buying them preprinted. I have attached pictures along with the text of what I wanted to say with heartfelt love. And I have written many verses that clearly would be good enough for a Hallmark card. Since life has a way of twisting things around, I would say that there could indeed be a neatly tied stack if they were all compiled.

But it's those memories of a hand tied pile of long ago that seem to stand out in my mind. That time when I first fell in love with a hand written letter.

BE a breath of fresh air

Sometimes, all it takes is a wave to feel like a breath of fresh air just gripped your being. When the acknowledgment shows its face and it's just enough to settle and exhale.
How great is it that this flower, awash and full of life, stands out amongst the decaying leaves of Winter as if waving. It brings new life while prompting smiles at it's mere existence. It radiances BE the breath of fresh air. How can we not love that? :)