One cannot help but be in awe when one contemplates the . . . marvelous structure of reality. — Albert Einstein A handsome dragonfly–a widow skimmer, I believe–is gracing my garden these days. It has been much too quick for me and my camera; dragonflies are such excellent fliers that aviation engineers research them hoping […]
One of my most distinct early memories is of being perhaps four years old and feeling heartbroken. Perhaps I was upset at one of my siblings, or my mother had answered “no” to something I wanted; I don’t remember the cause of my pain. What I do remember clearly is the strong emotion of childhood: […]
If there is magic on this planet, it is contained in water. –Loren Eiseley Here in the Texas hill country on this May Saturday morning, it’s been raining off and on for the past thirty hours or so. The forecast for the next few hours is for more thunderstorms, so I zipped outside just now […]
Prickly pear cactus blooms always remind me of my mother. They seem to flower here in the Texas hill country around Mother’s Day every year, and they’ve been coloring the landscape with their sunny faces this week: After I became an adult, when I would visit my mother–before she started the long Alzheimer’s decline toward […]
(such a sky and such a sun i never knew and neither did you and everybody never breathed quite so many kinds of yes) –E. E. Cummings The past week in the Texas hill country was one of noticing new life in progress: two pairs of scissortail flycatchers flying in front of me as […]
As we sat outside with friends last evening with spring surrounding us, the conversation turned to birds. Mary Ann recently saw and photographed a special “triple” here in the Texas hill country: a painted bunting, an indigo bunting, and a lazuli bunting. I would love to see all three of these gorgeous birds together. We […]
A few weeks ago, I paused when I read the following news headline: “Astronomers have discovered the largest known structure in the universe, a clump of active galactic cores that stretches 4 billion light-years from end to end.” This discovery evidently made astronomers rethink the size of the cosmos. It made me think, though, of […]
I go to nature to be soothed and healed, and to have my senses put in order. –John Burroughs Since returning home to the Texas hill country a little more than a week ago, I have felt particularly welcomed by spring blooms and by the healing rain that first started on Easter Sunday and returned […]
The violets in the mountains have broken the rocks. –Tennessee Williams When it’s spring and there has been a little rain, the desert blooms, breaking up the landscape with grace notes. These photos were taken in the Sonoran desert close to the vernal equinox, which annually seems to kick start a season of renewal. Mexican […]
We get better at what we practice. I’m not a golfer, but I’m pretty sure you have to practice in order to improve your swing. You have to do so repeatedly in order to develop muscle memory. In the same way, I have to practice looking, seeing. I have to practice writing. I have to […]
Studies in Color and Composition
Radical Retirement
A Glimpse into My Life & Passions
Joann Pensabene
Where observation and imagination meet nature in poetry.
pursuing a life of purpose
Writing our way to awareness
Living life outside the lines
A Story Circle Network blog for and by women
A Diary of Love, Literature, and Growing Up in Wartime America
Practicing Wonder 