Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience. –Ralph Waldo Emerson Among my perennials, several plants worry me each spring by not showing up on time. That is, they don’t show up when I think they should; I fret that they must have frozen during the winter and won’t be returning at all. So when […]
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: […]
When I’m outside, my mind both calms and awakens. At least that’s the way I perceive it, and it seems I’m not alone. According to Richard Louv, author of Last Child in the Woods, “Over one hundred studies . . . confirm that one of the main benefits of spending time in nature is stress […]
I’ve been musing lately about the mechanisms of the food chain. In our household we’ve been viewing the televised seven-part series North America on the Discovery channel, and I often find myself rooting for the prey when predators are featured in hot pursuit. This documentary is beautifully done, and, I must say, it’s refreshing to notice […]
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 […]
(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 […]
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 […]
Beauty, pleasure, and the good things of life are intensified, and perhaps only exist, by reason of contrast. –Walter J. Phillips The Baja California Sur landscape is one of interesting contrasts. Here’s an example: Can you find the island in the above photo? Although you can’t see the water beyond the cactus forest, the mountains […]
Studies in Color and Composition
Radical Retirement
A Glimpse into My Life & Passions
A psychotherapist's journal
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
