Shades of Pink...

A small reflection of what I found in my yard today...

Reminders of how truly blessed we really are! 

The Cottage

As we walk down the lane, under the canopy of trees,

The spectrum of color, green, tan, and brown...  

A  mosaic below as the trees begin to drop their leaves,

All the hints of autumn, here in this wee little town.

Off to the right, the young one, standing next to the mare,

As we arrive at the pasture, he steps, stumbles, is down...

The mare reaches her long neck, nudges with care,

Those long wobbly legs, struggling,  his footing as the clown.

We meander further down the lane, enjoying our walk,

Taking in the colors, but the sky grey, showing it's frown,

The droplets beginning to fall,  surely ending our talk,

We scramble, the ground slick from the bucket down.

Then as suddenly as it started, the down pour slows to a sprinkle,

A path, calling from its end, a small delicate gate, leaning down...

She hesitates,  I look up into her eyes, there is the twinkle,

Looking back over time, she is remembering the gown.

This was their cottage, first house, so it felt like home,

Pitter patter of small feet, above brow a simple crown...

Together they grew, but then he would roam,

To the river he went, but only to drown.

And forever would this cottage be empty and bare,

Everyone impacted within this wee little town....

For the loss of this loved one, no one could share,

To the river he went, but only to drown.

 Written for Willow's Magpie Tales no. 29

Photo Upload Alert

This is not the original topic that I planned on posting about, but it caught my attention with GREAT CONCERN....

I don't know if all of you whom post pictures use cameras, cell phones or other devices to take your shots that you post.  If you are uploading from CELL PHONES or other devices that also have a GPS device in them, PLEASE BE AWARE THAT THERE COULD BE A GPS CHIP IN YOUR PHOTOS that you are posting that gives YOUR EXACT LOCATIONS.

There was a NEWS report in our area this weekend, that our photos coming from cell phones, etc. have a chip that pretty much anyone can read with very little internet knowledge.  If we are posting pictures from our homes, or of children, and then posting about a trip or being away for work, we are making information available to ANYONE who reads our post whether it be on a BLOG, FACEBOOK, TWITTER, etc. 

I don't know exactly how it works, but the report said to disable the GPS when using the CAMERA portion of these devices.  It said you have to go through several menus to get to it.  Definitely, for everyones SAFETY, please pass this on to anyone that you might know who does this.  There was an article about it in the New York times last Thursday, August 12, 2010 or at Yahoo!Finance.

TO EVERYONE, PLEASE STAY SAFE AND WELL...

Updated Monday morning....   For anyone trying to find out more information, I found out the chip in the photo is called a GEOTAG.

Garden reminders

Just a few of the reminders I found in my garden this afternoon,

to always look for the beauty around us.

I hope everyone has had a wonderful weekend filled with the joys of friends and family.

Remember that feeling?

The following poem was inspired  (a long time ago) by the residents that I work with  each and every day.    I am reminded often of how important this message is, not just for the time that I spend with the residents, but for so many of us in various aspects of our lives.   

Help Me

What's that? You say you want to help me,

Great, because honestly, I don't know how...

Stand back, watch...okay...but wait...we're done?

How... I didn't get to do anything...

I thought you said you wanted to help,

You did? But you don't understand what I meant...

"I don't know how" does not mean "I can't,"

It simply means that I never learned this...

To help me would be to teach me how,

I need to know all that I am capable of...

Take my hands in yours and guide me,

Step by step, I can learn how to do things...

Sometimes, I may get impatient with myself,

Or you... but I need your understanding...

Sometimes, I may want to quit trying,

But I need your belief in my ability to learn...

What's that? You say you want to help me,

Please then, show me how to do it for myself.

So often when I begin a new project, or try to learn something new,  I think it would just be easier to have someone else do it for me, someone who already has this skill or that skill.    But then, if I am diligent in my efforts and I actually manage to complete the task myself, suddenly I am filled with that wonderful feeling we all get when we have done something for the very first time.  The ego boost... the pride, the joy of getting the first flower to bloom in the garden (for us beginners).    You remember that feeling, don't you?   

What was the last new thing you tried to learn?    Did you struggle with it before finally "getting it" down right?  Could anything replace that feeling of accomplishment once you succeeded?    Were you fortunate enough to have someone, anyone, there, believing in your ability to master the skill? 

Or maybe you were the person trying to show someone else, maybe a friend, how to do something new...  Did you make sure they understood that you  knew they could get it done, get it right?   How did you let them know of your belief in their abilities?   When they mastered that something new, did you let them know what a great job they had done?  How proud you were of them for even trying?