Beauty of the Morning

It has been an old comparison for our urging on - the Beehive; however, it seems to me that we should rather be the flower than the Bee - for it is a false notion that more is gained by receiving than giving - no, the receiver and the giver are equal in their benefits. The flower, I doubt not, receives a fair guerdon from the Bee - its leaves blush deeper in the next spring - and who shall say between man and woman which is the most delighted? Now it is more noble to sit like Jove than to fly like Mercury - let us not therefore go hurrying about and collecting honey, bee-like buzzing here and there impatiently from a knowledge of what is to be aimed at; but let us open our leaves like a flower and be passive and receptive - budding patiently under the eye of Apollo and taking hints from every noble insect that favours us with a visit - sap will be given us for meat and dew for drink.
~An excerpt from a letter to John Hamilton Reynolds written by John Keats
February 19th 1818


I am so ready for the weekend so that I may linger in my bed as long as I feel the need, I have slept very poorly for the past few nights tossing and turning every which way. Deprived of sleep I can hardly pull myself together to make it to work and concentrating, well, that's another story. But being the supreme I seem to manage just fine. Although there really isn't a whole lot to look forward to as I crawl into my windowless office where I'm bound in a position that makes my muscles scream. By the end of the day I'm beat, by the end of the week - I'm a whole lot of something other than "beat". My body does not like being in that chair all day, and why would it?! I could be out there doing things and seeing things that move me in ways it would be worth bearing any sort of pain or discomfort. I dream of the days where the sun touches my cheeks and my eyes behold that which I have yet to bear witness................It seems like such a shame to miss 5 days of beautiful mornings; wasted.

Whirligig

Dreams come true. Without that possibility, nature would not incite us to have them.

~John Updike



My days have been filled with a series of "countdowns" lately. I hate to say that right now I'm barely hanging on but I call it like I see it. Maybe I'm just being dramatic, yeah that's it. So, back to countdowns..........days until Cody gets back to Boone, days until the weekend is here yet again, and last but not least days until we go to Vegas! Last night my Sister confirmed that she would be joining us for the trip which I'm extremely excited about. For one it's been since November since I've seen her and two this will be good for her. She's been just as sheltered as me when it comes to traveling. But we're making up for it, big time.

NC Arboretum ~ Montage

This past Saturday we went to the North Carolina Arboretum and we had an awesome time!
With over 430 acres the Arboretum is a public garden that sits within the Pisgah National Forest and the Bent Creek Experimental Forest. The photo above features all of the great things we saw during our visit. Along with the hiking trails and gardens they also had a huge greenhouse, education center, and exhibit center as well. This week I will share some of my favorite pictures from the Arboretum so check back. While there we saw a fantastic exhibit of watercolor paintings by Anne Vasilik in the Baker Exhibit Center. Also showcased was a lady named Barbara Webster who creates quilts from nature photographs. Some of them were really awesome.
We took our time walking in and around the gardens taking many pictures, of course. Then to get the blood flowing we hopped on the Carolina Mountain Trail which meandered through the Bent Creek for a few miles. It was definitely a fun filled day, I would love to go back some time to participate in the various demonstrations they have throughout the year. It was a beautiful place!