I went for another walk by my lake today. It wasn’t a spectacular walk. Cloudy sky. The lake was drained a large amount and hasn’t recovered yet, despite recent rain. I didn’t bring my camera, but Murphy’s Law didn’t work and I didn’t see the great blue heron. (Though later I did from my house!)
However, even on a not-spectacular day, my walk is accompanied by birds singing. When I take the time to notice them, that’s a blessing.
Last week, I went to Burnside Farms and took pictures of tulips.
In case you haven’t figured it out, I love taking pictures of flowers.
It was a lovely late afternoon.
Not too hot, not too cold, nice breezes blowing.
When you take pictures of flowers, you really see them. You notice how delicate, how rich the colors, how perfect they are.
I took a special interest in the dramatic ones this time around.
And looking at the pictures, choosing a “few” from the hundreds I took, simply makes me happy.
And we even brought some home.
Some time in the last week or so, ALL the trees in the area suddenly got leaves. They’re still new light spring green, and they’re beautiful. But they wear it so naturally, already I’m taking them for granted.
Yay! The leaves are back!
Our church is building a building, a community resource center.
Some obstacles have come up, and this afternoon my small group met on the church property to pray, along with the pastor and his wife and another friend.
And it was beautiful. In so many ways.
The weather was beautiful. The sun was shining through spring-green new leaves. A breeze was blowing. We were in the woods, with little flowers blooming on the forest floor.
But it was also so beautiful to pray in harmony with others. Jesus promised that when two or three of you gather together, He’ll be there with you, and we could feel His presence.
“We will shout for joy when you are victorious
and will lift up our banners in the name of our God.”
— Psalm 20:5
The first two weeks we tried, the weather didn’t cooperate, but on Tuesday this week the weather was lovely and we had a huge crowd of parents, grandparents, and kids at Old Town Square in Fairfax for Storytime.
I haven’t done a storytime in more than a month. This is going to change in coming weeks, since one of my staff just retired. But having a little time off from it reminds me just how much fun it is to read books to small children.
And I get to do this on my job!
For years now, every year on my Friday off, about two weeks after the cherry blossoms reach their peak, I go see the bluebells in bloom at Bull Run Regional Park.
It’s all natural — in spots flowers as far as the eye can see.
There’s a loop trail that goes by the river.
I go on Fridays because it’s not crowded. I’m free to take pictures like crazy to my heart’s content.
I love all the other wildflowers that show up, too.
There are always breezes blowing, birds singing.
Okay, the truth is that you can usually hear guns from the shooting range. But it fades into the background.
The loop trail is a little over a mile long. I take my time and ramble through the bluebells.
My spirit is always uplifted for another year.
