Here are the tulips, budded and full-blown, their swoops and dips, their gloss and poses, the satin of their darks
Margaret Atwood, Dearly
A tulip doesn’t strive to impress anyone. It doesn’t struggle to be different than a rose. It doesn’t have to. It is different. And there’s room in the garden for every flower.
Stouthearted / stoutˈhärdəd/ (adjective): stoutˈhärdəd/ Possessing or displaying courage; able to face and deal with danger or fear without flinching Synonyms: doughty, stalwart, brave, courageous, determined, obstinate
Merriam-Webster
Have you ever noticed that on some of the snowiest, blowiest days, the smallest creatures are the most visible?
I think, too often, we pay attention to the strongest, the loudest, the most confident around us, and we underestimate the smallest. Someone’s size or appearance should never be used to measure their worth because I believe those with a tender heart or a stoutheart come in many sizes.
And then her heart changed, or at least she understood it; winter passed, and the sun shone upon her.
J.R.R.Tolkien
Far better it is to have a stout heart always and suffer one’s share of evils, than to be forever fearing what may happen.
Herodotus
It is not the strength of the body that counts, but the spirit.
J.R.R.Tolkien
Sometimes the smallest things take up the most room in your heart.
Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge this week hooked up with Kammie’s Oddball Challenge. It’s an opportunity to showcase photos that “don’t make the cut” because they don’t quite fit in any category, yet they exist because something of visual interest caught the eye of the photographer.
Today I had to reign it in a bit because I have lots of “oddball” photos. You should meet my family! Instead, I focused on subtle signs of people deep in the woods. (Don’t worry – I skipped the dead raccoon photo)! 😉
Relish being an oddball: Well-behaved, well-adjusted people are hopeless storytellers and, honestly, terribly boring.
Sometimes the journey is more imporant than the destination…
Sometimes you have to forge your way ahead alone……and sometimes a friend will walk with you.There may be lots of colour……or darkness ahead.The path isn’t always clear……other times it’s wide open!
Don’t be afraid to ask for help.
So whether you are walking…uphill all the way……or riding in style…
…whichever way you are going, may it always lead you HOME.
In between snacks, meals, and pots of tea, we’re enjoying the antics of these guys. Dad has 2 bird feeders, strategically placed to feed the birds, not the squirrels. One day they’ll figure it out, I’m sure, but for now they pace on the railing, and occasionally try to climb. But mostly, they stare at the house and scold us savagely with their frustrations and opinions on the matter.
In retribution, I smile sweetly, while nibbling on homemade hazelnut toffee. 😉
Not much goes on in the mind of a squirrel. Huge portions of what is loosely termed “the squirrel brain” are given over to one thought: food.
The average squirrel cogitation goes something like this: I wonder what there is to eat.
Kate DiCamillo, Flora & Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures
I received an early Christmas gift on a blizzard-y day. The house smelled of yeast and spices, and as I was kneading rum-soaked fruit into my Christmas stollen, I had 2 visitors…
It is Christmas in the heart that puts Christmas in the air.
Night is brushed aside like so much cobweb. The day is wound up and begins even before the last haunted dreams, the last of the fog, those spectral and evanescent residues, have faded away.