Beauty through the Rain, Mother Nature Shares the Sweetest Gifts

A few weeks ago on the way to our Bennetts Brook Green Group meeting the sun was just setting but the sky was also doing the spring rain in New England quick burst downpour. As soon as we got off the highway my eyes opened wide and my jaw even more so when we rounded a corner to see this sky. It was so beautiful we pulled into a parking lot simply to snap a few photos.

Just three weeks later it was yet again pouring, providing sustenance to all the thriving greenery and incredibly tall lawns. As I sat in my office typing up a post with the slider door open, listening to the shower, it suddenly occurred to me that the sun was streaming in through the window. With fingers crossed I grabbed the camera and stepped out on the balcony to see this beautiful gem emblazoned across the sky.

Whenever I am sad about something such as the extreme impact we are imparting on our planet with all of our many luxuries, this is just the thing to remind me that sometimes all it takes is an outlook in an upward direction to change my attitude. Beauty-full!

Nature and Poetry Make Lovely Bedfellows

While searching for poetry this afternoon for another project I came across a website called Poetry in Nature and I must confess I spent a fair amount of time reading through many poems. The site seems to be chock full of more modern poets and so many were beautifully written but when I came across this one I knew it must be shared here at Green Leaf. I hope everyone has a few minutes to get over to the site and check out many of these promising poets.

As the Sun Sets

© Kenneth G. Howard

The wind blows softly against my face,
The shade cast by the tree cools my heart.
The ocean waves relax the tension within,
That would otherwise tear me apart.

Alone on a calm hill for hours I lie,
Waiting only for the golden sun to set,
Prepared to see a moment of true beauty,
One that which I could never forget.

The warm glow of the sun begins to fade,
The ambient noise of the beautiful birds dies down,
The air around me cools ever so much,
But not even to that do I ever frown.

There it hits; my big moment of peace,
I move not a muscle; not even a bit.
I breathe deeply gazing at it's beauty,
Until the skies have become truly starlit.

The moon shines now; the warm glow is gone.
The owls have taken over the birds place.
I still move not, as I continue to breathe the air.
And I continue to feel the soft breeze on my face...