I love my military

I love the military, those who serve and those who have served. We live where we do because my husband was in the military. When he served on a submarine deployed out of Scotland he would look at the guys standing on the shore waving them out on patrols. He made a promise to himself that someday he would be the guy on the shore looking out at the submarine and waving them on their way.  I love seeing the submarines go by and the Coast Guard as they both run drills in front of our home. I wave even if no one is topside just encase one of those guys are hoping to be us someday. We over the years have lived in many military communities and loved every one.  We have been fortunate to counsel at a Young Life outreach camp for military from the surrounding bases. It is a wonderful camp where Dads and Moms get to reconnect with their kids up in the Canadian woods and start to heal as a family.  My wish for everyone would be that you could spend some time talking with someone in the military, hear their stories and realize what a cost your freedom is daily.  I am so thankful for all who serve or have served.  I cry during the national anthem and any time I hear colors or taps.  I love my flag and all it stands for. I was so happy to find a wonderful service in town set up by our Boy Scouts.  It is a red box which looks like your ordinary mail box but it is to dispose of your flags properly.  You just fold your worn flag or one you need to dispose of and put it in.  The Boy Scouts will take care of retiring it with the proper honor.  Look around your community and see if you have one too.  Take time out of your day and look up how to honor your flag.  And most of all if you see a service man or woman or a veteran, stop and thank them for their service.

Winter and Spring meet in the garden

I love this time of year. Winter  is holding on to the hope of one last snowfall yet the flowers are popping up saying spring is on the way. Yesterday I used my wonderful new garden gloves, the ones with claw fingers to plant the last of my tulips.  I realize I should have got them in the ground in the early fall but we were on vacation.  When we returned from our month away the rain, snow and freezing temperatures had settled in for the winter. Last year I was late also and had the most beautiful tulip beds I have ever had, so hoping for the same.  As I look around my gardens I see the promise of spring.  Many of my bulbs are already poking their cute little buds up through the dirt. My chickens and hens are  glorious shades  of color. I even found a little snake sunning himself down in my outer lawn.  They say we may get another dumping of snow but I hope these pictures help you see Spring is on it's way.

Have you ever thrown a rock or a shell into the water and watched how far the ripples go? The middle of the circle has the biggest impact, As the rock hits the water it causes drops of water to shoot up and each one makes it's own impact on the water. It reminded me how acts of kindness cause the same effect.  One act of kindness has a huge impact on the person receiving the kind act, yet it reaches far beyond.  Looking someone in the eye , giving a true smile, and saying hello is the first splash of water. This person feels happy and is still happy as they pass the next person.  They smile to that person and the ripple of kindness has now spread far beyond the first single act.  Today's world is full of hurting people, We have plenty of outside forces telling us we aren't quite good enough or your thinking is a bit off. When kindness is so easy to share as sharing a smile why aren't we spreading a little kindness?  It has been my experience that with a simple smile you can open a conversation. With a smile people who are hurting feel someone noticed me and cares. My children once told me don't make eye contact mom we need to get somewhere fast. You see whenever I make eye contact it opens up a conversation where I learn about the person on many levels.  People need others to hear them in today's world.  Take time to listen to others stories, take time to give away a smile. We all need more kindness. Sharing a smile won't cost you anything but will give you so much in return.  Wouldn't it be wonderful if we all started talking and sharing life instead of being closed off in our own busy world.  Hope today you can go out and share a smile, a conversation or a random act of kindness.  Lets see how far we can get our drop in the water to ripple today.

welcome

Welcome, When I was a little girl my Dad would tell my sister and I green ,green, forest stories.  They were always fun and adventurous tales of the forest.He would tell us who lived in the forest and what their daily lives were about and always with a bit of humor to make us laugh.  I grew up loving the forest and the sea and hope to share that love with all of you.  I live  in the forest looking out at the water. I want to share with you just a few pictures of the beautiful area we call home.