Welcome Spring

Serene pools created as the warming sun transformed winter snows, reflect the barren landscape of early spring, clothed in amber and gold, soon to join the fresh, lush hues of the evergreens

As these overflowing reservoirs spill out, carrying their replenishing waters to share with all living things along its journey across the land, streams of abundance flow, with laughter, singing a joyful song

 

Welcome Spring!

 

© Julie Rehnelt 2021

Happy Spring to those of you here with me in the Northern hemisphere! Of course, the date on the calendar doesn’t necessarily always match whatever the weather is doing wherever one may be.  Here in my area of Minnesota, we are having some beautiful weather at the moment – although that can change dramatically on any given day.

The above photo was taken on a lovely walk I went on the other day on a trail along Nine Mile Creek. It’s so hard to capture the full beauty of a place or a moment. One thing you probably can’t get the full effect of from the photo I snapped is the ‘serene pools’ I mention at the top of the poem. In the upper middle part of the photo you can just barely see it, but the calm waters so beautifully reflected the landscape there.  It was the stream I was mostly trying to capture though, but the whole scene was so lovely.  And the sound… gosh, it’s wonderful to hear flowing waters again after the long winter…

Hope you have beautiful sights and sounds to enjoy wherever you are on this first day of Spring! I’m off to take full advantage of our nice weather! Many blessings to you, my friends!

 

 

 

✿~Peace & Love~✿

 

Spring Rains

Spring rains wash over me

refresh my heart anew

I need your life-giving drops of hope

so I can continue to bloom

 

© Julie Rehnelt 2020

 

 

✿~Peace & Love~✿

Wordless Wednesday

 

✿~Peace & Love~✿

Flowery Friday and the New Phone

All the flowering trees are in bloom here right now and it’s so beautiful! 😍  And the weather is perfect too!  Yesterday I was literally outside all day – almost from sun up to sun down. Gosh I’ve needed this. 🥰

 One thing I didn’t mention in my long rambling post the other day is that my beloved phone died.  It was old, as far as cell phones go, I got it in 2015, but it had a great little camera on it and took such beautiful pictures, so I’m really sad about it.  Most of the newer phones don’t even have as nice of a camera, unless you want to spend a lot, which I don’t.  But while I was talking with customer service, crying the blues about losing my nice camera on my phone, the rep told me about this one – the Samsung Galaxy A51, which I’ve fondly named Area51 (get it? cuz it’s called the A51 😉). What… you don’t name your phone?  My last phone’s name was Tink, may she rest in peace.  Anyway, this new one is nothing fancy, but it does have a 48 mp camera and 4 lenses, so hopefully it’ll take nice pictures.

 I was disappointed with the majority of pictures I snapped of the flowering things with it yesterday, the quality that I was expecting just didn’t seem to be there. But hopefully as I get more acquainted with it that will improve. If not, I guess I’ll just have to deal with it. So if you notice that the pictures I share aren’t as nice as they used to be, that’s why.  I did think the shot I shared above turned out pretty.  It was gorgeous in person! 🌸

 

I’m heading outside for the day again today – gotta soak in all the loveliness that I can.  I hope your weather is nice and that there are flowering things wherever you are today.  Wishing you beauty and joy!

 

 

✿~Peace & Love~✿

Mandala Monday ~ When Nature Gives You Wind

You make a mandala with the debris…

We had some pretty strong winds blow through here over the weekend, and sadly, the lilac in my garden took some damage. One of its main branches split. Luckily, that branch was on the backside, so it doesn’t affect the overall appearance from my view. Lilacs are hardy shrubs, so I’m sure it will bounce back.  I’ve mentioned in previous posts that my grandpa planted this lilac for my grandma like 75 years ago, so it has definitely weathered its share of wind and storms over that time.

The lilacs are just getting ready to bloom here and I was sad to lose one of the main branches of potential fragrant blossoms, so I decided to snip some of them off that broken branch and put them in a vase anyway. Maybe they will end up opening? Or maybe not. But they still look pretty in a vase…

The Rhododendron on the front corner of the house is in its absolute glory right now and thankfully didn’t suffer any damage from the wind.  Well, except for this rather unsightly hole…

So I decided to take some of those blossoms and put them in a bowl of water to help preserve them for a little while.  But they were lonely in there, so I added a bright yellow dandelion and a few violets.

I adore violets, sweet little things!

I don’t usually like to pick flowers or things of nature, because then they die, but I’ve been missing my granddaughter so terribly that when my daughter told me they had been out picking violets (we usually do that together each spring), I had to go out on my own and gather some too.  The little basket above is the one my granddaughter usually uses for foraging on nature walks when she’s at my house and I have to admit it made me feel sad to use it without her.  It makes me sad right now typing about it…

I hadn’t intended on sharing anything sad in this post, I was actually wanting to share about how you can turn life’s ‘storms’ into something beautiful, because I do truly believe that, but gosh my heart aches right now.  I blame my sharing about that little basket.

I know I’m not the only one facing heart ache right now and my heart goes out to everyone.  Love and Light to you all.  May you find beauty, hope and joy today.

 

 

✿~Peace & Love~✿

Welcome May!

Warm sun

fresh air

bird song

blue sky

new green

first blooms

 

Welcome May!

 

© Julie Rehnelt 2020

 

Be still

soak in

breathe deep

in hale

ex hale

 

Grateful heart

 

 

 

✿~Peace & Love~✿

Mandala Monday ~ Spring Bouquet

Finally, a bit of creative inspiration!  Leave it to the blooming things to help that arise within me.

My soul has been craving fresh flowers for months and nothing is blooming here yet.  With everything shut down since mid-March, I haven’t been able to go to the usual places to get my flower-fix this spring, so it’s been a bit of a struggle for me.  Winters here are LONG and things are only just now starting to green up a little.  My brother came to my rescue when he sent my mom and I a lovely spring bouquet for Easter.  And I don’t use the word ‘rescue’ lightly.  Oh, I tell ya… much, much needed.  Especially with everything else going on in the world right now.  I was so grateful to have something blooming and full of life!

The bouquet lasted a nice long time and we’ve enjoyed it immensely.  When I noticed the flowers fading, I decided to take them outside to try to extend that enjoyment a bit further by creating a mandala with them.  I can’t even tell you how good it felt to sit out on the ground and play with flowers, making them into a whole new type of arrangement. 🌸

Here is another variation of the mandala I made…

After playing around with them for a while, their petals began dropping fast, so I plucked off the rest of them and am in the process of drying them out for some future possible use.

My daughter creates stunning jewelry and has a few designs where she makes cabachons, encasing various plants, pieces of nature, and other things in resin, and then wire wraps around them.  So maybe she can use some of the petals to extend the beauty of the bouquet even longer.  Here is a pendant she created for me for my birthday last year using a butterfly wing I found while out on a nature walk with my granddaughter, some Hawthorn blossoms we picked together, and a lock of my granddaughter’s hair. These photos are used with permission and taken from her Instagram account…

How meaningful (and beautiful) is that?! 💕

While I’m at it, I think I’ll just post the link to her Etsy shop too.  She does beautiful work and takes custom orders.  Now, more than ever is the perfect time to support artists and small businesses.  😉

https://www.etsy.com/shop/RachaelsWireGarden

 

~

 

 

I hope you are all doing okay and staying well.  May you have a beautiful and blessed week.  Wishing you joy and inspiration, and as always…

 

 

✿~Peace & Love~✿

Wordless Wednesday

 

 

✿~Peace & Love~✿

Solace

“I firmly believe that nature brings solace in all troubles.”

~ Anne Frank

 

It is NOT barefoot weather here in Minnesota on this 1st day of spring, but sometimes your bare feet just really neeeeed to touch the earth…  Well, mine do anyway, and I couldn’t relate more to Anne Frank’s sentiments above.

Wherever you are in the world today, I hope you can find a moment to connect with nature.

And remember to breathe deeply.

 

Wishing you solace.  And sending out so much Love to all of you.  Stay well my friends.

 

 

 

✿~Peace & Love~✿

Flowery Friday

Flowering things lately…

All of which are even more lovely when enjoyed with someone you love…

I’m so grateful for my sweet little granddaughter who shares my love of nature!  And for my adorable little grandson, who, even though he’s only 7 months old, already displays the same.  Not to mention, my lovely daughter who also most definitely shares that affinity…

All of them are so very precious to me.

❤❤❤

 

What’s precious to you today?

 

Wishing you all a beautiful Friday, a wonderful weekend, and lots and lots of love.  Don’t forget to take the time to stop and smell the flowers…

🌸

 

 

✿~Peace & Love~✿