Mandala Monday ~ Circle of Thanksgiving

Circle of thanks

Obviously, I created this one before the snow fell, while there were still colorful leaves on the trees and green grass on the ground.  😊

I created it with the thought of welcoming the month of November – which I always think of as a season of gratitude.  It’s not too cliche to be mindful of gratitude during the month of November, is it?  😉  (For those of you not with me here in the States, our Thanksgiving holiday falls on Thursday of this week). 

Regardless of the month or where we reside on this beautiful planet, being mindful of all that we have to be grateful for is always in season.

 

Thank you all for being in my little circle here on WordPress.  Much Love and many blessings to you and yours…

 

 

✿~Peace & Love~✿

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Winter Streams

 

Winter streams

carry my frozen dreams

quietly to warmer shores…

 

© Julie Rehnelt 2018

 

 

 

✿~Peace & Love~✿

Mandala Monday ~ Pinecones

This past week I braved the elements and spent a little time playing around with pinecones in the snow…

This mandala is on a much smaller scale than the others I’ve made.  My back was still a bit sore from shoveling, so I stood at my potting bench rather than stooping and bending (not to mention, sitting on the cold ground in the snow 😉), so there wasn’t as much room to create anything very large.  To give you an idea on the scale, the small pinecones around the center are about the size of the fingernail of my pinkie finger.  They’re sooo tiny and cute!  And here’s a little fun fact – I collected them (and the majority of the other pinecones I used in this mandala) while on a walk with my daughter while she was in labor. 😊 It wasn’t a very long walk, seeing as she was in labor, but clearly we walked past a wonderful variety of evergreens.  I love all the various sizes and shapes of pinecones and was fortunate to come across so many of them in such a short distance.

As the glory of the colorful leaves of the deciduous trees of autumn fades, various evergreens now take center stage.  Extra lovely and so refreshing sprinkled with fresh snow.  I love the scent of cedar and pine.

 

Wishing you a refreshing week…

 

 

 

✿~Peace & Love~✿

It Has Begun

Seasons come and seasons go and the earth keeps spinning ’round 

frigid air moves in and autumn leaves turn to frosted trees upon my window pane

it has begun…

my winter morning rendezvous’ with Jack Frost

 

© Julie Rehnelt 2018

I don’t feel like I’m done with autumn yet, but I always want it to last longer than it does, so that’s typical.  😉

We had our first real snowfall overnight Thursday night, and I hadn’t realized any was coming, so it was a bit of a surprise to wake up to.  I haven’t even raked up the leaves in my yard yet.  Oops!  But hey, I’ve been otherwise occupied – my new little Grandson is one week old today.  💙

We didn’t get a whole lot of snow,  but I spent about an hour and a half shoveling yesterday morning.  It was hard on my back, but I was feeling so grateful for my new knees!  The cold air was invigorating and the snow made me feel all sorts of festive for the holidays coming up.

Anyways, I was delighted to find some pretty frost on my window as I watched the sun come up this morning, and I look forward to seeing more of it.  I know, I know…  most people dread winter, but there truly is so much beauty to be found if we look for it.  And it’s just so dang cozy!

Wishing you beauty and warmth today wherever you are…

 

 

✿~Peace & Love~✿

Silent Sunday

 

 

 

✿~Peace & Love~✿

Brewing up Something Special

 

My daughter is “brewing” up something special this Halloween…

She was due yesterday, and late last night she had a few contractions.  Nothing further so far this morning, but it could be any time now!

Because her due date was so close to Halloween, she thought it would be fun to have a little Halloween-themed maternity shoot.  So a couple of weeks ago we went to one of the local parks where we had done some maternity photos when she was pregnant with my granddaughter and took a few photos.  I think they turned out pretty cute.  Look at that precious belly!  😍  I can’t wait to meet my new little grandson! 💙  Maybe it’ll be today!?

We’re just going to go about our regular Halloween business today and will have to wait and see if he decides to come…

My little granddaughter is very excited to go trick-or-treating later, it’ll be her first time going.  She’s going to be Skye from Paw Patrol  – she’s obsessed with Paw Patrol haha!  She’s had lots of fun over the past few weeks doing various little Halloween type of activities.  And thankfully, I’ve had both her and the mother-to-be staying with me these past few weeks because I live closer to the hospital where she plans to deliver, so I’ve been able to be a part of those Halloween activities – baking, decorating, etc., as well as going to the apple orchard and pumpkin patch.  Such a blessing…

 

Happy Halloween to all those who celebrate, and happy regular day to all the rest!

🎃

 

 

 

✿~Peace & Love~✿

Mandala Monday ~ Kaleidoscope

This week’s mandala sort of reminds me of a kaleidoscope.  And that brings to mind the words of a poem I wrote some time ago…

 

Autumn leaves, colors so bright

a feast for the eyes, such a wondrous sight

Shades of crimson, rust, and amber

a brilliant kaleidoscope of nature’s splendor

© Julie Rehnelt 2012

 

Except the colors mentioned in that old poem don’t quite match because they don’t include yellow or gold and this autumn ‘kaleidoscope’ has lots of yellow and gold in it.  Oh well.  🙃

 

Here are a couple photos I snapped during this mandala’s progress…

Have I mentioned lately how satisfying, enjoyable, and enriching this practice of creating nature mandalas with autumn leaves is?  Of course I have.  😉

And I don’t know how much longer it’s going to last, as fall is nearly at an end here now.  I’ve tried to preserve some of the leaves I’ve gathered this fall, but I don’t know how well they’ll keep.  But I’m sure I can rely on nature to provide other beauties to create with if this urge to make mandalas continues.

 

Wishing you beauty and creativity in this coming week…

 

 

✿~Peace & Love~✿