52 Weeks in Nature Week 5

I am so happy to be joining Donni over at The Magic Onions every Friday highlighting something in nature that we observed during that week. It could be something that made us pause or took our breath away. It fits nicely with trying to be more mindful of our surroundings and appreciating the beauty that surrounds us. I hope you enjoy my experiences of nature here in Maine and please check out Donni's page as well, to view other people from around the country that may be posting what they are experiencing in nature where they live.


This time of year in Maine, some days lack a variety of color. There seems to be a lot of white, gray, blacks and dark evergreen. On a particularly cloudy day this week, I walked on the beach and found some color in unexpected places. It then hit me, the color is always here, I just need to look for it.

And how about this heart shape that had grown right on a piece of seaweed? Love, From Nature

Here's hoping you find some unexpected love from nature this week too!

With gratitude,

Stephanie

52 Weeks in Nature: Week 4

I am so happy to be joining Donni over at The Magic Onions every Friday highlighting something in nature that we observed during that week. It could be something that made us pause or took our breath away. It fits nicely with trying to be more mindful of our surroundings and appreciating the beauty that surrounds us. I hope you enjoy my experiences of nature here in Maine and please check out Donni's page as well, to view other people from around the country that may be posting what they are experiencing in nature where they live.

A Wintery Wonderland

With gratitude,

Stephanie

A Little Bit of Spring

Something I am working on very hard in my life is to be present in the moment and be grateful for what I have at that moment in time. Not that daydreaming is a bad thing, but it can be a time vacuum and I am more of a dreamer than a doer ( more on that another time), so I know how quickly time can fly and I get nothing done and I lose time thinking of things to come or wishing of things to come and those actual moments I had to be present are gone forever.
So with this in mind, I am trying to embrace this winter. Many days I feel I succeed, by focusing on the beauty of the snow instead of how heavy it is to move it; how fresh the air is instead of how cold it is; how I have a good excuse to make a pot of soup and sit by the fire instead of grumbling that I have been cold all day and can't seem to warm up. Because you see, as I write them down, I realize these are trivial things to grumble about as I have the means to remove snow and stay warm, but day in and day out, the negative thoughts have a way of trying to sneak in.
Sometimes you need to daydream a little, and so when I walked into the grocer yesterday and saw these:

I knew they had to be part of my January decor.
A little bit of spring in my "I am trying really really hard to be grateful for winter" life is just what I needed!
With gratitude,
Stephanie

52 Weeks in Nature: Week 3

I am so happy to be joining Donni over at The Magic Onions every Friday highlighting something in nature that we observed during that week. It could be something that made us pause or took our breath away. It fits nicely with trying to be more mindful of our surroundings and appreciating the beauty that surrounds us. I hope you enjoy my experiences of nature here in Maine and please check out Donni's page as well, to view other people from around the country that may be posting what they are experiencing in nature where they live.


I am currently working on a project titled Fort Williams 365 Project. Fort Williams is a park in my town where the famous Portland Head Light lighthouse is located. You can read more about the history of the park, which started as a military fort, here.
My goal is to visit this wonderful park on the coast of Maine every single day of this year. I may have to have somebody fill in for me time to time, but I wanted to really get to know the park that holds so much of my town's history and beauty. So I post a picture taken that day, every day to a Facebook page dedicated to this project. I hope you enjoy that page and share it with others. 
My picture this week is from that project. There was one particularly warm day this past week, and I found a restful spot on a stonewall to sit and just took in the sites and sounds of the Atlantic Ocean.

With gratitude,
Stephanie

Fifty Shades of Blue

Fifty Shades of Blue

Looking over the water today, there seemed to be fifty shades of blue. Some constantly visible while others would peek out with a wave. There were more blues than I could name, each so beautiful. It has me wondering, how did that color become associated with feeling down or depressed? Whoever first coined that expression I believe never saw the blues I saw today.

A New Start

This past week for me was partly devoted to taking down and putting away all the Christmas decorations. I always dread doing this. Often it is because the holidays were so wonderful and it feels as if I take down the decorations, I am officially declaring the "wonderful" over. Sounds silly and I know it's not true, but that is the feeling I get. As looked around the house though, the Christmas decorations were no longer looking so "wonderful". The table runner on the dining room table was scrunched up and the candles were burnt down to nubs. The lights on the banister were becoming loose and we really didn't even bother to light them anymore and the layer of dust on the mantle was obscuring what was once a lovely arrangement. It was definitely time to put everything away.

After the ornaments, garland and holiday candles were put away, I decided to keep the decor simple, almost bare for awhile. It feels as if the house is giving a giant exhale with this fresh start. It is giving me the space to exhale myself.

Keeping some winter whites

3 Little Birds by my doorstep

Lighted luminaries for the table

I hope your home is a sanctuary for you and your family and gives you space to exhale.

With gratitude,

Stephanie

52 Weeks in Nature: Week 2

I am so happy to be joining Donni over at The Magic Onions every Friday highlighting something in nature that we observed during that week. It could be something that made us pause or took our breath away. It fits nicely with trying to be more mindful of our surroundings and appreciating the beauty that surrounds us. I hope you enjoy my experiences of nature here in Maine and please check out Donni's page as well, to view other people from around the country that may be posting what they are experiencing in nature where they live.

As 2/3 of the country is well aware, this past week has been VERY cold! I have managed to spend a little time outdoors, but most of my observing came from my windows with a cup of coffee in hand. I had received a new bird feeder for Christmas and sadly, no birds have come to feed from it since we have set it up. I guess it was not set out early enough or I just have very bad bird marketing skills. The wind this past week had knocked some of the birdseed balls down to the ground and at one point I looked out my window and saw this.

Now this squirrel looked far from starving and normally I would feel a bit defeated with the squirrel getting to the birdseed, but I was just so happy to have a visitor at the feeder and did not mind. I returned about 10 minutes later to see if my portly friend was still feasting and was greeted by another surprise.

I was thrilled to be able to capture these two, yes there were 2 of them and no sign of the squirrel! They were beautiful, but I was also happy to be observing from behind the glass. Although they looked harmless and most likely would be scared away if I approached, I don't think I want to get in the way of an animal in Maine during the winter who has just discovered food.

Walking in a Winter Wonderland

This was the view in my backyard today. Freshly fallen snow and a balmy 8 degrees greeted me this morning. I absolutely love looking out my window at this winter scene and feel especially grateful that I have a warm house to shelter my family. It is par for the course on days like this one, that I stay in pajamas as long as possible, drink cup after cup of coffee and relax with my children. My husband always braves the cold and clears the driveway and sidewalk. but since he had just arrived home from an overnight shift at work, I felt like I could take it on today. The low temperature and subzero windchill had me bundle up and prepare to do this jobs in shifts, figuring I would need to come in and warm up once or twice. Once I began though, I warmed up quickly and after finishing, I decided to venture on a small walk. 

There was such stillness and peacefulness in the woods. The pine laden air was crisp but also fresh. It was nice be out, even for just a little while to experience this winter wonderland firsthand. It cleared my mind and refreshed my spirit. Coming back inside, I found I had even more gratitude for my warm house and that next cup of hot coffee. 

I hope you are finding little moments in nature to clear your mind and refresh your spirit too.

With gratitude,

Stephanie

Happy 2014!

Happy New Year!

It is once again a new year and I can feel something in the air. Actually, I feel -31 degree air where I am today, but even with the frigid temperature, I sense people starting anew. As I pass people, I can see it in their eyes. It's almost as we acknowledge one another with a nod of greeting, we are actually nodding "Good Luck", "Best Wishes" or "I hope you succeed". This is the time of year where we feel we can start over or add a new focus or intention in our lives. I know there are many people also out there that are cynical about new year resolutions - that we are setting ourselves up to fail, that we should not set a resolution that we ultimately cannot keep. I am choosing to be more positive and hope you will be too.

There is a popular line of commercials where a man in a business suit sits around a table with various children and gets their thoughts on different topics. A common one right now is when a little boy states his new year "revolution". It is an adorable take on how this boy thinks you pronounce resolution, but if you think about it, a resolution is a small revolution for yourself. It is through these personal revolutions that we seek to better ourselves and our lives. We may not always be able to keep our resolutions, but we always learn from them and maybe discover we were focusing on the wrong resolution to begin with. 

I am beginning 2014 with my own personal "revolution". I am seeking to live my life more intentionally and gratefully. I have decided to start this blog to help me document it and help hold me somewhat accountable. Ultimately, it is my own journey, but I know I would like company if you would like to join me. Stop in, share this blog with others and together we can travel through this year together.

With gratitude,

Stephanie