Afternoon Walk

Along my afternoon walk



I looked up and saw a lovely pink flower reaching for the sky



and a robin conversing with a tree



at my feet a puddle playing with stones




and a little closer a wooly bear caterpillar nibbling!



I came to a river



and crossed a bridge.


This is more than a simple image-guided poem; it reflects a time in life, a place we come to for change and balance. What does this post reflect or provoke in you? Where did the walk take you? Thanks to Poetry Thursday for their inspiration. This week's prompt is "Our favorite day of the week".

My favorite day of the week is any day I take a walk in nature.

Poppy

March poppy teaches perseverance.

I was totally surprised to find this poppy blooming so early in the spring. It's fragile, but persistent! We can learn from it...

This is in gracious response to One Deep Breath, this week's prompt is "Short & Sweet (One Line Haiku)".

Veggies with Curry Leaves

Ingredients
Serves 4
15ml/1 tsp oil
6 curry leaves
3 garlic cloves, sliced
3 dried red chillies
1.5ml/1/4 tsp onion seeds
1.5ml/1/4 tsp fenugreek seeds
3 fresh green chillies
115g/4 oz/1/2 cup canned red kidney beans, drained
1 medium carrot, cut into strips
50g/2 oz green beans, sliced diagonally
1 medium red pepper, seeded and cut into strips
5ml/1 tsp salt
30ml/2 tbsp lemon juice

1) Heat oil in a deep heavy-based frying pan. Add the curry leaves, garlic cloves, dried chillies and onion and fenugreek seeds.

2) When these ingredients turn a shade darker, add the chillies, kidney beans, carrot strips, green beans and pepper strips, stirring constantly. Stir in the salt and lemon juice. Lower the heat, cover and cook for about 5 minutes.

3) Transfer the hot curry to a serving dish and serve immediately.

Nutritional Notes (per portion)
Energy 79K cals/331KJ
Fat 3.30g
Saturated Fat 0.37g
Carbohydrate 9.70g
Fibre 2.60g

This post is prompted by Shrig, who wanted to swap yummy Indian cuisine recipes! This is a very tasty and quick vegetarian dish I love to cook from one of my favorite recipe books, "Healthy Indian Cooking", by Shehzad Husain and Manisha Kanani. I adore this book, it really does have some healthy, but very tasty recipes. It has taught me a lot about spices. I guess I like it spicy ; )

Crow

perched on a treetop
amidst winter grey sky
old crow

I wanted to "paint a picture with words", so one could see the scene without the image. I kept it simple like the photo.

This is my first time to post with Poetry Thursday, this week's prompt is "Image Inspired".

Spring Haiga

Haiga

Breath

take a moment
to notice the warmth of your
exhalation
---
slow down to reflect
on the subtle pause between your
in and out breaths
---
late at night
when all is quite in my bed
my heart valve clicks

This is in gracious response to One Deep Breath, this week's prompt is "Breath / Breathing". I have returned to my pranayama (breath work) practice since attending class with my wonderful yoga teacher. I find it both soothing and invigorating. The breath can teach us so much about ourselves. My last haiku is connected to the first two in that for the longest time, I had difficulty with my pranayama practice because I would get scared when I'd focus on the clicking of my mechanical heart valve. It sounds silly, because it's a good thing it is making a noise- as I am alive and my heart is pumping! But, I have slowly come to terms with my fears around my heart surgeries. Be still and watch your breath....

Feminine Art

I bought a print at the National Gallery of Art when I was about 20, not knowing anything about the artist (only that they inspired me immensely), and it wasn't until several years later when I "accidentally" stumbled upon an extensive exhibit at the NGA, did I realize who the painter of the print was, and how powerful an artist they were. The piece was "Grey Line with Black Blue and Yellow", by Georgia O'Keeffe. I have to admit, after that show - my life changed.
Georgia O'Keeffe has always been my favorite female artist.

This is my response to the challenge "Feminine Art" at Inspire Me Thursday in honor of Women’s History Month. I thought it would be fun to create some digital collages using O'Keeffe's own flower paintings while incorporating her face within them.

Early Spring

Some pics from my walk the other day... I feel lucky living in the PNW, with all the rain we get, we are blessed with an early Spring, and it lasts for quite a while.

Tea Time To Calm

pouring warm water
leaves begin to swell and uncurl
sweet grassy scent

This is in gracious response to One Deep Breath, this week's prompt is "Stillness/Calm".

Art & Architecture

This is my response to the challenge "Art+Architecture" at Inspire Me Thursday. I thought this was a good opportunity to post a photo I took last autumn of the National Gallery of Art (West Building), since it holds great art and is a spectacular display of architecture. It is one of my favorite places to explore. I was lucky to make countless visits as a child and young adult, growing up in the DC area. It has inspired me and my art from an early age.

Visit the National Gallery of Art

Zen Cat

Earthy

a tree succumbs
to wind and rain
moist earthy scent

----

tree succumbs
to wind and rain
roots revealed

This is in gracious response to the weekly prompt "Earth/Dirt/Mud" at One Deep Breath. I've always loved the smell of fresh dirt. This is a great prompt to get us closer to the ground. I love it!

Hide Play

This is in response to the weekly challenge "Hide" at Illustration Friday. It's to honor my playful day with my darling 2-year-old niece. She had the most fun with Mike's hat that day. Take time for child's play today!

More Yellow

five days past blooming
winter shows her chilly face
snowy daffodils

This is a continuation of my "Color(ful)" haiku. Did my original haiku foretell this?