Meandering

Resting

Let your rest be perfect in its season, like the rest of waters that are still.  If you will have a model of your living, take neither the stars, for they fly without ceasing, nor the ocean that ebbs and flows, nor the river that cannot stay, but rather let your life be like that of the summer air, which has times of noble energy and times of perfect peace.  It fills the sails of ships upon the sea, and the miller thanks it on the breezy uplands; it works generously for the health and wealth of all men, yet it claims its hours of rest…

~ Philip Gilbert Hamerton, The Intellectual Life

A morning meditation

Do you become pensive when the seasons change?  I do.

A road to wander on

I think I’m most aware of it when summer begins to come to a close, maybe because the pensiveness is weightier in ways that are difficult to describe.  That might have something to do with the autumn leading to winter, an inward time of year on many levels for many people.  I’m somewhat opposite.  I awaken in autumn and begin to go back to sleep in the spring.  Even an awakening calls for some reflection, I suppose.

Out and about before the rains came.

This summer has been full.  Full of life, love, friends, family, traveling, stress, beach days, worry, wild horses, flowers, illness, walks, swimming, heat, humidity, insects, lovely sunrises and/or sunsets, seafood, interesting clouds, trying new things, appreciating old things, gardening, mowing, reading, writing, learning a new language, and more.  My summer cup has runneth over.

A road less traveled

Now that our last summer guest has departed and I no longer feel as though I’m running a B&B (or running to keep up), I’m ready to enjoy what is left of the summer season before we head into autumn and cooler weather.  It should come as no surprise to those who know me that the cool down we are experiencing helps me to appreciate the last days of this summer even more.

Moving forward

I should also note, for those few family and friends who read my blog, that I am grateful for your visits.  You helped to make this a great summer, and I loved having you stay here with us at the ranch.  I don’t want anyone to think that I didn’t appreciate and enjoy their visits.  I hope you felt at least somewhat pampered while you were here.  Everyone deserves a little pampering every now and then.

Summer’s heart is beginning to fade

Our garden tractor broke down again.  It was a major breakdown.  The decking that supports the mowing blade cracked and fell off.  In other words, it is missing some of the important bits.  The repairman from Sears can’t get here until the 26th of September, and that means we will be mowing with the push mower.  There is a lot of acreage to mow and when the garden tractor is working (the poor thing has broken down and needed a repairman — thank goodness for warranties! — twice already this year), it takes me about six hours to do my (lion’s) share of the mowing.  I was out mowing yesterday and today using the little push mower, and judging by the small patches of lawn I managed to complete, I estimate it will take approximately forever to get it all mowed, at which point, we’ll have to start over.  The lovely rain we had reminded the grass to grow.

Gold washed up on the beach

I am not a huge fan of big lawns.  We mow what we mow to keep the wildlife (snakes, mainly) away from the house, and so we’ll be able to walk around the property without picking up ticks from long blades of grass.  Ticks like to hang out on long blades of grass, and many of our ticks carry Lyme disease.  Without all the mowing we do, access to the woods and the gardens would be quite difficult.

Another gift from the sea

A sheriff’s deputy was here yesterday.  We’ve been having the usual problems with people throwing their trash out the car or truck windows, and one particular bag of fast food items contained an envelope with a name and address on it.  Remarkably (or I wouldn’t remark on it), the envelope was a certified letter from the court system.

Washed ashore

I’ve written a lot about trash here on the ranch, from the tons that we had cleaned up and removed to the constant (daily) littering that goes on along the roadsides.  I’ve been wondering if it would be worth a shot to start a blog about nothing but the littering that goes on here on the Eastern Shore of Maryland.  I wouldn’t mind showing photos of the identifying information of those who litter, either.  It probably isn’t worth the effort.  I don’t think it would do much good other than as a place for me to vent about the litterbugs who live on the Eastern Shore.

Tree pose on the beach (Ocean City).

Today I went for a bike ride.  A short 9.6 miles.  I’m trying to increase my mileage, but my bottom just doesn’t want to acclimate to a bicycle seat, not even the so-called comfort seat I have on my bike.  I’ll keep trying.  Maybe someday I’ll toughen up enough to try for 12 miles.  Then 15.  Who knows?  I might even make it to 20.

Beauty near the beach

I reckon that’s about it from the Wabi-Sabi Ranch on this gorgeous Tuesday.  Thank you for dropping by and joining me as I meander through my images from the past week or so, and through my thoughts.  I might head down to the Point for sunset this evening.  It depends on how I’m feeling.  I picked up a cold somewhere along the way, and my body keeps telling me to rest so we’ll see.  If I go, and if you’d like to join me, sunset is at 7:11 this evening.

Dining table al fresco

Be good, be kind, be loving.  Just Be.  🙂

Abandoned

Today’s joys:  The beautiful blue of the sky; the cooler, drier air; the hummingbirds whizzing around the feeders; my first monarch butterfly sighting of the season; an afternoon nap on the porch.