1. Fifty-nine

Birthday gift from M.

Age has no reality except in the physical world. The essence of a human being is resistant to the passage of time. Our inner lives are eternal, which is to say that our spirits remain as youthful and vigorous as when we were in full bloom. Think of love as a state of grace, not the means to anything, but the alpha and omega. An end in itself.

~ Gabriel García Márquez, Love in the Time of Cholera

Age 59

Today is the 341st day of the year.  According to Wikipedia, December 7th is “slightly more likely to fall on a Monday, Wednesday, or Friday (58 in 400 years) than on Saturday or Sunday (57), and slightly less likely to occur on a Tuesday or Thursday (56).”  I guess that makes this a slightly special year since today happens to be a Thursday.

Breakfast appetizer.

Today is National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day here in the U.S.  It’s also my birthday, and the start of my year-long Early Mornings challenge.

A few leaves left on one of the blueberry bushes in the rain garden.

I was up in time for sunrise this morning, and before opening up the wonderful gifts that M gave me, I did my morning sadhana (practice).  The gifts, in case you’re wondering, are the Alex & Ani bracelets shown in the first photo and the new lens for my camera that was used to take the images I’m using in this post.  Except for the selfie.  I used my phone camera for that.  It’s much easier than setting up a tripod.

Purple coneflower gone to seed.

The new lens is going to take a little getting used to, but I can already tell I will like it for certain things, particularly macro photography.  It has already inspired me to get out and play (or stay in and play, photographing the bracelets and the grapefruit).

On the forest floor.

I am going to have to keep this short today because I’m off to the beach to spend the day by the ocean and to visit with the wild horses on Assateague Island.  It’s a fairly new birthday tradition, but one I love.

Thank you so much for visiting with me on my birthday.  It’s wonderful to have friends stop by on special days.

A little tilt.

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

Still pretty.

A few of the 10,000 reasons to be happy:  466)  Birthdays!  467)  Playing with a new toy.  468)  M, for all the gifts that he’s given me, the greatest one being love.  469)  My family and friends and all the lovely wishes I received from them this morning.  470)  Early morning in the woods.