Sunday, November 30, 2014

Scrapbook Of Imperfect Leaves

SOGGY SPINES and skeletal leaves are everywhere in my world. The rainfall and time are slowly shredding the sopping wet autumn foliage above and beneath my feet.

When I was a child, I put the biggest and brightest leaves I could find in a scapebook ... usually for a school project.

Nowadays, my idea of beauty has broadened and I discover wondrous things in the tattered, torn and crumpled.

We are all changing like the leaves. This was me once (center, middle row with the sweater) in a classroom photo.

Confucius said, "Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it."

Subtle patterns and textures eluded me in my youth when I prized perfect leaves and put them, like pinned butterflies, between pages of books.

On Saturday, the autumn phase was replaced by a light fall of wintry flakes.

In the front yard, snow snuggled into the holly tree that is leafy year-round.

Although some varieties of the leaf are prickly, they are also incredibly festive, long-lasting, glossy and green with clusters of bright red berries. If I were a leaf perhaps that is the one I should be.

Too hardy and needle-sharp to be trapped in a scrapbook, the holly leaf with its cluster of berries inspired decor at the mall for the holiday season.

An authentic looking Santa was at the mall. He gave me a wry smile as he kindly dealt with the children. Some were scared and a bit young to appreciate the bearded man who symbolizes a myth with a meaning that never grows old.

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Copyright by Penelope Puddlisms

Sunday, November 23, 2014

Keeping Spirits Half-Bright At Crescent Beach

"Worrying is like praying for something bad to happen," a woman said to her friend. I overheard this snippet of conversation as the pair walked past me down a Crescent Beach road. Variations on those words have drifted into my consciousness throughout the years. Now and then I am reminded that fretting is not helpful … it stresses the worrier and can lead to negative results. Getting encouragement and a little exercise each day are simple things that keep us on a more hopeful track. It is like the sun breaking through the doom of a gloomy thought ... which ironically did happen (above photo) on that same walk.

With brightened spirits, I used leafless tree stems to partially shield my camera lens from the potentially harmful rays of direct sunlight. There is something to be said about worrying just enough to be reasonably cautious.

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Copyright by Penelope Puddlisms

Sunday, November 2, 2014

A Little Flag Waving In My World


WITH HALLOWEEN leftover treats still to eat, I was surprised to find all the goblins and pumpkins at the mall had vanished to be replaced by Christmas decorations and, of course, poppies. Remembrance Day is near and it is time for a little flag waving. I hope you enjoy "O Canada", the national anthem of Canada sung a cappella by my daughter and her friends who were in a barbershop quartet several years ago.

The words “we stand on guard for thee” bring to mind two soldiers recently killed on Canadian soil ... one literally standing on guard at the National War Memorial in Ottawa. This has resulted in a heightened awareness of the dangers the military face … even at home.



Donations to the Royal Canadian Legion are sure to be sky high this year, especially when poppies are being offered by refreshingly polite and brightly smiling youth in uniform.

Fear and fanaticism have a way of intruding on societies yet to eradicate war.

Although seemingly out of reach, perhaps John Lennon's vision "imagine there's no countries ... nothing to kill or die for" will one day be realized and flags from around the globe will wave peacefully in a harmonious world.



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Copyright by Penelope Puddlisms