10 Aug

Green Healing ~ Tiny Light

Posted by DOGKISSES in Green Healing, Nature. Tagged: , , , , , , , .

A pretty little yellow bloomI am a tiny yellow flower!  I bloom now and again.  I live in a small clay pot and have two close neighbors.  They also live in clay.  One is a miniature rosebush.  She blooms tiny yellow flowers like me!

My other neighbor hasn’t bloomed yet.  We don’t know the plant’s family origin, but it has interesting rounded leaves that offer me a bit of shade.

We are a nice little community on the west side of a plant-lover’s deck.  We like our home and the clay that holds our roots together.

Our caretaker loves each of us, but I suspect she has a soft spot for me.  Her mother told her that I was, “just a weed,” and suggested that she, “pull me up.”  Obviously, this advice wasn’t taken and she let me grow.

Well, one day, I bloomed!  Our plant-loving caretaker was so surprised that she called her mother to tell of my appearance.

“Oh, Mother!” I heard her say.  “You should see how beautiful the little flower is!  It’s a lovely soft yellow and only last one day!”

I was proud to be talked about in such a grand way!  I started blooming more and more.  I love being a flower so appreciated and enjoyed.  My caretaker says I’m part of a Green Healing journey she’s on in life.  That makes me very special to her.

My name is unknown to me and my plant-loving caretaker, but that doesn’t matter.  I am an awesome tiny light; a soft bright spot on the west side of a lively deck!

Thank you for visiting dogkisses!

31 Jul

Ruthie Mae’s Birthdays

Posted by DOGKISSES in Canine companions, companion animals, dogkisses. Tagged: , , , , , .

Ruthie Mae is a happy dog!

My Companion Smiling

My sweet dog, Ruthie Mae, will have two birthday celebrations this year.  We recently enjoyed the first one, but at the end of the day, I realized her true birthday is most likely in early November.  As you can see from the photo (above), Ruthie was having fun.

We went to the awesome dog food and supply store, where people are only allowed inside because we must pay for our goods.

Ruthie’s favorite treat is a meat chew called a, “Bully Stick.”  The store stocks these chewy treasures in bins exactly the height of an average size dog’s nose.  I’m glad they don’t put the really big (and expensive) ones in those bins!

The dog park is on our way home from town so we stopped in, but it was late in the evening by then, so there was only one dog and he wasn’t social.  Darkness had set in and we went home.

I was happy to have accidentally celebrated with Ruthie.  We both needed time for fun and joy.  I’m excited to celebrate again in Fall.

Thank you for visiting my dogkisses blog.  My apologies for not being able to write more often.  Life is challenging me in several ways lately, but I am managing to have a little fun once in a while.  I hope to get my writing groove back before the year is over.

Here is a link to my other blog, Green Healing Notes, where I posted a photo of a pretty butterfly I saw a few days ago.

 

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8 Jul

Golden and Winged ~ Backyard Beauties

Posted by DOGKISSES in health.

Tanager on Feeder by Rosa Blue
Tanager on Feeder, a photo by Rosa Blue on Flickr.

The lovely female Summer Tanager.

4 Jun

Dogs and Trust

Posted by DOGKISSES in Canine companions, dogkisses, mental and emotional health. Tagged: , , , .

I think I might have writer’s block, but I’m not sure.  I do want to communicate and I have plenty to say, so I’m not sure why I am not writing more than I have been for the past several months.

With that said, I’d like to share just one photo with you today.  I’m not sure which one yet, but I’ll choose an image that will speak and say, “Me.  Share Me!”

sweet, sweet Ruthie

sweet, sweet Ruthie

Ruthie sure is a good friend to me. 

Most recently, I’ve learned that I have a difficult time trusting people.  I never thought I’d say that about myself.  I was always a trusting type of person.  

My dad used to tell me that, “People should earn your trust.” 

He was always saying how I trusted people too easily.  I wanted to be more free-spirited than I perceived he was.  I saw the good in people. 

Today, some twenty-plus years later, I understand why my dad used to tell me what he did.  I am much more like him now.  I understand too why he loved his dogs so much! 

Dogs are trustworthy animals. 

I wish my dad was alive to meet Ruthie.  He would like her.  He would try to teach her to hunt if I let him.  He’d say she’s shy. 

I’ve been pretty down and out lately, which is, I guess, why I was thinking about trust.  

After a few hard crying spells, I decided it was time to hug Ruthie.  She was lying on the floor next to my feet.  I figured she knew I was sad and I didn’t want her to feel that way. 

Ruthie has the softest fur I’ve ever felt on a dog, which makes petting her like eating a good potato chip, if you like chips.  You definitely want more than one. 

I sat there for a while, just being with Ruthie, when I realized that she is altogether trustworthy.  I may have a hard time knowing who to trust in this world, but I know I can trust my dog. 

I know Ruthie will never lie to me.  I know she will never mistreat me.  I know that as long as she is alive, she will be my dear friend.  She will always show her love.  She will certainly never abuse me.

I decided, upon this realization, to honor and not forget, what a very good friend my Ruthie is to me.

Thank you Ruthie! 

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3 Jun

Green Healing ~ Backyard Beauties

Posted by DOGKISSES in Green Healing, health, Photos. Tagged: , , , , , .


The Red Family ~ A young Sir, a photo by Rosa Blue on Flickr.

A young male Cardinal singing his song!

23 May

Stately Winged in Carolina

Posted by DOGKISSES in fun, Green Healing, Nature. Tagged: , , , , , , , , .

The Stately and Lovely Northern Cardinal

One Cardinal, and two little backyard beauties!
One Red Suitor
Mother Nature
Juvenile Cardinal
Female Cardinal
I saw my Mom do this…
One Handsome Red-Winged
Bird Watching Friend
Handsome Male
Watching Birds

In the first weeks of Spring, a female Cardinal started visiting my backyard.  She liked the fallen seeds below our bird feeder.  

Within days of her arrival, she had two bright and very handsome red suitors.

I watched for weeks as the two male Cardinals chased her through the edge of the woods, swooping from branch to branch, stopping momentarily to show off their plumage or grab the best perching seat.

The female Cardinal appeared to enjoy the chase.  From where I stood, her future looked pretty good.

I don’t know which of the two males finally got her attention, but on Mother’s Day, I was delighted when just before Dusk, I walked outside to catch the last of daylight and heard a symphony of unfamiliar sounds.  

I thought at first the frenzy was normal dinner-time excitement in the backyard.  I soon suspected something more special was going on out there.  And it was!

A female Cardinal was feeding a fledgling!  I could barely make out the color of the little bird, but I sure heard it, and siblings too! 

I felt a surge of delight.

Slowly, I walked a little closer to a nearby briar patch where the loud and persistent cries were coming from.  I hoped for a photograph.

A bright male Cardinal flew across the yard, landing clear on the other side.  I’m pretty sure he was asking me not to get one step closer to his family.  I returned to the view from my deck.

The cries of the young birds moved me.  Although, the fledglings made lots of noise, I had a feeling their tweets were more a communication of location and confident awaiting, rather than ones of unmet needs.  

The mother was surely capable of providing and proving as much to her new children!  She looked well-fed and strong, yet when she bent over to offer her little one a bit of food, it was with an amazing gentleness. 

My heart was struck with love.

I returned inside to give the beautiful family peace and privacy.  I watched from my kitchen window until dark.

What a terrific gift for Mother’s Day!

I’ve seen many beautiful birds so far this Spring, but I must say, like my Winter resident, the American Robin, the Northern Cardinal has captured my heart.

Thank you for visiting dogkisses!

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11 May

A Backporch View

Posted by DOGKISSES in Nature, Photos. Tagged: , , , , , , .

Little Red One (LRO)!

small red winged

“You can know the name of a bird in all the languages of the world, but when you’re finished, you’ll know absolutely nothing whatever about the bird . . . So let’s look at the bird and see what it’s doing – that’s what counts. I learned very early the difference between knowing the name of something and knowing something.”
Richard P. Feynman

LRO!

“You must not know too much, or be too precise or scientific about birds and trees and flowers and water-craft; a certain free margin, and even vagueness – perhaps ignorance, credulity – helps your enjoyment of these things…  ~Walt Whitman, Specimen Days, “Birds – And a Caution”

PHOTOS by Michelle for dogkisses, the blog.

QUOTES:

  All Great Quotes

  The Quote Garden

26 Apr

A Green Healing Backyard Beauty

Posted by DOGKISSES in dogkisses, Green Healing, Nature. Tagged: , , , , , , .



Wishing you beautiful days in Nature!

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