Every time I see one of these, I’m reminded of the living flowers in the old animated Alice in Wonderland movie.
It was all nice and sweet until they asked Alice what kind of flower she was. When she replied that she wasn’t a flower at all, they took her for a weed and ran her out of the garden. Satire, anyone?
p.s. I wish there really were bread-and-butterflies!
The blooming or the ’bout to.
One is an in-your-face here-I-am;
the other, an ooh-what-will-I-be tease.
Think I’ll take both, please.
Aww! Don’t you just wanna squeeze them?
The storm clouds were all a-swirl behind our sitter’s house this evening. It was a pretty scary sight, given the recent rash of tornado destruction and deaths.
I’ve seen reports of one fatality, a number of injuries, and a lot of damage in Halifax County, just east of us. And so, so many have been killed and injured across the deep South.
We pray for everyone affected: those who have lost their lives, those who are left to mourn, those who have been hurt, and those who have lost their homes and property.
In nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti. Amen
Even after the most irritatingly exhausting day, Spring’s vibrant hues can energize.
And no wonder!
That word “vibrant” … what a sensory word: sight, sound, touch, hearing, smell — every one!
Isn’t it funny how something can look almost dead on the surface — bumpy trunk, spotted and holey leaves, shriveled limbs, knotholes from limbs cut off or shed — then surprise you with new growth?
What you thought had already become is instead continuing its becoming.
We should take a lesson.
Never assume you know the whole story from what you see, not from nature, people, or situations. All we see is what we’re shown and what we’ve experience and imagination enough to decipher.
But God’s plan is so much bigger than our own.
So hold onto your hopes and dreams, but let them breathe and grow.
Let them continue to become.
And for today, the downside of yesterday’s jaunt through the southcentral Virginia countryside (if we set aside the gas money I must’ve used for it ;).
Destruction.
Just imagine what this field of ragged tree stumps must have been like in the not-too-distant past. And now: Ugh!
I know that there are reasons for deforestation. Maybe the people who cleared needed money to save their land or to help a family member in need.
A part of me says it’s not really my business what somebody does with his or her land or why … while another part of me says, Those trees breathe fresh air for me to breathe, too!
Really, though, beyond any political or neurotic issues, it just simply hurts my heart to see it.
And more:
A driveway that a little stream of water has rendered creek-bed-like. (I remember living at the top end of one about ten times as bad as that!) And two separate signposts knocked over.
Atticus and I went riding for about an hour and a half after church this morning, all across Pittsylvania County, Virginia. Up Mount Cross Road, around and across to Whitmell School Road, and further onto Franklin Turnpike. Up and down and east on Dry Fork Road all around and onto 29. And finally, down Snakepath Road to Spring Garden Road, back to 29, and home.
Of all the beautiful sights, I’d have to say my favorite was the little angel above, but it was a hard choice!
Strange weather today. Chilly and windy with bright sun, fabulously fluffy clouds, and spotty stormy blurs.
Down the road a bit, we ran through about five minutes of sideways rain with the sun still bright as can be. People used to say that meant the Devil was beating his wife. I wonder where that came from. (Hold on; I’ll go check.)
Well, according to Wikipedia, it’s a Southern thing, although in Tennessee, they say, “The Devil’s kissing his wife.” Hmm…
There are a lot of other devil references that go along with this “sunshower” phenomenon:
In French, the phrase is “Le diable bat sa femme et marie sa fille”[6] (i.e. “the devil is beating his wife and marrying his daughter”). In German, the variation is “Wenn’s regnet und die Sonne scheint, so schlägt der Teufel seine Großmutter: er lacht und sie weint” (i.e. “When it’s raining and the sun shines, the devil is beating his grandmother: he laughs and she cries”). The Hungarian “Az Ördög veri a feleségét” and the Piedmontese “Al diau al bat la fumna” also both translate as “the devil is beating his wife”. The lower Caribbean has a variant, “The devil and his wife are fighting for a bone”. The Brugarian variant is “The devil has thrown over his wife for a fox.” In the Netherlands people say “Het is kermis in de hel” (i.e. “There is a funfair in hell”). Wikipedia, sunshower entry
And just the word, “sunshower.” Wow. I don’t think I’d ever really heard it before. It’s blowing me away. SUNSHOWER. It’s my new favorite!!
p.s. One of my favorite singers, Chris Cornell, has a song called “Sunshower”: