nature

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The Perfect Whole

“Beauty through my senses stole / I yielded myself to the perfect whole.”

Does anyone else find themselves increasingly disinterested in buying or picking flowers, only to watch them lose their luster, cloistered from the sun and the rain? During the angst of 2020, I read a poem by my man Ralph Waldo Emerson that spoke to this preference to immerse myself in Nature, rather than to package her up and take her home. In “Each and All”, he speaks of capturing the bird from the forest, and removing the shell from the shore, only to realize that — without the context of their natural surroundings — they suddenly please him less.

Around this time, I spotted an enormous, beautiful maple leaf on the grounds of the Virginian countryside resort where Chuck and I spent our 10-year wedding anniversary. It was glistening from a recent rain shower. I picked it up and brought it to our room, then went about my day. Hours later, it had dried and sat looking lonely and crispy on the bedside table. Removed from the lush, dewy grass, the cool, misty air, it had suddenly lost its magic. I thought of Emerson’s poem, then.

I haven’t picked a flower or brought a seashell home since! These days, I prefer to meet them where they are – in the wild 🙂 

Nothing is fair or good alone.
I thought the sparrow’s note from heaven,
Singing at dawn on the alder bough;
I brought him home, in his nest, at even;
He sings the song, but it pleases not now,
For I did not bring home the river and sky; —
He sang to my ear, — they sang to my eye.
The delicate shells lay on the shore;

The bubbles of the latest wave
Fresh pearls to their enamel gave;
And the bellowing of the savage sea
Greeted their safe escape to me.
I wiped away the weeds and foam,
I fetched my sea-born treasures home;
But the poor, unsightly, noisome things
Had left their beauty on the shore,
With the sun, and the sand, and the wild uproar.

Beauty through my senses stole;
I yielded myself to the perfect whole.

Ralph Waldo Emerson
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Cute Cali Crannies

IMG_2715Over the past couple of weeks, I have explored some new nooks n’ crannies here in Southern California. Specifically, I saw Potato Chip Rock and San Juan Capistrano!

I experienced the former because I had friends visiting from Nebraska. You would think that visitors from the landlocked Midwest would want to see the beach in the dead of summer, but no! These athletic types wanted a hike..and a challenging hike, to boot. I had long wondered about Potato Chip Rock, but I will admit that I had no idea how strenuous it was actually going to be. Let’s just say that climbing 1100 feet into the air (and 2 miles of actual feet on the ground) was more than I bargained for, particularly under a full sun bearing down at 90 degrees. Continue reading →

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The Bee’s Knees

I just had the most magical experience!

My cat Momo found a dying bumble bee in my fireplace. To her credit, she wasn’t trying to kill it, but it must have been there for a while because it was weak and couldn’t fly. I hate to see anything frightened and dying, so I wondered how I could help.

Since the bee was clearly harmless in its condition, I decided to get tactile. To my surprise, it barely hesitated when it gingerly walked onto my finger. I took it outside and placed it on my hanging petunia plant, hoping it would do whatever it is that bees do on flowers and regain its strength. Instead, it teetered around helplessly and seemed disoriented.

Maybe bees don’t get their nectar from petunias, I thought.

So I guided it onto my finger again and placed it on a cluster of orange flowers in my yard (I don’t know the name.) I sat and observed for a while, but nothing happened. At least this pretty flower is a better place to die than my fireplace, stalked by my cats, I thought. I was about to give up hope and satisfy myself with the knowledge that I’d returned it to a more natural environment, but I had one last idea.

I retrieved a chopstick and some local raw honey from my pantry and returned to the bee. I dipped the chopstick for a small dewdrop of honey and dabbed it on a petal near the bee, and hovered the chopstick nearby. I am no expert on bee anatomy, but what I assume was its tongue darted out and started consuming the honey! Slowly, it regained mobility, and its legs and antennae started to squirm. Within another moment or two, the bee was buzzing and soared off into sky, rising high above my avocado tree, with my other kitty Tetsu gazing on in wonder! 🐝✨💛 I was elated and awestruck!

I could not believe the honey trick worked. In fact, a Facebook friend commented that Virgil noted back in 31 B.C. that the way to save bees was to give them honey. I was slightly concerned there might be some negative side effect to giving an adult bee honey, so I’m relieved to know that I have validation from ancient Roman poets 🙂 

Anyway, this little episode made my day. Like that Starfish Story says, you may not be able to make a difference for all, but you can always make a difference for one.

Godspeed, Little bumble!

*Note: the photo above does not depict the bee I saved this morning. I snapped that shot at the San Diego Botanical Gardens earlier this summer. 

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Asia Farewell Tour: Laos

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You know when you see photos of beautiful places on Pinterest or Instagram or wherever, and then you go to visit those places yourself and they’re certainly still beautiful, but not as striking as the heavily enhanced shots you saw on social media? Well, Luang Prabang, Laos is not one of those places. It is every bit as breathtaking as you would imagine, and it was by far my favorite stop on our Indochina itinerary. Continue reading →

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Okinawa: Eating Our Way Through the Last Stretch

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Cafe Pipineo is about 10 minutes from my apartment and serves the most luscious cinnamon rolls I’ve ever had my whole life.

Welp! We are just about 6 weeks from our presumed rotation date, and the Marines still haven’t given us orders for the next assignment. Never mind that pretty much everyone else in our lives knows where they are going. Chuck and I are masters of the “hurry up and wait” philosophy, at this point. That said, I continue to assume that we will depart Okinawa this spring. With our time here drawing to a close, I am hoping we can squeeze a few more adventures into our remaining weeks – however big or small.

One thing I will surely miss are the darling cafés that dot the island.  They typically offer just 2-4 menu items at any given time, which sounds limiting but actually ensures a more memorable culinary experience. Of course, the ingredients are always fresh and local, and the décor is consistently unique and charming.

I won’t mind having more options (especially vegetarian and/or gluten free) when I return to the States, but I don’t know what I’ll do without a hearty guarantee of savory Japanese curry, garnished with local vegetables known to bless Okinawans with the longest lifespans on the planet.…  Continue reading →

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The Earth Laughs in Flowers

I first visited the Cosmos Fields in Okinawa 2 years ago, and I had a great time frolicking in the sea of pink as Chuck humored me with a couple of cute photos. But I would be lying if I didn’t admit to having more photo-shoot oriented fun when I took my friend Sally to see them for the first time.

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Journey to Middle Earth: North Island

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As Chuck and I approached our third Christmas away from the U.S., we realized – with a smattering of guilt – that we had not gone home for a single one of them. Of course, we had made it home on other occasions, and family is always welcome to join our international excursions, but this time we made it a point to invite Chuck’s parents and siblings to join us for a road trip in New Zealand. Continue reading →