Virtual Travel Diary

Each new day is a blank page in the diary of your life. 
The secret of success is in turning that diary into the best story you possibly can.
-Douglas Pagels

As the pandemic rages across the globe, colleagues practice social distancing Twitter-style. With no mention of quarantine life, a tweet chat turns into a travel diary. Places across the states and as far away as Brazil and South Africa are shared with those who shelter in place.

Honey blush sunrise stills Central New York.

Sunny bluebird feather skies shine in California.

with a similar sight in North Carolina.

Rose-pink florals cascade in Los Angeles.

Courtyard green vegetation thrives in Texas while

Colorado white snow snowscapes share faith over fear.

Kansas white downy clouds billow

and ducks congregate in Wisconsin.

Silver strand clouds brush across Brazil's sky.

Evening nears with a heartthrob sunset hovering over Los Angeles.


☵
as day closes
nature shades evening light
shelter in place
humanity needs peace
 ataraxia exists

Nature Nurtures

©CVarsalona, 2020

Photographs collected from Cheryl Abla, Robert Breyer, #chazchaz, Christelle, colldingwithscience, Al Dhalla, Eric Hayes, Faige Meller, Sharon Norden, 
Karl O'Leary, Dr. Jill Ries, Elizabeth Russell

I invite you to join me bring voice and the artistry of nature to heal troubled hearts during these challenging times. See the special invitation by clicking here. Reminder to add your offering to my Nature Nurtures! padlet and on social media using the hashtag, #NatureNurtures2020.

Spirit of Spring!

Spring is upon us. Welcome to Spiritual Journey first Thursday. I am delighted to be the host for this month's gathering.  The topic I chose for the community to ponder is "Spirit of Spring" that breathes new life into the world. I have chosen to continue to #ThinkPoetry beyond National Poetry Month during the month of May. Join me by adding your offerings.

Part I

Found Poetry with Scripture Verses

Flowers appear on the earth:

the season of singing has come,

the cooling of doves is heard in our land.

(Song of Songs 2:12)

They waited for me as for showers and

drank in my words as the spring rain.

(Job 29:3)

Let my teaching fall like rain and

my word descend like dew,

like showers on new grass,

like abundant rain on tender plants. 

(Deuteronomy 32:2)

Part II

Paint Chip Poetry

(Color Choices to create a poem:  Breath of Spring, Fragrant Spruce, Green Energy, Grass Green, Green Mist, Green Sprinkle, Heartland, Herbal Green, Morning Dew, Misted Pollen,

Nature, Paradise Green, Spring Morning)

↓

Morning sprinkles spring with sparkling dew.

Let us soak up the blessings!

Spruce trees fragrant the woodlands.

Let us smell the fresh aroma of spring!

The mist of falling rain caresses the Heartland.

Let us feel the blessings and

Be energized to fortify and renew

Hearts weary from winter's long sleep!

Nature's breath renews earth daily,

opening flowers on spring mornings,

coloring landscapes of grass green

as pollen dances in the breeze.

Life living moments unfold each day.

Let us burst with joy

as we uncover a herbal paradise

of springtime splendor!

⁕⁕⁕⁕⁕

⁕⁕⁕⁕⁕

Enjoy listening to two versions of the song, Indescribable.

What I learned from researching scripture and writing from the heart
about the spirit of spring. 

It is important to:

• Give homage to our earth and the Lord for creating it
• Turn to faith to nurture our souls as rain nourishes our planet earth
• Believe in the spirit of spring for it will offer limitless possibilities if we reach out

On a Spring Day: Poetry Friday Roundup

Welcome to the Poetry Friday Roundup! I am hosting the last Poetry Friday community gathering of National Poetry Month. The birds are chirping, the sun is shining, and the earth is green. Let's celebrate springtime and poetryliscious poetry!

I live on the south shore of Long Island, a short distance from the beautiful south shore beach, my family's go-to place to visit in any season. There the ocean roars makes lapping sounds, and its boardwalk invites all to walk, reflect on nature, and be inspired. On Palm Sunday, my husband and I traveled to Long Beach, a dense fog settled on the beach, making it impossible to see the ocean. We have never seen such a thick fog settle on the beach in this way. It was an intriguing phenomenon of nature that inspired me to write. You can access my post and poem here. A couple of days later, I created a wordless, nature video and placed it on YouTube and on the Wonderopolis Wonder Ground. 

For days I continued to think about the foggy day. How could I share my collection of nature photographs? To remind me of my unique spring walk at the beach, I gathered an assortment of gray paint chips (gullwing gray, wish, silver satin, gray clouds, sweatshirt gray, anchor gray, overcoat) and drafted a paint-chip poem. 

        
Sweatshirt-Gray Day

Gray clouds hover

upon my silver wish.

Gullwings of satin-

gray dip and swish.

Silver haze coats

sweatshirted skies.
Gray clouds linger-
nature's surprise.

My heart flutters.
Gray gullwings fly.
Fog sits in majesty,
wonder of the sky.
©CV, 2019

INVITATION:

I invite you to view my wordless, music video, Into the Fog Seaside Walk, created with the Lomotif app. If interested, write a poem to accompany my video?  (Click below to view the video.)

I look forward to reading through all the offerings for this week's Poetry Friday Roundup! 

PLEASE NOTE:

Mister Linky's Magical Widgets' link-up moved to a new address.

Please see this week's Poetry Friday Roundup poetic offerings HERE.

(If you are trying to link-up, please click on the word HERE to add your blog post.)