I’m taking the week off to celebrate the Fourth of July. Because of my dog (and the extreme dryness of California summers), I no longer enjoy fireworks the way I used to. But a good parade never gets old. And neither do celebrations with family and friends.
How do you celebrate patriotism and independence—whether you’re American or claim another country as home?
I don’t know about you, but I always struggle the first few weeks after we “spring forward” into Daylight Saving Time. A few days ago, I managed to get out of bed at an earlier-than-usual hour, though it took until the sun was up for me to make it out of the house with the dog. In between bursts of rain on our quiet walk, I snapped this picture with my phone. The view and its accompanying quiet felt like a gentle hello from God.
I love this photograph for so many reasons: the play of early morning sun and gray clouds; the exuberance of green grass growing where I rarely see it; the meandering path along the flat trail (it plunges down just past the distant tree line); the stately oak leafing out to welcome spring.
The trees in this picture have survived not just one year of drought but years of it. Yet look at them. Look at those green leaves. Continue reading
The Flourishing Tree 