Sarah

I sleep with my windows open now, and at times the air is scented with the sweetness of the Russian Olive trees' lemon-colored blossoms. The trees are sage-green, thorny things that grow well in our semi-arid climate, and I would say they are not a favorite of most people. I love them, though. I love the juxtaposition of their light green leaves and their reddish-brown bark. I love the delicacy of their leaves and and the lacy pattern they create against fences. I love how rugged yet fancy they look.

I've heard they make a mess, though. They drop olives all over the yard that have to be raked up, and their 2-inch thorns make them a daunting foe. So they're beautiful, but kind of a nuisance.

I love this time of year, when the air is full of their scent. It is sweet without being cloying, and floats on the breeze, coming in at the most unexpected moments. I step out of my car at the grocery store, and there it is. I lie down at night to read before going to sleep, and it floats in. I walk to a friend's house, and it follows me there.

That's just like beauty though, isn't it? Unexpected, showing up at the strangest moments, but almost always to be found if looked for. Do you walk around with your eyes wide open? Do you expect to see you beauty, or are you so busy, so harried, so frustrated that you miss what is right in front of you? I sometimes am...

What if you had a whole extra day each week just to see. Would you? Or would you fill it up, too?


What if you had one extra hour every evening around sunset just to find the most beautiful ray of light? Would you? Or would dinner and the kids and the hours of the day overwhelm you?


I have a friend who sees beauty all around her, every day, everywhere she goes. And she stops to take pictures. She talks about it. She tells the stories.... "Today I was walking to the corner store and look - the sun was shining in such an amazing way! Look at these leaves! Don't they look like glass...or jewels?"


I want to make that choice - to see. To live each day with my eyes wide open. To miss nothing. To never be too busy to stop for just one second and see what is all around me - beauty. In one perfect bloom. In the sun's glint off a piece of broken glass. In the footprint of a dog. In the deep green of the unmown grass. In the beautiful colors of my chopped vegetables. In the print of my favorite sundress. In the stained glass of the leaves outside my window. In the birdsong in the early morning. In the hazy heat of a July afternoon. In the song on the radio. In the smile of that child.

See...


Thanks, Sarah, for your eyes...and your pictures. Fall, 2010, Shooks Run, Colorado Springs, my corner. :-)

Sarah and I were sitting on my porch talking and she noticed this beautiful, late afternoon light. She asked for my camera, ran to the corner and took these pictures. Sarah sees.