A Fabulous Moment...

This morning, I spotted the hummingbird flitting about amongst the Bee Balm plants and reached for the camera. I was thrilled to capture this beautiful creature (a Rufous Hummingbird) as it hovered, sipping nectar from the blossom.

I am so grateful for that moment and for the fabulous camera (the Nikon D800) which helped me capture this...
This evening, Judy and I sat on our deck and listened to the crickets and watched the bats fly about the pond.

Moment to moment, this place enriches our life.
Nicholas

"A few minutes ago every tree was excited, bowing to the roaring storm, waving, swirling, tossing their branches in glorious enthusiasm like worship.  But though to the outer ear these trees are now silent, their songs never cease.  Every hidden cell is throbbing with music and life, every fiber thrilling like harp strings, while incense is ever flowing from the balsam bells and leaves.  No wonder the hills and groves were God's first temples, and the more they are cut down and hewn into cathedrals and churches, the farther off and dimmer seems the Lord himself."

John Muir

Surrounding our lives are extraordinary trees, tall, majestic, inspiring. It brings to mind the great visionary from Scotland, John Muir, whose life's mission was to protect the pristine wilderness of the United States, to shelter the landscape of America from development and greed. He is so much to thank for the creation of the National Park system, Yosemite in particular.

As I begin work here in Ithaca, at the Finger Lakes School of Massage, I am reminded daily of Chinese medicine and massage. In 5-element Chinese medicine, the Wood element is all about transformation, new beginnings, the season of spring and the tension necessary to hold strong...digging deep for water and nutriment into the darkness of the earth, while simultaneously reaching for the sky.

The secret to healthy Wood element...flexibility...thank you beautiful American sycamore tree with your gnarled bark and your new growth...your light informs my living this day...

Judy