Festive Berries with Droplets

 “If I must start somewhere, right here and now 

is the best place imaginable.” 

 ― Richelle E. Goodrich

Pipevine Swallowtail Butterfly on Teasel

 "Everyone is looking, not many are seeing." 

~ Peter M. Leschak

Shower the World with Love and Gratitude

 “Thanksgiving is a joyous invitation to shower the world with love and gratitude.” 

― Amy Leigh Mercree

Carolina Wren

 “Give thanks as if you are living just to appreciate life. Live as if your life depends on love, kindness, gratitude, and thanksgiving.” 

- Debasish Mridha

Red Hot Poker

 "Happiness shared is happiness doubled." 

― Swedish Proverb

Paperbush

 "Miracles come in moments. Be ready and willing." 

- Wayne Dyer

Northern Flicker

 "Don't waste yourself in rejection, nor bark against the bad, 

but chant the beauty of the good." 

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Breakfast of Champions

 I guess we know what this robin is having for breakfast.

Extraordinary Things

 "Extraordinary things are always hiding 

in places people never think to look." 

– Jodi Picoult

Red-Bellied Woodpecker

 "If you see someone without a smile give them one of yours."

 — Unknown

Damselfly in Black and White

 "Seeing...means using your senses, your intellect, and your emotions. It means encountering your subject matter with your whole being...and discovering the remarkable world around you." 

F.  Patterson

Blessings of Nature

 Hear blessings dropping their blossoms around you. 

― Rumi

Snowy Egret

 "If a window of opportunity appears, don't pull down the shade."

~ Tom Peters 

 From our visit to Clearwater Beach, Florida - Thanksgiving 2023.

Light in the Darkness

 “You will enrich your life immeasurably if you approach it with a sense of wonder and discovery, 

and always challenge yourself to try new things.” 

—Nate Berkus

Print Available - HERE 

Calico Creek Boardwalk

 "Each time you step off your path and give someone an act of kindness...then your road to Happiness just got a little smoother".

~ Donna A. Favors

Calico Creek Boardwalk - Morehead City, North Carolina

from a visit a few years ago. 

Tufted Titmouse Autumn Flight

 "Respond to every call that excites your spirit."

  — Rumi

Searching Among the Branches

 “Maybe you are searching among the branches, 

for what only appears in the roots.” 

― Rumi

Little Angels of Nature

 “Butterflies are nature’s angels. 

They remind us what a gift it is to be alive.” 

— Robyn Nola

Change is a Measure of Time

     "Change is a measure of time and, in the autumn, 

time seems speeded up. 

What was is not and never again will be; what is is change." 

- Edwin Teale

Yellow-bellied Slider

 “It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.” 

– Confucius

Autumn Endings

 “The beauty of autumn is that it reminds us that even the most beautiful things have to end, and it’s okay.” 

- Unknown

Monarch Butterfly Blessings

 “You never know where a blessing can come from.”

 – Teena Marie

Prints, Mugs and More are available - HERE 

Red-spotted Purple Butterfly

 “Every small, unselfish action nudges the world into a better path. An accumulation of small acts can change the world.” 

― Robin Hobb

Little Gifts From The Sky

 “Autumn leaves are like little gifts falling from the sky, 

making everything look magical.” 

– Unknown

Dragonfly Friends

 "Friendship is the golden thread that ties the heart of all the world." 

– John Evelyn

Life is an Adventure

 “Do not stop thinking of life as an adventure." 

―Eleanor Roosevelt

Once again, perusing prior images.

This is a Fairy Fan-Flower - I believe.

We saw this flower covered with droplets on a Christmas vacation in Atlantic Beach, North Carolina.

It was so nice to see flowers blooming in December.

Fritillary Friends

  “For beautiful eyes, look for the good in others; for beautiful lips, speak only words of kindness; and for poise, walk with the knowledge that you are never alone.” 

— Audrey Hepburn

Carry Joy In Your Heart

 “If you carry joy in your heart, you can heal any moment.”

 —Carlos Santana

Be A Positive Thinker

 "The positive thinker sees the invisible, feels the intangible, 

and achieves the impossible." 

 ~  Unknown

White-throated Sparrow

 "It's your outlook on life that counts. If you take yourself lightly and don't take yourself too seriously, pretty soon you can find the humor in our everyday lives. And sometimes it can be a lifesaver." 

– Betty White

Autumn Blessings

We've been blessed with a lot of beautiful weather so far for the month of November. 

"Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows."

James 1:17 - NIV

Let Your Hopes Shape Your Future

 “Let your hopes, not your hurts, shape your future.” 

— Robert H. Schuller

Forest Fungi

 “I declare this world is so beautiful that I can hardly believe it exists.” 

— Ralph Waldo Emerson

I've been revisiting some images from prior years - this is one from a

Christmas Vacation in Atlantic Beach, North Carolina (2021)

I thought this Fungi had quite the autumnal vibe.

Female Cardinal Grabs a Berry

 “He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has.” 

― Epictetus

Experience Life As A Gift

 “Gratitude is the ability to experience life as a gift....” 

― John Ortberg

Downy Woodpecker

   "...once you begin to take note of the things you are grateful for, you begin to lose sight of the things that you lack.”

― Germany Kent

Pearl Crescent Butterfly

 “Appreciation is the sunrise that paints the sky of life with hues of joy and warmth.” 

– Lucy Sinclair

Golden-crowned Kinglet

 “One small positive thought in the morning 

can change your whole day.” 

- Dalai Lama

Wide Open Wings - Painted Lady Butterfly

 “The soul that gives thanks can find comfort in everything; ..." 

― Hannah Whitall Smith

Red-bellied Woodpecker

 "If life has those moments — ecstasies of health, youth and peace... — treasure them." 

~ Byron Caldwell Smith

Coralberry Also Known As Indian Currant

 “There is no end to education.... The whole of life, from the moment you are born to the moment you die, is a process of learning.” 

— Jiddu Krishnamurti

I've been using Google Lens to help me identify some of the plants I've been finding along my walks.  This one is called Coralberry also known as Indian Currant.  

Seen along the Huckleberry Trail - Plantation Road side on 11/02/24 

Little Legs - White-throated Sparrow

 “Dwell on the beauty of life. 

Watch the stars, and see yourself running with them.” 

– Marcus Aurelius

Bald Cypress Trees

 “What we learn with pleasure we never forget.” 

— Alfred Mercier

Hethwood Pond - November 2, 2024 

Skippers Visit the Zinnias

 "Always remember the beauty of the garden, for there is peace." 

- Unknown

Snapdragon

"Let us live like flowers, wild and beautiful and drenched in sun." 

― Ellen Everett 

Mallard Wings

 Feel the limitless wonder of this very moment.

 — Ralph Marston

Female Mallard Duck stretches her wings

Hethwood Pond - 11/02/24 

Thankful Squirrel

 "...the thankful heart... will find, in every hour, 

some heavenly blessings."

~ Henry Ward Beecher

I thought the squirrel looked like he was clasping his paws in prayer.

Treasure in the Tree

 "We can only be said to be alive in those moments 

when our hearts are conscious of our treasures." 

~ Thornton Wilder

An Autumn Walk

 “All walking is discovery. 

On foot we take the time to see things whole.”

- Hal Borland

Teasel seen on our walk today - a perfect November day. 

Open Your Heart and Mind

 “Open your heart and mind like the wings of a butterfly. 

See then how high you can fly.” 

— Zeenat Aman

Print Available - HERE 

Monarch Butterfly flies over the Globe Amaranth (Gomphrena Globosa) -

seen on October 7, 2024.