FRIENDSHIP'S SPRINGTIME GARDEN (with photos)

FRIENDSHIP’S SPRINGTIME GARDEN

Lingering for just a moment
at my window of dawn,
I inhale the sweet fragrances
from my garden of morn,
nighttime dreams left behind
to visit another time.
Seeds of friendship
sown with care and love
are blooming in the garden,
nurtured from above,
exquisite jewels sparkling
in the April morning sun.
Sprinkled liberally with tears
of sadness and joy,
friendship flowers bloom
just outside my window here,
blossoms of precious silver and gold
filling this vase within my heart
as they’ve graced my special garden
on this beautiful springtime day.



(c) barbara kausteklis 4-13-12

Written for Friday Fling/
"Friday Fling Shares Gardening Tips Didactically."

http://www.friendburst.com/blog/86315/friday-fling-shares-gardening-tips-didactically/

Thanks always for your friendship and comments.

WITHIN THE BLOSSOMS OF SPRING -- A Springtime Collab with photos

WITHIN THE BLOSSOMS OF SPRING

Opening up to see the morning sun,
the flower buds begin to bloom,
their colors painting the fields galore;
bountiful beauty the Creator has in store.
Brightening Mother Nature's room,
new birth replaces pain and gloom
as beautiful fragrances fill the air,
Spring replaces Winter everywhere.

Mother Earth nurturing
each blossom with care,
hope springing eternal
within the lilies of spring;
forever a spark in my soul to ignite,
spring gives me a feeling
so full of delight.

Spring's delightful fragrances
take my breath away
as fruit trees explode in quilts
of pastel pinks and whites.
And I can't help but notice
that Spring has finally arrived
and that from now on
everything will be alright
as the rose and the dandelion
are clearly meant to be.




(c) barbara kausteklis 4-7-12

Thanks to the following Pals for sharing their lines with me:
Angel Love, Bettie, Dee, Russell, Scotorum, Michelle K, Diane,
Mary Margaret, Marcia, and Me, Barbara K

Written for the last week's "Saturday Share."

http://www.friendburst.com/blog/85934/saturday-share-22/
Lines selected in addition to my own:

"THE FLOWER BUDS BEGIN TO BLOOM (required)

Blooms opening up to see the morning sun (Bettie)
Colors painting the fields galore(dee)
Fields filled with beauty and bountiful blooms (RUSSELL)
Brightening Mother Nature’s room (Scotorum)
The Rose and the Dandelion were meant to be (Marcia)
New births releasing gloom (Diane)
A beautiful fragrance fills the air (Angel Love)
Nurtured with care from mother earth (Michelle K)
A fragrance so sweet it takes away all the gloom (Bettie)
Forever a spark my soul ignite(Mary)
Spring giving me a feeling so full of delight (Michelle K)
Making me feel that everything is alright (Angel Love)

Thanks always for your visits and precious comments.

Sending love and hugs from springtime-blooming Southern California.

~barb~

BEYOND IMAGINATION'S DOOR -- Blogophilia 7.5

"Hot Potatoes" and "Bunny Ears" --
quite the combination . . . .

Blogophilia week 7.5 - "Thriving On Chaos"

Bonus Points:

(Hard, 2pts): mention Steve Martin in bunny ears
(Easy, 1pt): include a "Hot Potato"

Final date to post BLOG: April 14, 2012 - Saturday, midnight Pacific Time

Final date to post ALL GUESSES: April 13, 2012 - Friday, midnight Pacific Time

Please highlight or otherwise point out your bonus points attempts.

Guess correctly who submitted the topic... and a correct guess at who submitted the picture earns you additional points.

Guess correctly the secret "word or phrase" earns a chance at more points. Including the secret word or phrase within your blog content earns an additional point!!

********************

BEYOND IMAGINATION'S DOOR

It's all a matter of degree,
if you ask me,
the reality I see,
what I choose it to be,
sometimes lingering
in that narrow space
between reality
and what's just beyond
imagination's door,
that place can be
what and exactly how
I want it to be,
where I always find
just who I am
and can always be
the me that is me.

And in the midst of the madness
and chaos of each day,
the freeways,
the news,
the noise to confuse,



over the years
I've learned a lesson
or two or three --
how to change the subject
when it gets too much,
to drop it like a hot potato
and turn my attention
to something else,
to change the subject
to occupy my mind
with something guaranteed
to make me smile,
some vintage TV,
a comedy or two,
a walk in the park,
a sunset view;
even Steve Martin
in bunny ears will do
the trick
and change my view.



And soon I'm back
to my somewhat normal self,
reminded once more
(and again and again)
that there still can be
some beauty and some fun
in the midst of the madness
that we're confronted with
each and every day
as I find myself
inspired by the way
so many face the challenges
that each day brings to them,
surviving and even thriving
on the chaos that life
so often has in store
as I try to follow
their example
and welcome
whatever challenges
that every tomorrow brings.

Surviving and thriving on chaos
and full speed ahead.

(c) barbara kausteklis 4-12-12

Written for Blogophilia 7.5/"Thriving on Chaos."

http://www.myspace.com/blogophilia/blog/545554298

GUESSES

TOPIC SUBMITTED BY: Christopher

PICTURE SUBMITTED BY: Tyler





PHRASES:

Peter Cottontail walking down the bunny Trail, One foot in front of the other, Oceanside, Fenced in, Railroad, Bunny costume, dejected, sad, Here Comes Peter Cottontail, Steve Martin in bunny ears, Man in white, Bugs Bunny, Peter Rabbit, bunny hop, Bunny Trail, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, bump in the road, a wild and crazy guy, Boardwalk, watch your step, Let's Get Small, Saturday Night Live, Excuse me, "Flopsy, Mopsy, Cottontail and Peter," step it up, windbreak, broken fences, don't fence me in, spring break, Easter vacation, going downhill, down the trail, mending fences, droopy ears

Thanks always for your visits and precious comments
and for sharing another Blogophilia week
and smile with me.

~barb~

RELEASED AND SET FREE

RELEASED AND SET FREE

Doing the best I can
with what I have today,
I try to look beyond
the very next step
to what lies ahead
through tomorrow’s door
as I leave the rest behind
and get it out of my mind.

I’m tucking away
those memories,
putting them back
where they belong,
in treasured boxes created
especially for them;
tiny remnants
and random bits,
leftover pieces
of another day,
another time,
layers of thought,
some half forgotten
and others almost lost,
faint images and muffled words;
I’m leaving them behind.

And finally,
after all these years,
I’m beginning to see
what has burdened my heart
and unsettled my soul.
And so I’ve begun
to put it all away
and let it all go,
released to no longer
get the better of me
as mixed with the ink
that flows through my pen,
it fills up the pages
and once-empty spaces
in lines woven with care.





(c) barbara kausteklis 4-9-12

Written for "Magic Monday/Magic of Life."

"Life is like photography.
You develop from the negatives."

http://www.friendburst.com/blog/85317/magic-life/

Thanks always for your visits and comments.

~barb~

IN DUE TIME

Cellphone Photo by "Mystery Guest Artist"


IN DUE TIME

Fleeting,
ephemeral,
where the beginning
ends
and the end
begins,
hazy and blurred,
moments flowing
into
and
out of
what comes next,
random pieces
of life,
disconnected,
half remembered,
mostly forgotten,
and life continues . . . .

And on those days
when all things
seem a blur
and the lines overlap
and distort,
I know that
when the time is right
light overcomes dark,
and all things
become clear
once again . . . .
in due time.

(c) barbara kausteklis 4-8-12
Easter Sunday 2012

Written for "A Simple Sunday."

http://www.friendburst.com/blog/86142/simple-sunday-picture-challenge-resurrected-guest-artist/

Thanks always for all visits and comments.

Wishing everyone a most excellent week ahead.

~barb~

SPRINGTIME SMILES (Blogophilia 6.5 with photos)

Blogophilia week 6.5 - "Hilaria"

Bonus Points:
(Hard, 2pts): include the Pacific Northwest tree octopus (Octopus paxarbolis)
(Easy, 1pt): include a jackelope

Final date to post BLOG: April 7, 2012 - Saturday, midnight Pacific Time
Final date to post ALL GUESSES: April 6, 2012 - Friday, midnight Pacific Time

Please highlight or otherwise point out your bonus points attempts.

Guess correctly who submitted the topic... and a correct guess at who submitted the picture earns you additional points!!

Guess correctly the secret "word or phrase" earns a chance at more points. Including the secret word or phrase within your blog content earns an additional point!!

-------------------------------

SPRINGTIME SMILES

So many things
put a smile on my face,
more than I can count,
but I'll share just a few.

I can't help but smile at
the ducks having fun
as they're paddling about
in the afternoon sun.




And dragonflies of summer,
laced-winged beauties of gold,
resting on lily pads
a sight that never gets old;
and squirrels taking naps,
dreaming the afternoon away;
and butterflies and rainbows
as the sun appears after the rain;
and kites soaring so high
on a day at the beach




and bubbles floating in front
of my face at the fair.




But there are a couple of things
I had forgotten up till now,
that put even more
than a smile on my face,
adding a welcome bit
of springtime hilaria
to an otherwise serious day,
as I recall the astonishing events
that made me feel this way.

The sky was crystal clear,
not a cloud in the sky,
waves of heat rising,
a desert mirage far away;
and suddenly an apparition
never expected appeared
right before my eyes,
a giant jackrabbit
with antlers so tall,
a jackalope wonder,
no doubt at all.





And not far away,
I swear that it's true,
an octopus in branches
hanging upside down
in clear view.
I don't know how it got there,
a Northwest PacificTree Octopus,
I have to presume,
quite out of its element
in this desert at high noon.





But there they were,
jackalope and octopus
right before my eyes,
fast friends already
certainly to my surprise.
I never expected
that trip to be so much fun
but when we got home
a great story to tell
and a springtime celebration
of Hilaria as well.


(c) barbara kausteklis 4-4-12
Written for Blogophilia 6.5/"Hilaria"

(Photos of tree octopus and jackalope
are internet images . . . .
and the other photos are my own.

http://www.myspace.com/blogophilia/blog/545525481


GUESSES:

TOPIC SUBMITTED BY: Ruggi

PICTURE SUBMITTED BY: Tyler





PHRASES:

April Fools, canned air, empty can, hot air, bogus, water under the bridge, empty air, airtight, joke, tin can alley, gas can, canned, evaporated into thin air, vaporized, invisible, scam, snake oil, Bernard's Baloney, Bernie's Blarney, hoax, jokes, tank of gas

A few interesting links:

Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus info

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacific_Northwest_tree_octopus

Jackalope info
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackalope

Hilaria info
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hilaria

****************

Thanks so much for your visits and comments and for sharing another Blogophilia week with me. These are always such a fun challenge.

Big Hugs.

~barb~

AS RAINDROPS FALL (Collab with photo)

AS RAINDROPS FALL

Washing away all
the tears I have cried,
sweet raindrops cleanse
my spirit when it begins
to falter along the way.
And as the drops
begin to fall,
forming puddles
all around,
the child within my heart
comes out to play
on this rainy day;
and we dance together
to the rhythm of each drop,
springtime showers
settling the fears
within my heart
and setting me free
to be really me.

And as the rains end
and the sun shines again,
we dance once more,
my heart's inner friend,
beneath the rainbows of spring,
the clouds departing
and leaving behind ,
as they do,
a better day along with
the peace to be found
and the love that never ends
as the springtime rain
comes pouring down.

(c) barbara kausteklis 3-31-12

Thanks to the following Pals
for sharing lines with me:
Angel Love, Ev, Dee, Mary Margaret,
Diane, Miz Nancy, Bettie and Me, Barbara

Required line
(tense can be altered):
"As the rain came pouring down."
A Collab written for the "Saturday Share."

http://www.friendburst.com/blog/85479/saturday-share-21/

Thanks always for your visits and precious comments.

~barb~