Safe in the Jaws of the Beast...

Ok, so you remember that walk we took a week back?

The beautiful spring-day walk in the woods?  Yep, that one...

And our hearts were smiling, and the breeze was light, and it was so very springy and pretty...

And I took lots of pictures, and only shared a few, cuz overload and all that.  Well, there were a few pictures I didn't share, because, well, they weren't very springy and pretty.

But, then everything changes.  And now I have to share.  So beware...not springy and pretty coming up...

 

Yes, it is indeed a skull...

 

 

Just laying out on the path, wicked fangs interrupting the peaceful calm of our spring walk.  Farmer husband informed me that they are tusks from a wild hog... But fangs, tusks, it was all a little unsettling

 

So, of course, we picked up the gruesome skeleton and brought it back home.  You expected that, yes?

 

It's kind of like "show-and-tell" at Memaw and Pepaw's... Because grandkids love gory stuff...

 

And I tried to ignore the gory skull... But then it ended up on the patio table so we could see it better and I refused to eat there, ever and again, amen...

 

Fast forward to today and this adorable little tree frog...

 

 

 

 

All safe and snug in the Jaws of the Beast...

And getting a little sun to boot.

 

 

How can that not make you happy?

Sweet little tree frog, nestled all content

in the last place on earth I would ever want to be...
Perhaps there is good even in the gory?

 

(The patio table is still dead to me...just saying)

 

And because this could be a traumatizing post for the squeamish among us,

I feel obligated to end on a happier note...

 

 

Same walk, same day...

Frilly blooming Iris,

growing wild and free,

a thing of beauty.

 

May your day be so,

the unexpected beautiful right where you are.

 

Love Always,

              Jane

 

Cold Fronts, And Sheets and Tiny, Tiny Tree Frogs...

Cold fronts a-moving in... time to pull out the sweaters and scarfs!  Oh, and light up the woodstove.  Love this crisp fall weather.  But not the freezing temps so much...

My to-do list just got a mile longer.  Winterize the pipes.  Heat lamps for the chicks.  Haul hay for the goats.  Top off water tanks.  Pick the last of the tomatoes and green peppers (yes, we still have the garden growing, the glories of a Texas Fall!) 

And just as I caught myself running ragged, I remembered all the pretty plants on the back deck...

Maybe, just maybe we could cover them with sheets and pray for a "mild" freeze?  Not quite ready yet to lose the beauty, the sweet fragrance as we walk by...

And I rush in to get the sheets, rummaging thru drawers to find as many as I can, then rushing back out, linens billowing all around...

...and in the rushing to protect and cover up, I almost missed him...

 

 

Sweet, little tree frog.

 

Blending in, keeping still, but for the frantic beating heart.

My billowing sheets must have scared him silly.

Hung on to the dried oak leaf he did, surely praying I would pass him by...

 

 

 

 

But then I stilled my rushing, bent the knee and nodded, eye to eye...

 

Sometimes we just need to slow down and smile thanks for the offering.

 

Praying for the warmth of family and friends to hold you close this chilly night

and for these moments to still, just slow down and bring peace to each heart...

 

In Grace, Always, Jane