What is all this honking about!!

Posted on November 27, 2015 by simplygiselle

geese — I saw that the geese were on the move again this morning and made me want to post this again because they make me smile….

It has been said that geese honk while in their formation to encourage the lead goose, for it is that one goose that bears the brunt of the work. What work – just flying is work in itself! The point goose is breaking the air surface and thereby spreading the air current outward. Each goose after the point goose has a lesser degree of air surface to break and makes it a bit easier for them to maintain flight. When the lead goose gets tired he falls to the back of the formation and another goose steps up (or flies up at the case may be). That’s what all the honking is about – working as a team, cheering each other on, sharing the work for the better of the group.

There is so much to learn from such a simple gesture. It goes beyond teamwork and beyond encouragement and it is all natural. They ‘get it’. There is nothing selfish or mean spirited in their quest to get from point A to point B. They don’t secretly wish for one of their feathered mates to fall from the sky so they can get a good laugh from it. They are just honestly praising the hard work and perseverance they are experiencing. What a great concept!

For me, listening to the geese is so self-indulgent I almost feel badly; they bring such a smile to my face while they are working so hard to stay aloft. HONK HONK

The air traffic controller’s nightmare

Posted on April 22, 2015 by simplygiselle

The Dragonfly…or as some may see it, an air traffic controller’s nightmare. I guess you have to be in my mind for that one, a ladybug sitting atop a branch overlooking an area with headphones on, looking into a radar screen, losing her mind trying to control all the insect traffic and flight patterns…never mind, I digress.

I have always loved the dragonfly. When I was very young, my mom would take me to the town where she grew up and we would stand on the small bridge that overlooked the rather large pond (and small portion of the river) that ran behind her house. Thousands of dragonflies would zip across the water back and forth, in all possible directions, eating tiny bugs while avoiding being eaten themselves.

Although the flight pattern was chaotic, it still had a very mesmerizing affect (much like meditating) watching them for what felt like hours, being pulled into their very busy world. To see them perched with their dainty see-through paper wings, reflecting a rainbow-of-colors-sitting-atop-a-graceful-ballerina one moment and then shoot off like a Black Hawk helicopter on a hot mission the next, made it impossible to look away.

As an adult I now know that they must cram a lifetime of dragonfly business into just a few months. They must live for the moment, not only because their moment is already too short, but the perils that await them on a daily basis; the birds, the frogs, the omnivore fish that are a constant threat to their shortened lifespan…

Every moment, every second is cherished… to sit on a Lilly flower or vine and let the sun shine on their tiny bodies drying the morning dew may be the most simple enjoyment one can possibly have.

Close your eyes and you are at the beach

Posted on March 25, 2015 by simplygiselle

I have to start off by saying I am not a big fan of the Cape (Cod) but I do have to acknowledge that I have had some wonderful times there over the last 6 years all thanks to ‘The Man That Puts Up With Me’.

Case in point: my very handsome guy (who puts up with me) owns a boat, and it lends itself to some otherwise non-accessible beach areas which then in turn lends itself to many very relaxing secluded day trips. Picnics, sunbathing, and reflection, are all the agenda holds on those days.

This picture is taken a few years ago at a point in Chatham called Monomoy (If you are unfamiliar with the area, it is the very tip of the elbow portion of the Cape). This is a naturally created huge sand bar type area that protects the inner harbor and changes with the tides each day and with every storm. So much so that the place where I took these pictures no longer exists. It was a beautiful hilly peninsula extending far into the ocean full of tall ocean grass, piping plovers, and seals (and sometimes, if you are lucky, you can get a glimpse off in the distance of a whale spouting his water). We had been to this spot many times to just beach the boat and watch the seals swim their laps up and down not 10 feet from the short line.

Several storms have left the area sands drastically shifted and ocean grass now several feet below the water. The seals still find the wet almost muddy areas to take a nap and escape the well-known great white sharks looking for a snack but sitting, reflecting, and relaxing in this spot will have to remain a memory.

When I said ‘secluded’ I wasn’t kidding. Although almost everyone owns a boat here, there are so many sand bars and so much shore line you will more than likely find your own slice of heaven on any given day.

Come to think of if, you wouldn’t like it here, it’s hot, traffic sucks, overcrowded beaches, the fresh fish is awful, and you don’t want to get sunburned (whew that was a close one! I almost had to share my nirvana…).

The price of a vacation

Posted on March 11, 2015 by simplygiselle

To sit on the balcony drinking a cup of coffee early in the morning

To feel the warm breeze and watch it blow through the palm trees as they sway

To listen to the birds chirping and flittering about the grounds finding their breakfast

To spot lizards that walk through the grass or come down from the trees as their bodies slowly warm

To spy on the vacationers from my personal ‘crows nest’ and watch them stake their claim on a chair by the pool or on in the sand on the beach

To watch the sun slowly starts to make its way up and over the room just for me

To take a picture of the ball of pink, yellow, gold, purple, lighting up the sky as it sets

And to take a long deep breath of the wonderful day that lay behind

And look forward to another amazingly beautiful new day that awaits me…

There is no price tag too high to cement the spectacularly happy memories I will have from that day… and forever more

Happiness is a dirty smiling face

Posted on March 3, 2015 by simplygiselle

In response to today’s prompt question, this is what happiness means to me:

They say the first thing that pops into your head is usually the correct answer and this was it. Happiness is a dirty smiling face.

One of the many adventures Goose and I have had together, destination: Aruba. The endeavor that was in store for us on this particular day involved several broken down ATVs, a swim in the Natural Pool, stepping on a sea urchin (and therefore having them stick 4 inches out of her foot), and the guide forgetting his wallet at the beach and having to wait until dusk until he arrived back to guide us to the garage. Although Goose was in pain from the sea urchin, she didn’t complain, still drove the ATV back, and then dealt with the ER wait and doctor’s remedy of, ‘sorry there is nothing we can do, it has to work itself out’….

Yup she is a trooper, amazing, my daughter, my Goose, and my travel partner until the end.

Happiness is indeed a dirty smiling face….through the good times and bad….love you more

Love is in the air and in your soul

Posted on February 15, 2015 by simplygiselle

“For it was not into my ear you whispered, but into my heart. It was not my lips you kissed, but my soul.” – Judy Garland

After all it is Valentine’s Day so why not throw a little love out there. Even if you are not in a relationship at the moment, some point in your life you probably could relate to what Ms. Garland had to say.

That moment…that fleeting moment of a whisper or kiss truly does stir in your core and not even Father Time can erase that feeling. All you have to do is close your eyes and it comes flooding back to you, it may even propel you into another dimension (at least it seems that way) it is just that powerful.

There are so many layers to love it cannot be broken down, sorted out, or analyzed.

Maybe that is why it never leaves us, even when our heart is broken, there is still a sliver of it left behind.

(picture credit: http://flikie.s3.amazonaws.com/ImageStorage/d8/d86d6070173f46edab259e790120da28.jpg)

What is all this honking about!!

Posted on January 22, 2015 by simplygiselle

geese
It has been said that geese honk while in their formation to encourage the lead goose, for it is that one goose that bears the brunt of the work. What work – just flying is work in itself! The point goose is breaking the air surface and thereby spreading the air current outward. Each goose after the point goose has a lesser degree of air surface to break and makes it a bit easier for them to maintain flight. When the lead goose gets tired he falls to the back of the formation and another goose steps up (or flies up at the case may be). That’s what all the honking is about – working as a team, cheering each other on, sharing the work for the better of the group.

For me, listening to the geese is so self-indulgent I almost feel badly; they bring such a smile to my face while they are working so hard to stay aloft. HONK HONK

My next cup of tea

Posted on December 21, 2014 by simplygiselle

I would like to order my next cup of tea, bottomless please.

A never ending perfect cup; neither too hot nor too cold, neither too sweet nor too bitter, with the slightest taste of honey that makes me lick my lips wanting that last droplet. The kind of tea that, when you close your eyes, you have been transported to another place and time and seems to last forever…

Maybe it is in the past, but maybe it is in the future, each sip is always different. Which do you taste first, the bitter? The mistakes made that you have tried to put behind you? Some are safely locked away while others give a glimpse to let you know they are lurking and waiting for the exact moment to ruin your complacency on any given day.

Sometimes the bitter is just missing someone you will never see again. You have safely compartmentalized in that velvet box, way way back, so far deep down, and then for no reason at all, BAM the tears start to fall-you don’t want to forget (you will never forget) but you also don’t want to remember…

Does the heat from the tea flowing from palate to stomach to thaw you inside and out? Remember the freezing cold days well below zero, shoveling, brushing off the car before the sun rises, or the chill you felt that made your hair stand up for no reason – just a perfect cup of tea can cure them all.

Maybe it is the sweet? The times where you made the right choice, saw the smile on someone else that was because of you, the simplest happiest moment just because… because you heard the perfect song, smelled the perfect flower with the perfect scent, heard the birds sing and laughed at what they may be saying…is it a song? a private joke? or stood in awe at the size and power of Mother Nature and what she can produce…the ocean waves, the bounty of snowfall, for that matter the beauty of each snowflake and its delicacy.

Yes that endless cup of tea has so much to offer; now I need to know just where to buy one.