Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul, and sings the tune, without the words and never stops at all.
~ Emily Dickinson

Northern Cardinal, Tucson, Arizona 2009
Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul, and sings the tune, without the words and never stops at all.
~ Emily Dickinson

Northern Cardinal, Tucson, Arizona 2009
The sun shone all day but it was only able to warm us up to 50 degrees which, coincidentally, is the average temperature of our section of the Pacific Ocean this time of year. A brisk 12mph wind meant that the air temperature felt more like 45 degrees, according to NOAA’s nifty Wind Chill Calculator. All that information so that you can fully appreciate the following scene:

I’d rather regret the things I’ve done, than regret the things I haven’t done.
~ Lucille Ball

Boy in Mud Puddle, Crater of Diamonds State Park, Arkansas 2007
Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm, wrinkles the soul.
~ Willa Cather

Cruz, rescued Mountain Lion, Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, Tucson, Arizona 2015
May your troubles be less, and your blessings be more,
and nothing but happiness, come through your door.
~ Irish Blessing

Purple Flower, Aix-en-Provence, France 2006

Spotted on an interpretive sign, Jekyll Island, GA 2007
How beautiful it is to do nothing, and then rest afterward.
~ Spanish Proverb

Waterfall, North Cascades National Park, Washington 2008
We tend to forget that happiness doesn’t come as a result of getting something we don’t have, but rather of recognizing and appreciating what we do have.
~ Frederick Koenig

Sapsucker, Madera Canyon, Arizona 2009
We do not receive wisdom, we must discover it for ourselves, after a journey through the wilderness which no one else can make for us, which no one can spare us…
~ Marcel Proust

Beach Trail, Long Beach, Washington 2012
Two west-facing houses across the street from the ocean with two vastly different viewpoints…