Text by Tammie

  Tulips are said to represent enduring love and devotion. I put the pot of tulips my husband gave me on Valentine’s Day on the bay window in our family room. Its backdrop? A backyard of freshly fallen snow. Snow can symbolize “purity of heart.” Enduring love and devotion comes from a pure heart? Yes.

  Lately, I’ve been drawn to representations of sunshine. Sunlight to me represents hope, heaven and happiness. A cake decorator at a local bakery created a sun of “hope, heaven and happiness” on cake icing. A landscape photo featuring the sun and a barn signal “hope, heaven and happiness.” “Hope, heaven and happiness”—the promise of these three are worth waking up to.  

  The luna moth my husband and I saw on our side porch screen caused us to conduct research. The research was short, much like the luna moth’s life span. It lives for about a week after it leaves its cocoon as a moth, National Geographic said. The luna moth doesn’t eat. It plays a role in pollination, though. Luna moth – important for something.

  A printed magazine I get has a feature in which readers can find a “hidden item.” It’s probably a tool to get readers to read through the whole issue. I was reminded of that when I saw these birds pictured on a woodpile in my backyard. They kind of blend in with the natural tones – hidden in “site.” Did my “hidden birds” help you read until the end? 😊

  Dreaming along with people who tour their dream houses on the television channel that’s focused on real estate and home improvement, I can relate to the fact that many people what separate home offices for quiet times. Many people work remotely. I work remotely. My dream of a separate home office would include having a big picture window so that I can look out into nature. I have a big bay window I can look out of from my home office that’s tucked into the corner of our family room. From that window, I can see nature, like this Northern Cardinal pictured that seems to love our apple tree. Big bay windows invite pleasant distractions from quiet times.

  In 2022, I wrote a magazine article about a fascinating astronomical group in my area that met regularly to study and photograph the night skies. As is the case with many stories I’ve written that I’ve enjoyed, I incorporated what I learned into my daily life (for example, learning that I only need binoculars to see certain objects in the night sky). So, when my husband helped with a kindergarten project on counting to 100, I cheered for his idea of depicting a starburst galaxy using Starburst candy. Fun and yum!