old and new

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The old trees that are a part of the landscape here are flowering again, growing new leaves again.  Last year, fruit trees in the area were hurt by unusually warm then cold weather.  This year seems in balance.

Waiting for the proper time for things is a good thing to learn, and re-learn.

Yesterday, I jotted a few notes that may become poems, and/or perhaps more lines in my gratitude journal, that I began after reading Ann Voskamp’s books.

the old birch tree grows new leaves again

new leaves on an old tree in gentle spring winds

These images also speak to me of aging with grace and always learning, always creating, as I can.

I wrote this haiku on Sunday and posted it on my first blog:

willows weep and yet
how strong the branches
that hold their tears

Yesterday I bought markers in different sizes and colors.  I want to try drawing what I see too, perhaps begin again with some of the arts I “lost” along the way.

My first and primary blog is Poems From Oostburg, Wisconsin.  http://ellenolinger.wordpress.com

I seem to tell my story wherever I am, and as I am grateful for the people who follow the blogs, my main hope is that what I write offers hope.  I’m also reading Sarah Young’s devotionals, and am feeling so blessed.

The “Birch Tree Drawing” is courtesy of Reusable Art – Breathing New Life Into Old Art.  http://www.reusableart.com

Blessings to you, Ellen

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all these years

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all these years
the gift of seeing
how evergreen
branches
frame the stars

During a difficult time with my health, I read, “And I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places . . .”  Isaiah 45: 3 (KJV).

Blessings, Ellen

Vintage painting by A. Heaton Cooper (1864 – 1929)

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This painting is called A Saeter,Vetle Fjord, by A. Heaton Cooper. It’s a vintage picture of a landscape in Norway, first published in 1911, according to the research notes at Reusable Art – Breathing New Life Into Old Art. http://reusableart.com

Spring
beginning again
this journey

Ellen, today

old roads and mercy

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The roads I referred to in my previous post are the country roads I reached after driving North again, during the years I spent Sundays with my mother, who lived in the Milwaukee area.

I always loved the clarity of the air and the serenity of the landscape as I reached these old roads once again.  I guess this week it was time to re-visit them, and to realize I am no longer sad.  I learned that love keeps growing past grief.  I rest in the Mystery.

Haiku and tanka are forms I could read during some hard years.  At the same time, I am endlessly challenged to learn more.

I’m listening to Amy Grant’s new CD: How Mercy Looks From Here.  It is quiet and true, lovely. http://amygrant.com

Awhile ago, I wrote an acrostic for MERCY:

M  ay
E  veryone who can
R  emember and
C  onsider
Y  our children in need

PS  As many of you know, I enjoy playing with all the wonderful free WordPress themes.  This is the theme I began with for Haiku Prayers, and I write many poems about trees (different options for the Header are provided). 

Thanks and blessings, Ellen