Tag: Love

My Cousin Paul

My maternal grandparents produced six children and those children produced 15 grandchildren. I was the second oldest of the batch and have fond memories of big Thanksgiving dinners with all the aunts and uncles and cousins. I remember good food and laughter. Thanksgiving was the main time I got to see them all, since we lived in a different part of Texas.

As time has moved on, some have passed. I think there are a dozen of us left on this earth. We are an eclectic bunch, but there are threads of interests and occupations that either have a genetic component or were just picked up from our parents or grandparents: car afficionados (collectors of cars and sellers of cars); gardeners; seamstresses; teachers; artists; writers; chefs; kayakers; dirt bikers; diplomats; beer lovers; moms; pops; animal lovers; travelers; musicians; computer programmers; photographers…

My grandfather took lots of slides of family and places he and grandma traveled. I remember long slide shows where we enjoyed seeing each other projected on the dining room wall. One of my uncles also took lots of photos, mostly with slide film too. Grandma and grandpa gave me my first little camera when I was eight years old and I was hooked. As the years went by I took thousands of photos. Not so great at first…I got better as I studied photography as an adult at the local community college. I have used many of my photos to illustrate my blog pieces throughout the years.

My cousin Paul is also a photographer. He worked many years as a biologist for the Navy. His travels gave him the opportunity to take photos of many places and the creatures who inhabited those places. He recently retired and has set up an online shop to show off his wonderful photos and sell prints of them. Here is a photo I recently bought:

Paul’s photo of a ruby crowned kinglet showing his ruby crown. This is an 8X10 inch print that I got a frame for. Here is another shot of the photo on my dining room wall.

I love how the background foliage accentuates the bird’s crown color.

His website has more great photos of birds and other critters, plus some wonderful waterfall pics.

Please check out his website at:

noplanetbphotography.pixieset.com

And may your day be filled with small joys!

Embracing Joy And Grief

As March progressed, I anticipated and looked for signs of Spring. I saw many and knew more would be coming…more flowers blooming…birds singing and nesting. But, there was also a gnawing at my soul in the background of the beauty. My mother’s death date approached, March 25th. It has been 15 years since her death and the pain of grief has lessened. But, I want to hug her and share my life with her and I want her to see the physical beauty she left the world. The tears are coming as I write this even though I have been thinking about writing about it for quite a while.

On the other hand, I am glad my mother is not here to see the destruction of our country. She who supported civil rights with her body and soul…she who always rooted for the underdog. She was a proud American and she voted. I’m sure that if she saw the video of the woman being taken away by unidentified men to be locked up and silenced, she would have felt that woman’s fear in empathy.

A couple of days ago, March 29th, I attended a Birthday party for my friend Joan who was turning 80 that very day. This was also my Mother’s birthday. As we sang Happy Birthday to Joan, I was also singing to my mother. My mother’s death was just 4 days before her birthday and as she lay comatose on life support, we had sung Happy Birthday to her.

Okay! Enough grief for now! Here comes the Joy. In my blog posts of April 2019 and March 2021 I shared photos and a few words on one of my mother’s legacies, the lovely purple spiderworts she transplanted from her yard to mine over 20 years ago. From a literal handful of plants to the current abundance of them is one of nature’s miracles. What started as one purple clump in the backyard has now spread all over the yard and into the front yard. And both my brother and my friend Laura have transplanted some from my yard into their yards, where they are now flourishing.

As you look at these photos, remember that a small, positive action can take hold and grow. This is something to remember as we navigate our way through the coming months.

Beauty Among The Rocks

At The Trunk Of The Bur Oak

Near The Rotting Hackberry Stump

Near Philosopher’s Rock

Growing Low To The Ground

Pink Colored With Bee Gathering Pollen

With A Tiny Bee

With A Big Bee

So Pretty!

And there are many more photos of the flowers that I will not publish here…the flowers next to yellow dandelions …some next to orange crossvine blooms…the ones I can see in the front yard outside my office window…the view of them through my kitchen window…

May the natural world give you peace and strength each day. And remember that each positive act you take may grow and spread

Photos by B. McCreary taken in 2025