May 2014
A Garden of Gardenia
"In all things of nature there is something marvelous." (Aristotle) The windows blinds opened this morning to a marvelous sight: a gardenia bush in my garden was full of flowers. Sweet delight. Enough flowers to make any gardener dizzy and any house no longer in need of air freshener for weeks. Not that I use that fabricated chemically concocted stuff. I don't. A Southern home loves a good sprig of gardenia to remind itself about who it is, where it comes from and what’s important. Gardenia are not only fragrant, they evoke powerful feelings and memories. My memory this morning [...]
Down on the Bayou
Sometimes, we are given openings in our day to connect with our Creator, with one another, and with the flora and fauna of nature. A few days ago, Marianne Tavares, RSCJ (Toronto), Sheila Smith, RSCJ (Ottawa), Georgeann Parizek, RSCJ (Baton Rouge), and I did just this in the Cypress Island Swamp Preserve in Breaux Bridge, LA. Being in this environment makes one realize the precious gift of life as it is expressed so gratuitously through the cypress trees draped with moss, the native vegetation, the puffy clouds and blue sky, the alligators sunning on driftwood and the smiling faces of [...]
