I am savoring the last few moments before my youngest child returns to his home in San Francisco. The past several days have been a whirlwind of activity. I’ll tell you about some of the things I’ve done, and some of the things I’ve “learned” later in the week. None of the things I’ve learned will be surprising to anyone with half the sense God gave a goose.
For this morning, I offer this photograph and ask you to see
That’s a portion of my back yard in the early morning light. Yes, you see that I need to pull the weeds, and that our “back forty” needs mowing (again!). Perhaps you see that old woodstove and the hand plow, and think I junked up my yard. Yes, I did, but I like them, because they are a part of my family history. Those belonged to my Great-Grandfather, Mertus Bemoan Cumbie. “And why would anyone pick the name ‘Bemoan,’” you ask? I think it was basically a case of a not very literate person reading the Bible and finding a word they liked. Perhaps my Great-Great Grandmother was bemoaning her fate? Who knows.
I look at this photograph, and I see a habitat. At various times of the day, you might find squirrels, rabbits, chaparrals (roadrunners), owls, opossums, turtles, lizards, thirty or forty different kinds of songbirds (including one frustrating mockingbird). Yes, you might find fox, or coyotes. One day a mountain lion passed through! No, I’m not making that up! All of this wildlife thrives, despite the fact that I live in a real live neighborhood, and behind that back line of trees there are small factories.
Look past the weeds and the junk, and tell me what you see. Remember, find only the good. My friend Marcia, is a kind soul who had the brilliant idea “to study a photograph and, no matter how mundane, ugly, or shattered the subject might be, find something good in the picture. Find only the good, and leave a comment.”
That’s what I want you to do. According to Marcia’s friend, Nancy J. Bond,
“The purpose of this exercise is to get people to look at the world in a different way, to acknowledge–if only for the brief time they do this exercise–that there is good in everything and everyone…to briefly change shadow to light.”
The last time I posted, someone commented that they couldn’t look at things and find the good. If you don’t try, of course you can’t. So try. Then go out into your own world and look for the good. If you decide to post a photograph to find only the good, come back and tell me and I will link you here.
For now, I’m going to wake up Sleepyhead and drag him out to see Denton in the daylight before he goes back to his home.
Other posts you might enjoy:
- Only The Good—Hummingbirds Bee-ware
- Only The Good—It’s For The Birds
- Only The Good—Here’s Looking At You
- Only The Good—There’s A Fungus Among Us
- Only The Good—The Old Diner
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{ 13 comments }
Well I live in an urban neighborhood in a country where land is both hard to come by and not very lush, so to me that looks like a magnificent luxurious backyard – so green, so cool, so inviting looking
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Absolutely, Robin. It is green and cool. Good answer~skt
Well, I’m very glad that you said what the thing was in the middle of the picture because when I first looked at it, I thought it was a statue of “Dino” from The Flintstones….LOL There’s even a little glisten where the eye would be!
As a non-gardener, I have to be honest, I can’t tell a weed from a tree. I have this huge thing growing in my yard that is making me crazy and I thought it was a tree. Nope, it’s a weed.
To me, that area looks like a cozy little nook that would give you some cool shade while enjoying a summer day. The stones in the ground even look like a little walkway to the spot!
I’m liking this only the good picture thing. I’ve been checking out Nancy’s site and there’s a photo of a weed on there that with the sunset (amybe sunrise) background is absolutely breathtaking.
I might have to give this one a try, too!
Can’t wait to hear all about your visit with your son!
Jessica
You must give this a try. I bet a Rock Chick could come up with some seriously good photos for us to contemplate. Thanks for looking at this one so hard~skt
Ah, Shelly, I see nature waiting for me:
Sunny wide open space in the back to kick balls or play Bocci or throw on traditional all white and play croquet while sipping on something cooling…
Shaded hiding places for sitting, book in hand, ala
your son’s painting on the side bar.
Peace, family, nature, a place to return to.
You’re good at this
must mean you have done it before, eh?~skt
Thanks for the clarification on the items in the yard. I tried to make the picture bigger, but I still couldn’t see it.
I see the welcoming walkway of stones, the flowers so bright and cheery and the green grass all inviting me to come and sit for a spell. Perhaps to pull up a piece of lawn and enjoy a good book or have a picnic lunch.
There is something very inviting about the stone walkway, it calls me to come and see what is around the corner by the trees.
It would be a wonderful place to read, but it’s so lush that there are mosquitoes. Still, I like to sit out there when I can.~skt
I see a refuge; a great space for contemplation…nature at her best!
I just **luv** this “Only the Good” challenge. So inspiring, don’cha think?!
Yes, and I’m so glad you have joined the challenge!~skt
First I see land. I live in the city and our backyards are small. I see flowers. I see healthy plants and trees. I see beauty. Weeds aren’t weeds if you like them, so there. Have a great day.
It’s a good thing I have cultivated a liking for weeds. Call them “wildflowers,” and you’ve got it made
~skt
I see you honoring your elder family members by keeping a piece of them in what looks to be a sacred place. To many of us trash things that were precious to those that went before us. Those are the things I love and cherish the most. Don’t have tons of stuff but the stuff I have will never end up in a landfill at least while I’m alive.
Should I enter my bug (fly) photo. Not much good in him.
I bet we could find the good in your fly…photo that is. I hold on to these, because I’m enamored of my Grandaddy Mert. I never knew him, but I would have loved to have gotten to talk to him.~skt
When I looked at it, the word that came to mind was “thriving.” Looks great to me!
It’s thriving, all right~skt
Oh, and the thought “needs to be mowed” NEVER comes to my mind, so that probably helps.
EXCELLENT answer
~skt
That picture has a calming effect on me. When I look at the stove, I think of someone’s grandmom baking pies’ while grandpaw is out plowing the field., and the coolness of the trees after a hard day of work. I think I will join the group. This looks challenging and fun!
This is challenging, and it is fun. I like your answers! ~skt
What a lovely idea- there is too much nit-picky negativity all around us
I see flowers & green that is thriving despite any self-perceived neglect & the joy of having a wee bit of dirt to play with
A woman with a garden would see that dirt to play with. And, you are quite a gardener, aren’t you?~skt
It makes me think of home!
You’ve been in Arkansas long enough to call it home…~skt
OK Shelly — I’m getting a little worried about you. I have lost all contact to e-mail, but I still have the blog. I think I’ve seen this before? Maybe it was another view of your garden. But it’s lovely.
I’m still here. Like Bre’r Rabbit, I lay low~skt
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