Letting It Be

Look at this beautiful plant!

This little plant came to my home last year after the holidays were over. It was on "Clearance" at the local grocery store where I like to shop. The price? Five bucks. It was dressed in gaudy golden paper, but looked plain and lonely. Since I have a fondness for the "Christmas Cactus", as they are commonly referred to, I bought it and brought it home.

Every spring, I throw my houseplants outside, dump a little water on them, and let them spend the summer in the WILD. I give them protection from the elements, I give them nourishment, but I let them do their own thing.

When the frost threatens, the houseplants get to come back inside. To my surprise, this little cactus had grown a lot. Even more exciting than that (to me, at least), it had tons of little tiny blossoms on the ends of all its' branches!

Each day the blossoms got larger. Finally, it bloomed! It was beautiful!

I found out a few things about the plant:

1) It is a Thanksgiving Cactus, because it blooms around Thanksgiving time.

2) There is more than one variety of the plant in the pot, as there are different colors of blooms.

3) If I provide the care it needs, I am rewarded.

The whole blooming cycle of this plant got me thinking. It is a good reminder. I don't need to try and control every little thing. Things can turn out perfectly and beautifully, if I just provide the basics and have faith that things happen how they are supposed to.

I think it is a good reminder to me, especially in light of the upcoming holiday season!

Putting it out there!

Putting it out into the universe. That's what I did recently. It came back, it came back big. It's good to remember now and again to set a goal, to state a goal, and to make it happen. It's all too easy to become mired down in the routine.

Once things started happening, it again became apparent that I am unorganized. VERY unorganized. I am going to make an effort beginning now, to become the organized person that I think I am. 2011 will be here soon and it's time to shake off the routine and to become purposeful. It feels good when things run well and I have had little glimpses of organization which have inspired me.

I suppose that I will get sucked into the winter doldrums soon. I will long to hibernate and just wake up when the brutal winter is over. It started early this year, but it is a good excuse to get some indoor work taken care of. This brings me back to the O-R-G-A-N-I-Z-A-T-I-O-N of my existence. I'll let you know how that goes!

First Buck

This year marked another milestone for the youngest in the family. He passed his gun safety class this year and was up in a tree in Grand Marais for the MN Deer Opener today. His older brother has had tremendous luck in deer hunting and so far has two deer to his credit. The younger boy has the desire and the motivation, but to date has come up empty.

My husband spent all week last week in Danbury in search of a deer and saw n-o-t-h-i-n-g. The oldest son was bragging about his hunting skills and challenging the youngest.

Today, opening day, the home phone rang at about 9:15 a.m. GUESS who got his first buck?! YES, the youngest was able to bring down a nice, Grand Marais, little 9 point buck. I am sorry I missed it, but the oldest texted the photo attached to this post!