Hello Cardinal!

Detail from a needle felted scarf featuring a male Cardinal (sold)

I had to fly off to North Carolina for the past few days. My dear Uncle Rich passed away. We had a beautiful celebration of life for him, and in the beauty of that, my brothers, sister, parent, aunts, cousins, nieces, nephews, and other extended family I hadn't met came together. Whew! It was a tribe, but it was so much fun! 

In all I experienced, what I brought back home was a reminder... A gentle nudge that our families are our everything. They are the glue that holds us together. The ones who have our backs when we falter, and the ones we care enough to hold together when their worlds fall apart (as worlds have a tendency to do). Life isn't cruel... it is a teacher to us. And our family are the ones who help us put the puzzle pieces together when we can't figure them out on our own. I do so love my family, and feel blessed to have been born into this group of like-minded souls. I feel truly lucky, indeed.

I couldn't resist posting one of my needle felted Cardinals today. I was fortunate enough to actually see a mated pair flitting through the natural gardens at Duke University. The formal gardens were spectacular, brimming with an array of the most beautiful flowering trees and plants I think I've ever seen together. Each one begging for attention, and demanding your eyes to linger there first, and the longest! Then, in homage to my Landscape Architect husband, I dragged everyone into the natural gardens, where we meandered amongst craggy, sloping walkways, with natural ponds filled with frogs, and places to set for a few minutes and watch the birds. And then... well, hellooo Cardinals! I felt like I was in paradise!

xx, Val