Breezin’ Through Summer: Takin’ a Walk & Writin’ Haikus

Here are a few flower pics from North Carolina. I took them last week while walking through the Vintage Grove community outside of RTP. Aren’t they lovely? They were so beautiful that I just had to write a few haikus to describe them. I hope you like them!

White periwinkles
Dancin’ in the summer breeze
Pop go their petals

Late summer bloomers
Swayin’ in the summer breeze
Black-eyed susans wink

Summer friendship buds
Two pink trumpets playin’ songs
As petunias kiss

White bell-shaped flowers
Chime in time to August sun
Ringin’ into Fall

Garden rose bloomin’
vibrant coral-colored cloth
cozy in green leaves

Pink Rose of Sharon
Blinks its wine-centered flower
Drinkin’ through summer

Writing poetry from images is a brilliant technique Elizabeth Robin introduced to me. I met her a couple of years ago at the Heritage Library Foundation’s Historic Holidays tea at USC Hilton Head. She taught me how to create poetry from everyday images, like postcards and photographs.

If you want to dive into more of my verses, head over to the “Poetry” tab on my main page: Poetry – I and Thou Reflections. If you want to check out Elizabeth’s poetry, go to her “Published Poems” tab at elizabethrobin.com.

#BreezinThroughSummer #SummerWalks #SummerFlowers #SummerSun #TasteOfSummer #SummerWhimsy #ThePaisleyFrog #Seasons #Poetry #Haikus

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September Haiku

Silly Chipmunks

Playful brown creatures,
Scampering through autumn leaves,
Acorns stuff their cheeks.

Fun Facts: Chipmunk babies are born blind and stay that way for 30 days. By 60 days, they leave their parents and venture out on their own. And those famous cheeks? Chipmunks can expand them to three times the size of their heads — that’s a lot of acorns!

#September #Haiku #Chipmunks #thepaisleyfrog #Poetry

August Haiku

Silly Flamingos

Shrimp-pink elegance,
Curved and slender in the sun,
Beaks bobbing for fish.

Image Credit: *Created by AI with specific instructions by Author*

Fun fact: Flamingos are surprisingly lightweight. Their hollow bones keep them at 4-8 pounds, which makes them one of the fastest birds, clocking more than 50 miles per hour. And that vibrant pink color? It comes from their diet of shrimp, algae, and other icky slimy things.

#August #Haiku #Flamingos #Birds #Poetry #thepaisleyfrog

July Haiku

Silly Eagle

One majestic bird,
Soars between the fireworks,
Smiling all the way.

*Image Credit: Created by AI with specific instruction by Author*

Fun Fact: Eagles are strong creatures with keen eyesight, able to dive up to 100 miles an hour and carry prey half their size — yes, like squirrels. Their wings spread five to eight feet. How cool is that?

#July #Haiku #Eagle #Birds #Poetry #Fireworks #thepaisleyfrog

June Haiku

Silly Bluebirds

Joyful wings flutter,
Hundreds graze in meadows green,
Singing hope to all.

Fun fact: According to birdwatchingusa.org 95% of bluebirds mate for life. Male bluebirds sing and dance to attract mates. They can sing up to a thousand different songs when wooing a partner. The Eastern Bluebird is the official bird of New York and Missouri.

Science fact: Bluebirds aren’t actually blue. Their feathers contain nanocrystals that scatter light so only the blue wavelengths reflect back to our eyes. It’s structural color – not pigment.

#June #Haiku #Bluebirds #Birds #Poetry #Romance

May Haiku

Silly Ducks (Birds)

Waterfowl wonder,
Quack‑quack, swim, waddle‑waddle,
Two hearts on one pond.

Fun Fact: Ducks form pair bonds that stay together during migration, paddling for miles and miles. Their souls seem to dance side by side as they glide together on the pond of life. Romantic, isn’t it?

#May #Haiku #Ducks #Birds #Poetry #Romance

April Haiku

Silly Egrets (Birds)

Long-legged silhouette,
One foot stirring shallow water,
Golden plumes in bloom.

*Image Credit: Created by AI through Co-Pilot*

Fun Fact: Egrets inspired 19th-century women’s fashion, and their plumes were once literally worth more than gold. (In 1910, laws were passed to protect these elegant birds from disappearing.)

#April #Haiku #Egrets #Birds #Poetry #thepaisleyfrog

Digging Deeper with Lilies

A Series from the Psalms

I invite beauty into my soul.
I choose to see it everywhere I go as I ponder the presence of God.

Lilies respond to light. They stand tall and slender, opening their petals wide as if parting the heavens to reveal the gold within. Their beauty is beyond measure — white, pure, elegant.

Jesus said, “Consider the lilies…”
Look at how they grow.
Look at how they rest.
Look at how they trust.
Look at their beauty.

So what might it look like to grow like a lily? To open your life to God’s light without fear? To let peace rise within you without forcing it? To believe that God’s care is enough for today?

God makes us. God shapes us. God is preparing us.

There’s no pressure.
No expectation.
Just an invitation.

To love one another.
To love yourself.
To love God.

Lilies teach us to listen. To lean in. To notice the gentle places where God is already moving. They invite us to release what we cannot hold and to trust the One who paints the fields with effortless beauty.

Lilies whisper: You are held. You are provided for. You are loved with an abundant love.

May God’s peace find the hidden places of your soul.
May you grow in His light with the grace of a lily in the field.
And may you rest tonight knowing you are beautiful inside and out.

Image Credit: *“More Lily” by It’s No Game is licensed under CC BY 2.0.*

#SacredBlooms #Psalms #Faith #Poetry #IntimateFaith #LoveJourney #Flowers #Hibiscus #Tulips #Daisies #Lilies #Crocuses #Roses #Magnolias #LifeJourney

Sacred Blooms: Lilies

A Series from the Psalms

I release my worries into God’s hands.
I trust that He sees me, knows me, and cares for me in every way.

Fun Fact: Lilies have been around for more than 3,000 years and symbolize purity, innocence, and renewal.

Lilies.
Standing tall, elongating their stems,
as if reaching toward the heavens.
White. Elegant. Pristine.
Opening wide to confidence and trust.
Handpicked by Jesus, they sing a song.
Of blessings to and fro.

For the director of music. To the tune of “Lilies.” Of the Sons of Korah. A maskil. A wedding song.

My heart is stirred by a noble theme as I recite my verses for the king; my tongue is the pen of a skillful writer.
Psalm 45:1

The “lilies” mentioned were a melody of beauty and devotion. They were a musical notation that carried the language of trust, purity, and God’s faithful care.

And then Jesus said:

Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. If then God so clothes the grass, which today is in the field and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will He clothe you, O you of little faith?
Luke 12:27-28 NKJ

Jesus pointed to the lilies to remind us of God’s provision. Lilies do not “work” to clothe themselves, yet they are adorned with effortless beauty and grace. So, we, too, are invited to trust, to grow, to flourish, and to let go of worry.

Lilies mirror our souls — to be held, to be provided for, to be free from the weight of worry.

They remind us that God’s care is not fragile.
It is steady.
It is generous.
It is enough.
Because we are enough.

Like the lily, we are invited to bloom.
To open our hearts.
To open our minds.
To the possibility of:
Grace.
Love.
Forgiveness.
And everlasting life.

May you release your worries with ease.
May you find yourself surrounded by fields of lilies
to be cared for, loved, and free.

Image Credit: “File:Lilium longiflorum (Easter Lily).JPG” by UpstateNYer is licensed under
*CC BY-SA 3.0.*

#SacredBlooms #Psalms #Faith #Poetry #IntimateFaith #LoveJourney #Flowers #Hibiscus #Tulips #Daisies #Lilies #Crocuses #Roses #Magnolias #LifeJourney

Digging Deeper with Peace Lilies

A Series from the Psalms

I invite quietness into my day.
I will look for the moments where God’s peace
finds me and settles within.

Peace lilies rise in stillness.
They don’t rush.
They don’t compete.
They simply lift their white blooms toward the light,
as if they know that peace is found not in striving, but in resting.

Their beauty is gentle, almost shy, yet they carry a quiet strength.
They thrive in softened light, in rooms where calm exists. They remind us that peace doesn’t demand attention — it simply arrives when we make room for it.

The psalmist writes, “The Lord gives strength to His people; the Lord blesses His people with peace.” (Psalm 29:11)

Strength and peace.
Power and calm.
God holds both, and He offers both to us.

Peace lilies teach us peace. They teach us to slow down. To lean toward the Light. Peace is not passive. It grows. It roots. It gets stronger each day in the inner sanctuary within. Where God meets us over and over.

So today, let the peace lily remind you: You are allowed to rest. You are allowed to breathe. You are allowed to lean into God’s presence until peace rises in you like a soft, white bloom.

May God quiet the space around you.
May His peace settle into the deepest parts of your soul.
And may you lean toward His light and find rest for your spirit again and again.

*Image Credit: “Peace Lily 1” by Mokkie is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.*

#SacredBlooms #Psalms #Faith #Poetry #IntimateFaith #LoveJourney #Flowers #Hibiscus #Tulips #Daisies #Lilies #Crocuses #Roses #Magnolias #LifeJourney