How did a scallop shell find its way to the ravine?
As you’re out walking, do you ever stop to look at something more closely, and ask yourself, “What is it?“
Did the pearl already fall out of the oyster?
Whether you’ve spotted a bird or a leaf, a flower or a pebble, perhaps you’re engaged, for a moment, in simply looking.
Our chameleon world loves to masquerade.
You may have noticed that one things often resembles the other.
How can coral grow in a forest?
Sometimes it’s our minds and our eyes playing tricks on us. We catch sight of a color, a flash of movement.
In the moment between seeing and naming, the world is wide open to new possibilities.
What do you see here?
When silence is allowed, the tap of thought turned off tightly,
Eyes engage the world in novel and unexpected ways.
Perhaps instead of explaining the world away, our mind allows questions to burble to the top of consciousness:
“Where did it come from?” “What does it do?” “Why is it here?” “What does it mean?”
“What is it, Anyway?”
These are some of the best questions, the important questions, but …
Simply observe, without naming, and allow the world to open up in beautiful, and unexpected ways.
All Photos by Woodland Gnome 2014
“Not till your thoughts cease all their branching here and there,
not till you abandon all thoughts of seeking for something,
not till your mind is motionless as wood or stone,
will you be on the right road to the Gate.”
―Huang Po
Woody Flowers? (Forest Garden)
First Signs of Spring (Forest Garden)
Forest Garden 
Those are cool, I never knew what these are, parasite of some sort for sure!
Hi Michael- they are shelf fungus. Follow the link at the bottom for a description, (with help from a biology professor from Oregon State U.) posted a few months ago. I just love them. Endlessly interesting- but not as tasty as your cake ! Best wishes, WG