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Balance | Balance

patricia-struntz's picture
Dec.31.2010
We were surprised this past week to hear the familiar chirping of a Titmouse on the patio. After all, it has been very wintery with blustery rains and bitterly cold temperatures. Could this be one of a pair that has inhabited the same birdhouse in CiCi’s Garden for the past five years?...
patricia-struntz's picture
Dec.24.2010
The week before Christmas and I’ve been sick. The past two days have been a complete wash. My husband brought me chicken soup yesterday, and my sweet little cat has provided a warm log of comfort as I’ve drifted in and out of sleep, never getting completely through any one of the Hallmark...
patricia-struntz's picture
Dec.05.2010
A coyote is raised up with one paw on my arm, snapping at CiCi who I hold tightly to my chest, dodging as best I can to avoid her being bitten or taken. I wake up with my heart pounding and nearly knock CiCi from her place on the bed next to me as I lunge into an upright position. The following...
elmaz-abinader's picture
Dec.01.2010
At my nephew's new school, the students who stray are not punished, derided or scolded, they are given moments of reflection.  These are not classic pauses of sitting and thinking, remembering,and then satisfying someone with a promise to never do that again. Instead they're assigned active quiet...
patricia-struntz's picture
Nov.27.2010
Just-in-time reality rescues my heart again –for Thanksgiving! A dear friend sent me an email this past week with the following story. The Law of the Wild says kill only when you are hungry! Photographer Michel Denis-Huot, who captured these amazing pictures on safari in Kenya’s Masai Mara in...
patricia-struntz's picture
Nov.13.2010
I looked in my purse, checked the pockets of my jacket, and rummaged all around on the floorboard in my car and still couldn’t find the key to our mailbox. With growing chagrin and mounting dismay I didn’t want to admit that I thought I knew where it was. We actually get our mail in two...
patricia-struntz's picture
Nov.07.2010
What is it about trees that turn brilliant yellow, red or orange that never fails to take my breath away? Neighborhood streets are lined with these glorious sentinels and the hillsides are peppered with them. Even the local cemetery where I often walk is resplendent with trees gone riotous with...
patricia-struntz's picture
Oct.30.2010
The redwood out in front has produced a soft carpet of gorgeously brilliant, golden needles –and the rains have finally come. Everything in CiCi’s Garden looks invitingly fresh with rain-polished leaves glossy after a downpour. Rain-polished leaves in CiCi's Garden The past few weeks a...
patricia-struntz's picture
Oct.17.2010
My friend Esther recently returned from a trip to Tanzania, Africa, where she and a friend had the privilege of watching the Great Migration in the Serengeti. It was the trip of a lifetime as they saw an amazing array of people, scenery and animals –including elephants that woke them in the wee...
patricia-struntz's picture
Oct.03.2010
It’s come as you are when visiting my blog, CiCi’s Garden –otherwise what would be the point? To be welcome, guests need not sanitize or in any way alter how they express their reality. The Garden is a place where frank conversation is embraced, emotions respected and affirmed while at the same...