Summer Days

I have watched in absolute and utter awe at the ever present and yet ever changing beauty of our summer days. Day after day a new surprise, a new yard guest or sweet visitor or two. 

The absolute enchantment of my five little grandchildren delighting in the arrival of a beautiful peacock friend or the amazing gentle presence of a pair of bonded deer, a precious little doe and a handsome little buck with emerging velvety softness of his spike horns. 

They grazed in our yard and fields and even all went into our chickens coop to check out their hanging feeder. 

Precious earth beings and such blessings that the joy of home and yard work came to a total stop/pause as we sat in our back yard chairs and just delighted in the watching for hours each and every day!

The peacock was probably about 2 years old not yet sporting his soon to be even more fabulous colors of a fancy "eyeful" tail fan at age 3 and with some signs of predator attack in that back under tail area by most likely a hawk. 

Feathers all over on our back property line separating us from the singing of the nursery workers in the neighboring property. Their marachi music took turns with  soulful ballads filling the summer air with a happy unity of sounds.

Our oldest grand-daughter age 9 named "our" peacock "Razzle Dazzle" because he was "bejeweled" with shimmery colors and a crown befitting the royalty of his already iridescent peacock blue,turquoise and green head ‐ a totally magnificent presence and gift of a surprise present in all ways.

Dazzle was just learning his beginning peacock fan dance, a kind of shimmy of his tail- end accompanied by his first hooting-honk sounds. His peacock mate calling honk sounded like a birthday party blow out horn and he made us laugh. He slept on the sloped roof of our house at night and explored our acreage during the day. I set out the suggested cat kibble. bird grains with sunflower seeds, salad greens, bits of tomato and his favorite treat - bits of bread! 

Then apparently healed enough to continue his journey and feeling well fed and loved he flew off in the early morning light after a full 7 days with us. From a very social species he needed another of his kind.

We miss him, but we thanked him for the blessings of his visit and wished him god speed and protection.

The little deer have returned seven days in a row so far and are so trusting of the peacefulness to rest so close to us and our movements. They are so deeply sweet and precious.

It is truly all feeling like summer now and a changing of the energies of the planetary and celestial heavens with "as above and so below"  and the power and beauty of summer solstice mesh and are moving forward as are all else into greater times of trans-formation.

I feel so surrounded and enmeshed in the full energies of Mary Oliver poetry and bright summer beauty in all ways. I am filled up and so sun and nature  blessed. 😊

Michele Bilyeu Creates With Heart and Hands as she shares her imaginative, magical, and healing journey from Alaska to Oregon and back again.

Creating, designing, sewing, quilting, and wildcrafting, from my heart and with my hands

The Blessings of this Summer Solstice

In honor of Summer Solstice and 

"In Praise of the Earth"

Let us bless
The imagination of the Earth.
That knew early the patience
To harness the mind of time,
Waited for the seas to warm,
Ready to welcome the emergence
Of things dreaming of voyaging
Among the stillness of land.

And how light knew to nurse
The growth until the face of the Earth
Brightened beneath a vision of color.

When the ages of ice came
And sealed the Earth inside
An endless coma of cold,
The heart of the Earth held hope,
Storing fragments of memory,
Ready for the return of the sun.

Let us thank the Earth
That offers ground for home
And holds our feet firm
To walk in space open
To infinite galaxies.

Let us salute the silence
And certainty of mountains:
Their sublime stillness,
Their dream-filled hearts.

The wonder of a garden
Trusting the first warmth of spring
Until its black infinity of cells
Becomes charged with dream;
Then the silent, slow nurture
Of the seed's self, coaxing it
To trust the act of death.

The humility of the Earth
That transfigures all
That has fallen
Of outlived growth.

The kindness of the Earth,
Opening to receive
Our worn forms
Into the final stillness.

Let us ask forgiveness of the Earth
For all our sins against her:
For our violence and poisonings
Of her beauty.

Let us remember within us
The ancient clay,
Holding the memory of seasons,
The passion of the wind,
The fluency of water,
The warmth of fire,
The quiver-touch of the sun
And shadowed sureness of the moon.

That we may awaken,
To live to the full
The dream of the Earth
Who chose us to emerge
And incarnate its hidden night
In mind, spirit, and light.

~ John O'Donohue ~

John O'Donohue b. Jan 1, 1956 d. Jan. 4, 2008
An Irish poet, author, priest, and Hegelian philosopher.
This section is from "To Bless the Space Between Us"

Shown above:

Changing the World
Designed and quilted by Michele M. Bilyeu
for donation to the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative.
AAQI ran from 2006 to 2013 and earned $1,000,000
for Alzheimer's research funding.

My small art quilt was purchased at auction by Bill Volkening for his AAQI quilt collection as a small part of his much larger "Volkening Collection", and featured in his book ( which he titled from my little quilt) it was published in Bill's book: Changing the World: Quilts from the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative
Thanks again, Bill, for all you did for AAQI and its quilt makers!

The quotation which is featured on my little quilt says:

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has."


Michele Bilyeu Creates With Heart and Hands as she shares her imaginative, magical, and healing journey from Alaska to Oregon. Creating, designing, sewing, quilting, and wildcrafting... from my heart and with my hands.