If a title is needed, then the message has been missed...

And all the clues are here, floating on the wind

They weave and break, but you must be willing to hear

Are you listening to the music…?

Can you feel its swells, won't you ride with it?

It is calling,

it wants to take you along,

are you listening?

For it sings all the questions that don't have answers,

and all the answers that have yet to be found,

heartache and break, and shards restored

motes of sunshine, a mother's hugs,

rain and storms

won't you join the flow?

It is calling, it wants you to be a part,

but are you listening?

Listen, listen,

listen to her calls

Listen, listen, to the waves of sound

intricate melodies weaving light

Listen with your heart,

listen with your soul

The part of you that needs no words,

the part that everyone has

and most have forgotten.

Or dulled

or ignored

or have become deaf to.

But she is still there,

the music is always there

Singing through the white noise,

calling through the backgrounds.

It is bigger than you

and bigger than me,

but we are meant to be a part

and add our songs, small through they are.

For the layers of harmony shall build, and have been building,

through time and space and

life and pain,

and they will keep building 'til the end.

For this is how it is meant to be.

Come, please,

come and sing with us,

Sing and join,

and build upon this song

Won't you listen to this music?

Four am to five eleven

Four am, and she can not sleep

laying in the dark of a room alone.

And that's ok, dawn will still come,

you can just lie here, and see your stars.

These nights will pass, it isn't final

just wait it out on the days when it's hard.

This night will pass, I promise you girl,

so keep your head up

and sing to the stars.

Four thirty am and she utters a prayer

crying not with eyes but depth from her heart.

And that's ok, it is still heard,

put back on your locket, and know that you're held.

These nights will pass, there's still so much hope

just wait on the dawn and the rise of the sun

This night will pass, I promise you girl,

you just keep fighting,

sing back to the stars.

For yes, this lot you were given is hard,

harder than many or most might see

and yes you are hurting, here in your dark

but seeds that are planted can grow into trees

So stand and sing, your song should be sung

and kneel when you can't reach your feet,

crawl when you've lost the strength for all else

and on those days of collapse,

and in death

and defeat...

Simply lay here girl, and know that you're held

and let yourself be carried,

This night will pass, I promise you girl,

I've written it in the stars.

…so go get your locket, and put it back on

remember what's inside,

you're not as lost as you think you are,

the dawn is coming

wait for its rise.

SeaWorld, Day One

So I finally got my pictures organized from my SeaWorld birthday trip. I took a lot of pictures, so I am going to put them out in clumps. So here's the first set.

The Dashboard pets... The dog is Reba's, but I can't remember it's name. The seal is Harvey, and he is Snow's pet, and the little moose is named Marty. He's the pet-in-training for Petree, the van. He kept jumping off the dashboard too, and getting lost on the floor of the van. That's part of why he's still an "in-training"...

Looking back from the front seat. I am not sure what kind of face Alice is making, and the boys are just a lump of blankets...and I think there's a hand in there somewhere.

Me, looking happy in my favorite t-shirt.

This was the first view we had of the water, in San Diego. It wasn't the open ocean, but it was still salt water, so it counts. On trips to the ocean, I always watch for that moment when you top the last hill, and see the ocean spread out before you. But this trip was different; it didn't happen like that. I guess we took a different route... We didn't see the water in the bay until we were already in the city.

Pulling into the parking lot

Welcome to Sea World! I liked this sign. It seemed very happy, and I thought the black and white border is cool.

Jeru and I, waiting for the BlueHorizons show to start

The BlueHorizons stage. We got there just in time for the show to start, so we were waaaaaay up in the stands. On our second day at the park we actually went back and saw this show again, sitting in the splash zone. I'm glad we went twice, because it was different the second time. This first time they had pilot whales performing in the show. I love pilot whales! I think they might be my favorite whale...it's a toss-up between them and belugas... I also loved all the little bubble-thingies decorating the tops of the waves

The outside penguins. They smelled really strongly of fish.

All of the penguins had their own individual bands on their wings. I thought it was cute. It was fun to watch them swim as well. They floated a lot higher in the water than I would've thought...

This penguin was resting in the shade of the bush. It reminded me of a dog, just chillin under a bush.

I thought this was a really cool sign. I liked it... "highly specialized birds, hostile but beautiful environment."

Incubator boxes used to bring back penguin eggs.

A very clever tactic for egg-checking.

Inside the penguin house. It was really cold, and fishy, and very cool. Penguins are really neat birds.

I took this picture because I didn't know the answer to it, and I'm always interested in a fact I don't know. Alcids...who knew?

Chips and Tumblers

Howdy all! It's obviously been a long time. A looooong time... *shrug* I have a crazy life at times, what can I say?

Anyways...now that I'm back, I figured I would ease my way back into the blogging waters with a picture. It's a starling. When I'm on my half hour break at work, I sit in my car, listen to music and read, and feed the birds. I keep a bag of tortilla chips in my car, and I crumble them up and toss them out my open window, and then wait. The chip-loving crowd is normally composed of grackles and those little sparrow-type birds, (I am not sure if that's what they actually are...) but lately there has been this really pretty one that has joined in. I had been calling it a tumbler, because it has a really short tail for a bird (it looked like it could tumble over midair if it wanted), but when I described it to my Mama she said that it was a starling. I had never known what a starling looked like before, but I had read about them in books, and they always sounded like a pretty bird. And now I've seen one. They are beautiful birds! So here's a picture for you... The first one is a male grackle, the second is the starling.

~Ro

Artwork...

This is for everyone who has been pushing for me to post about my artwork... (and to those same people, thank you for the pushes...I appreciate them.) Some of them still don't have names, so I labeled them how they feel. The colors look more vivid in real life, but I am super grateful to even have pictures of them, so it's ok. You get the general feel for them... So here ya go...

All the min-escapes

Sea Cove

E41...the favored goose in the E-flock.

Flower Hill

The first... Forgotten Lake

Cave. This one's actually reversible...painted it purposely on square canvas for that reason. I actually prefer it upside down.

Second Fall. One of my favorites.

Heartsongs...and sister... If it needed a title, think I would call this one Gift

Little Brother...another favorite

Wind-flower

Kass' Wood

Cliffs

Dragon Mountains

Starhill. This was one of the first set; it's really special to my heart. Thought it was for me...turns out it was meant for someone else.

This one is mine... Ice dream

December 5th, 12:57

What is it about this time of night

12:32, that wakes me up and pulls at my heart?

Closet, and order, and…someone there,

but it's gone when I reach for it,

grasping at fog

The words fade quickly, ghosts to describe

and the adrenaline fades fast, leaving only clear head

multiple or not, at this time of night

I do not own my head,

I can not hold my thoughts.

When words fail...

And when words fail she writes in riddles
paints pictures with light and feels in color
Who says a heart must speak to be heard?

big ocean, little seal…

But if you don’t understand that is ok too
I have to walk this part of the path alone,
And when words come you might hear them, if you listen.

ground and center, sketch the lines…

And when she’s given seedlings she’ll guard them fiercely
cherish the dirt and sing down the rain,
If you can find True North you’ll never be lost.

keep running, keep playing, hold to the good…

But if this takes an entire vapor can it be ok?
because I am stronger than I know
And when it blooms you will see me, if you look.

listen to the sky, sing back…

And when it hurts she’ll just keep going
comforted by wind and crying out ink
Who says a soul must have windows to be seen?

big ocean, little seal…

But there are lines to be drawn, from the inside out
I must firm them out of the soil that was granted
And when they’re found you can share the growing, if you’re willing.


And so when words fail she writes in riddles
paints pictures with light and feels in color
Who says a heart must speak to be heard?
And can you hear the pattern…?