Appreciation

nature's grand allure

soothes tired mind, body and soul

unique therapy  

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Linked to: Skywatch Friday

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It's our holiday yesterday. My hubby's family joined us in our escapade to the mountains where at the foot of these mountains are vast rice fields.Yes, we had a grand time communing with nature where all you could hear are the chirping birds, the noisy cicadas, the rushing water from the mountains passing through a man-made gravitational irrigation system made for irrigating those wide rice fields. 

I enjoyed the breathtaking sceneries around by taking photos. Click here, click there.... :))) It was really therapeutic! Now here I am sharing you one of the photos I took while we were leaving the place. Would you believe we came from the foot of that mountain? Yes, we stayed in a thatched cottage, found among thick trees and surrounded by lemon and coconut trees. It was an awesome whole day retreat. A wonderful way to recharge. My youngest kid aged 15 even enjoyed swimming in that gravitational irrigation. The water is so cool, crystal clear and really refreshing... :)

It was also harvest time and farmers took a pose for some stolen shots I made. They were all smiles, as if it were a treat to be photographed...:) I enjoyed doing it too! :P

The cottage/nipa hut where we spent the whole day. Party hidden from the trees around...

The crystal clear, cool water from the mountains, running through man-made irrigation canals

that will irrigate the vast rice fields down the valley.

Farmers waving their hands, shouting like kids "take a photo, pleaseeeee!!!"

This group is a lil' bit shy...camera shy....:)

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Written for:

Haiku Heights

Prompt: Appreciation

Also for:

One Single Impression

Prompt: The Passing

Breathless Charm!

Yonder I see a stretch of tulips dancing

in the sun, with colors galore and shining
my eyes could only passionately feast
on the charm of this sumptuous treat
of robust and fluttering flowers!

  

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Written for:

Three Word Wednesday

Prompts: charm, feast, robust

Beauty

A remote cottage

nestled among trees, flowers

a clear pond nearby

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Some notes on the picture: Another cross-stitch work of mine, which I had a great time working on it while I was on maternity leave nursing my youngest child. A labor of love...;) :)... That was 15 years back, as you can see there are already smudges around the frame, a sign of old age! ;)

Written for Haiku Heights

Prompt: BEAUTY

Return

This post has been published by me as a part of the Blog-a-Ton 14; the fourteenth edition of the online marathon of Bloggers; where we decide and we write. To be part of the next edition, visit and start following Blog-a-Ton.

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She was restless the whole night. The pain and agony was unbearable. She cannot take it anymore, she decided. “This will be the last session,” she thought to herself.

 “Can you still manage some more chemos? I know it is painful but we should not stop the course midway,” the doctor gently said.

“I am bent on giving up Doc. You have said yourself earlier it is incurable. Why then is this punishment?” she answered obstinately tinged with sadness. He knew she alternated between bad periods of total weakness and acute pain and tolerable intervals with some minor discomfort.

She wrapped her shawl over her and went outside her home one late evening. It was cold and foggy and the mood was depressing. She walked with a heavy heart over the creaking bridge that she had often frequented. She heard the distant howl of an owl, as if portending something dreadful to happen.

Step by step, she walked to the middle of the bridge. “What is there to live for, you abandoned me when I needed you most,” she whispered to herself in between tears and painful sobs. Her thoughts hovered around her lover who vanished like a coward once he knew she was afflicted with cancer. "Would she have done this to him if he were in her position," she asked herself.

Gripping the railings of the bridge, she let her eyes wander around for the last moment. She suddenly recalled those happy times when they walked on the bridge hand in hand and hoping that those happy moments will last forever. "How fickle the human nature is," she wondered.

She closed her eyes, drew a deep breath and gathered all the strength left in  her and heaved herself over the bridge plunging  into the deep cold waters  while she muttered….“I know you will never return to me anymore. But til death I will love you James no matter what you did to me. I shall keep my side of our promise”!

Splash!!!…gurgling sound for a while….then silence! A deafening silence............!

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The fellow Blog-a-Tonics who took part in this Blog-a-Ton and links to their respective posts can be checked here. To be part of the next edition, visit and start following Blog-a-Ton.

Written for Thursday Tales

Also for Blog-a-Ton

Prompt: Return

I Wish to Live by the Sea...........

I wish to live by the sea

Where my humble abode

Hangs on the side of a cliff

Overlooking the vast ocean

And the endless azure sky 

I wish to live by the sea

Where the relentless sound of

Breaking waves on rocks

Could only be the music heard

In the stillness of the night

I wish to live by the sea

Where I could blissfully enjoy

The cool morning mist

As it sprays on my cheeks

While I gaze out of my open window

I wish to live by the sea

Where I could happily sunbathe

Tanning my skin in lazy time

Watching the birds soar up the skies

Catching fish from the ocean’s surface

I wish to live by the sea

Where I could freely indulge in

A boat ride on the calm waters

Happily rowing and paddling

Until my tired limbs cry in ache

I wish to live by the sea

Where I could peacefully read a book

With only the sound of the waves

And the cool misty breeze

Lull me into my silent moments

I wish to live by the sea

Where I could capture the awesome scenes

Of the dying sun on the setting sky

Of the rising sun in the shimmering light

Of the creeping dawn in a gray skyline 

I wish to live by the sea

Where there is peace amidst roaring noise

Contentment despite the restless waves

Grandeur of nature along with sailing ships

For I am at peace with myself and the universe 

Ahhh…so many choices in life

They come in handy in our thoughts

How wonderful and fulfilling it would be

To veer away from negative feelings

And make things really happen

Even just in our dreams!

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Some notes on the photo: This is a cross-stitch work of mine, which took me months to finish when cross-stitching was still my greatest passion. I had not heard of blogging in those years. I am using it as a picture to accompany my poem in response to Patti's request that I  show her some of my work. It seems Patti also has keen interest in this hobby. I hope the poem and the picture are apt and do justice to each other..... :)

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Written for:

Three Word Wednesday

 Prompts: break, negative, surface

Also for:

One Single Impression

Prompt: Choices