Small Wonders

serendipity - the making of lucky discoveries by chance

happenstance - a circumstance especially that is due to chance

coincidence - accidental occurrence

I like these words and the idea of things just happening, but to be honest, when it comes to finding small wonders in nature I really don't believe serendipity, happenstance or coincidence play any part in it. I feel that little things are put in my path each day by a loving God who wants me to enjoy His creation. He knows I'll be looking for wonders and He's never disappointed. I always find something.

God knows what each one of us needs each and every day. He know what will bring us joy and cause us to worship him.

Small wonders are not like the aurora borealis which you can't miss dancing in the sky. They are treasures that you must hunt for. Your eyes must constantly be looking or you'll miss them.

Let me give you a perfect example of finding wonders in my path. I was outside writing this post when I saw something of interest I wanted to take a picture of. I decided to quit writing and go in and get my camera. As I rounded the corner of the house and stepped up on the porch, this is what I saw. A little flower had fallen and landed in an acorn cap. How awesome is that!

I live for these moments! I anticipate seeing something special and when I do, I gasp, my heart skips a beat, and I smile.

Don't let the small wonders hide from you. Expect them. Search for them. Maybe it's not nature that brings you joy. It might be the touch of a child, the twinkle in the eyes of a father with dementia, or the sound of a giggle. In this hectic world we need the small things that bring us joy. I call them gifts from God.

"Worship him who made the heavens,

the earth, the sea and the springs of water."

Rev. 14:7b

This is it!

The last five prompts fulfilled for the

Summer Photography Scavenger Hunt I participated in.

Thank you, Sarah for putting the list together and keeping us motivated!

* go on a picnic *

Going on a picnic in the hot summer is not one of my favorite things to do. I went with my sister and sister-in-law to a nearby state park for this picnic. Knowing that I needed a picture to fulfill this prompt, my sister-in-law surprised me by bringing fun parrot napkin rings and matching napkins. That made the picnic extra special and the photo more interesting!

* explore a new path *

While at the state park we found a couple of short, easy paths we'd never hiked before. We were a little disappointed that there weren't many views of the lake along the paths. One thing we did see a lot of was tiny frogs hopping in front of us. They startled us more than once!

 * go window shopping - self portrait in the window reflection *

I happened to walk in front of an antique shop and while looking at the old books and the lamp in the window, I saw my own reflection. It tells a lot about me . . . I like old things and books!

 * visit your favorite coffee shop - shoot the cup *

As you can see, this is not a coffee cup! I don't drink coffee; never liked the taste of it. So I changed the prompt to visit your favorite "smoothie" shop. I'd rather have something cool on a hot day.

* find a ladder *

I think this is such a cute idea for displaying colorful plants. I would love to find an old ladder and prop it up on a tree.

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I am a little sad to see the scavenger hunt end. It has been fun searching for items and it also made me get out more with my camera. I'm thinking I may find an Autumn photography list and continue. Autumn is always such a beautiful time of the year!

Summer Photography Scavenger Hunt - 5th post

* watch a sunset/sunrise - share it with the one you love *

Recently Jerry and I drove our 1934 Ford car to a vintage car show in Kentucky. Each morning, in order to get a "great" spot, you had to get to the event area very early. No kidding, with over 12,700 cars registered for the show, parking would have been a problem if we'd waiting until later in the morning! Anyway, each morning we sat eating our breakfast watching the sunrise.

* adventure with a friend *

My two best friends are also my sister and sister-in-law. We try very hard to go somewhere together as often as possible. It seems lately that we haven't had much time to get together, but this day we were determined! We went to my favorite farmer's market, Me & McGee. We filled our baskets with all kinds of delicious fruits and veggies.

* visit a farmer's market/farm stand - favorite fruit or vegetable *

There's no question that my favorite summer vegetable is okra. Okra dipped in buttermilk, rolled in flour and then deep fried. Delicious!

* taste some summer treats - find some typography *

The farmer's market was a good place to find several of the prompts. We ate lunch there at the Crepe Coop food truck. I've never had a meal in a crepe, only desserts. I tried the Pesto Crepe, which was delicious, and then topped the meal off with a Peaches and Cream Crepe! Yummy!

 * Wash your car - car wash or by hand *

My car is dirty, very dirty, but it's much to hot and humid to wash the car. While my grandsons were here they were playing with cars on the living room floor. That's when I got the idea to wash a small car. I will say this, my grandsons no longer play with this little yellow and red car, they play with the hot wheels and monster trucks.

* find or create sidewalk art *

Sidewalk art was a little hard to find. I first thought of places where children might draw pictures on the sidewalk, but the parks I visited didn't have any. Then by pure chance I saw a Facebook post that mentioned Drain-Art. I found some drains that were painted and since we can loosely interpret the prompts anyway we want, I thought it would do. It is at the end of a sidewalk! I was surprised to learn that there are 86 painted street drains in the three cities closest to me. Drain Smart is a public-education/environmental program that uses art to communicate the function and importance of local storm drains. It gives artists the opportunity to express themselves via semi-permanent public art in a serious of outdoor storm drain murals. The art also serves to educated the public on local water quality protection.

I'm going to be looking for some more of these. So far I've found four.

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There's one more post coming up with the final five prompts for this scavenger hunt!

See you in a few days!