Smelling Spring

I just finished up with my first official drag the hose around "watering".
I have extreme gratitude for water and wonder if the plants up here appreciate it as well. I realize how lucky they are (even if they do not) to have a nice drink of H2O when the sun is causing them to wilt up a tad.

Oh yes..the SMELLS, I was going to write about the scents that are so wonderful this time of year.
As I was watering it seemed as though the water magically awakened the smell of everything that it touched.
Grass smells good, but the scent of wet grass is unbelievably extra special.
Add a blooming lilac tree or a soon to be blossoming jasmine to the outside watering experience and it can become a most meditative moment.

I feel truly blessed to be able to be able to enjoy this little corner of the world that produces such vibrant colors and scents as the plants awaken from their winter slumber.

Not even my seasonal allergies with its sniffing and sneezing can diminish the awesomeness of it all.

The Seedy Cafe

The golden warmth of the sun warms the pair of Mourning Doves as they sit on their perch in the Seedy Cafe.  Life is good. (at least for the moment) Just as it can happen in our lives, circumstances can change suddenly if "Cooper" (a coopers hawk that also frequents the cafe) decides to make a swooping visit.  For the moment though it appears that they are enjoying each others company, as well as the other visitors to the cafe. The doves tranquility are a reminder that I must try to live in the moment and not in fear of what could be.  That is easier said than done for us humans who hear news constantly of all that is not right in the world.

Watching the squirrels play, or a hummingbird sipping nectar helps me to focus on what is instead of what might be.

After all this moment, this precious moment is all that we have any say-so on how we want it to be.

*zooming prayers to all affected either directly or indirectly to Boston, Massachusets as well as West, Texas.  May golden light surround and comfort you.

My Platform

I don't know...looks kind of scary.

Ummm.
I guess I need to have one (a platform) according to a publisher that I would like to query.
Which possibly would not pose a problem IF I wasn't so frightened of platforms.  My trusted Chamber Dictionary says that it is a noun that indicates a raised level surface. (I did know that)
Which means one could actually fall off of it. (again something I am very aware of)
And THAT's what I am supposed to be developing?
It has stopped my querying process in it's tracks.  In The Productive Writer by Sage Cohen she devotes a whole chapter to the subject.  She highly recommends the process (of developing said platform) to help navigate the waters of writing and getting published.
I should of paid better attention to the chapter.
I have two (IMHO) very cool picture books that need to be set free from the confines of my computer and because of this platform issue I am clinging to the edge of the diving board afraid to do what's necessary to just jump in!
(I can totally visualize the diving board metaphor as I once spent an hour and a half at the end of a diving board, unable to go backward or forward)

I need to get a better image of what a platform is in my head.  Maybe it does not need to be the skinny, easy to fall of type of platform.  Perhaps I can create a platform solid and sturdy enough to be able to support me through all the ups and downs of the writer's life.
Yeah...that could work.
Maybe I can make it large enough to dance on and twirl hula hoops on and play my kazoo on!
I will start this "platform process" by reviewing (perhaps reading this time around) Chapter Two in The Productive Writer and take Sage's advice to invest in a copy of Get Known Before the Book Deal: Use Your Personal Strengths to Grow an Author Platform by Christina Katz.
If I get right on it, it should not be too long before I am ready to present my song and dance!

p.s. would LOVE/appreciate/extremely like any "Platform" developing wisdom if you have it to share!

Moon River

"Moon River"

   Moon river, wider than a mile

I'm crossing you in style some day
Oh, dream maker, you heart breaker
Wherever you're going, I'm going your way

Two drifters, off to see the world
There's such a lot of world to see
We're after the same rainbow's end, waiting, round the bend
My Huckleberry Friend, Moon River, and me

Moon river, wider than a mile
I'm crossing you in style some day
Oh, dream maker, you heart breaker
Wherever you're going, I'm going your way

Two drifters, off to see the world
There's such a lot of world to see
We're after that same rainbow's end, waiting, round the bend
My Huckleberry Friend, Moon River, and me

http://youtu.be/9J1OcKd_Dqw
(Audrey Hepburn version)

Sometimes a song touches your soul in such a way that it never completely exits your being and becomes a permanent part of yourSELF.
This is such a song.
I must of been eight or nine years old the first time I heard Moon River.  My parents were huge Henry Mancini aficionados, so his music was often played on our record player (that's right it was back in the days of the 33 RPM's).  I actually enjoyed many of the motion picture scores that he wrote, however Moon River stood out from all the other songs filling me with a wistful longing. 
At the time I did not know nor understand what I was longing for.
Many years have passed since then and I am still not sure that I know what I am seeking.
The one thing that I at least hang onto when life seems too dark is that deep inside I know that there is a "rainbow's end, waiting round the bend."

http://youtu.be/5xGpam9_NpI
(Henry Mancini version)