“Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature — the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after winter.”
— Rachel Carson

“If you treat an individual as he is, he will remain how he is. But if you treat him as if he were what he ought to be and could be, he will become what he ought to be and could be.”
— Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

“Courage: the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you can’t practice any other virtue consistently.”
— Maya Angelou

“By all these lovely tokens
September days are here
With summer’s best of weather
And autumn’s best of cheer”

I remember reading this quote as a child on one of my Grandmother’s framed prints. Today’s beautiful sky-blue weather inspired this memory that hints at fresh air and possibility. September will always represent newness for me, perhaps because of first school days or that it is the pinnacle of harvest. It’s a beautiful day to stroll, to dream, to sketch, to embrace a loved one. I embraced my little loved one for the first time 5 years ago today. Happy Birthday, to my apple-loving, leaf-picking, Tiny Dancer!

I live not in dreams but in contemplation of a reality that is perhaps the future.

— Rainer Maria Rilke

If you’re in the Washington DC area, check out vegetate. It’s a phenomenal dining experience. The meal was outstanding, and the service was impeccable. It’s so awesome to be able to go out to eat and enjoy carefully crafted delectables. Not to mention the atmosphere is beautiful.
Cheers vegetate staff! Thanks for an exciting, surprising evening!

Vegetate