It’s been several months since my last post, so my 60th birthday (!!) seems an opportune time to resume what I hope turns out to be a return to more regular posting. Yesterday morning, my goddaughter Robin reminded me of a post I made, back in March of 2017, highlighting Walt Whitman’s “Song of the Open Road”, from his Leaves of Grass. As a birthday present, she’d chosen one of the lines I’d highlighted, “All seems beautiful to me” and had it inscribed on a mug. She explained, “I hadn’t read that poem before reading your blog and that line really jumped out at me because you find the beauty in so many things…”
As the blog’s tagline notes, this has been a forum for my appreciation of beauty in all of its guises. Today, as I begin my journey into a new year, I celebrate scenery encountered on my neighborhood walks throughout 2021. It won’t surprise anyone who knows me well to see that 1) water and 2) early AM/late afternoon hours predominate.
To quote another fine American poet, John Greenleaf Whittier:
Beauty seen is never lost…
Closing with more lines from Whitman’s “Song of the Open Road”…
The earth never tires,
The earth is rude, silent, incomprehensible at first, Nature is rude and incomprehensible at first,
Be not discouraged, keep on, there are divine things well envelop’d,
I swear to you there are divine things more beautiful than words can tell.
augenblick 
Thank you, Jeanne!
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Beautiful photos, Jeanne! Happy birthday, and thank you as always for sharing the beauty with us. Cheers to 60 years!
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You were the inspiration for this post, Robin; thank you for the nudge to get going again…
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Perfect day for this message. Happy Birthday Jeanne!
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Thanks for stopping by Mary, and for the good wishes…
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Just plain, “Wow!” What a gift, this post!
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Thanks for stopping by, Eric.
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Happy birthday, Jeanne! Welcome to the “60” club! Lovely pictures of your walks. 🙂
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Thanks, Melanie…I think I’m aligned with Groucho Marx, who once said ‘I’m not sure I want to belong to any club that would have me as a member…!”
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I think turning 60 is probably better than the alternative, although looking at those old pics of us in Tuebingen with our unlined baby faces…it’s hard to ignore our upcoming and increasingly rapid slide from “vintage” to “antique.”
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😂
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Lovely and serene. Looks like social distancing comes naturally in your neck of the woods. Alles Gute zum Geburtstag! Long may you perambulate.
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Indeed it does: one of the ways I’ve been so fortunate during the worst surges of the pandemic.
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Thank you, Jeanne!
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Thanks for stopping by, Cathy!
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How beautiful our sunrises and evening skies from our Connecticut shores. We share the same palette and canvas. This will indeed be a memorable milestone for you. Happy, happy birthday, Jeanne!!
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Thank you, Anne!
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Bless me WordPress, for I have sinned; it has been several months since my last post.
Congratulations on getting these fine photos ‘out there’ JDB. I think 4 Jan is my favourite. 💙 There is something about reflections; a glimpse into another universe.
Commiserations on the other thing. 😅
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That January 4 2021 *is* a good one, isn’t it? And thanks for the commiseration! 60 got off to a fun start–a surprise party via Zoom, if you can believe it…we’ll see what the rest of the year has in store. I’ve vowed that it will include more frequent posts here on Augenblick…Thanks, as always, for being a regular reader and commenter, Bruce; it really means a lot.
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More Augenblick is always a good thing.
(I vow to arrange a non-surprise zoom during 2022!)
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Thank you, Jeanne! Wow, what a beauty you are! Inside and out! Thank you for sharing your gift and for reminding that beauty will save the world!
And Happy Birthday, of course! And happy new beginnings…
Sending you my warmest hugs 🙏🏻
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Thank you, Rina!
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Your photos are beautiful, Jeanne! Puts me in mind of sunsets I’ve enjoyed in the mountains and deserts of the West – completely different earth, equally awesome skies.
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