May the holiday season bring you joy; may the new year be all you could wish for, and may these flowers, in all their unique and wonderful glory, bring a little light into your life.






























































Photo by Don Read



The Singular and Cheerful Life by Mary Oliver

The singular and cheerful life
of any flower
in anyone’s garden
or any still unowned field–
if there are any–
catches me
by the heart,
by its color

by its obedience
to the holiest of laws:
be alive
until you are not.
Ragweed,
pale violet bull thistle,
morning glories curling
through the field corn;
those princes of everything green–
the grasses
of which there are truly
an uncountable company,
each on its singular stem
striving
to rise and ripen.
What, in the earth world,
is there not to be amazed by
and to be steadied by
and to cherish?
Oh, my dear heart,
my own dear heart,
full of hesitations,
questions, choice of directions,
look at the world.
Behold the morning glory,
the meanest flower, the ragweed, the thistle.
Look at the grass.


So much gratitude to all of you who follow, like, and comment. I may create the posts, but it is all of you who give the blog life. Thank you!



Next several posts: In the new year I shall begin sharing stories of my seven years in the wilderness – cooking in remote hunting and gold mining camps, and living in an isolated village in the far northwest of Canada. It was quite a slice.









All words and images by Alison Louise Armstrong unless otherwise noted
© Alison Louise Armstrong and Adventures in Wonderland – a pilgrimage of the heart, 2010-2024.