Happiness is a butterfly, which, when pursued, is always just beyond your grasp, but which, if you sit down quietly, may alight upon you.

–Nathaniel Hawthorne

You won’t find butterflies in this photo…it’s just that the sunlight shining through the lemon balm made me happy. Also yesterday’s gardening work at church made me happy, all six hours of it, re-planting containers and flowerbeds. I even took a few photos, but they only convey the chaos stage of a work-in-progress. Not to mention that my camera got dirty hanging out in the pocket of my gardening apron, and the great picture I thought I was getting of a giant snail wasn’t great, because the lens cover didn’t open. It was the middle of the day, so the sun was too bright.

I never sat down quietly, but the gardening happiness came to me anyway. In a few weeks, when the plants have filled out and my work of art is more ready for viewing, I’ll sit down earlier in the day and from a different vantage point take my pictures and joy.