Best Friends

January 8

I am thankful for best friends. This is my dog Cupcake and my daughter's dog Oakley. They are best friends and constant companions. There is a little jealousy and a little rivalvry, but for the most part they get along wonderfully and care about each other. They love their morning and evening walks together.  

Best friends are life-long companions who enrich our lives.

bff

there's nobody quite like my bff

that can fill my cup

there's never been anyone else

that can measure up

if my shirt happens to be

a little bit inside out

if my clothes don't match

of it my bff will shout

i know i can surely

count on my special friend

to let me know when 

things are wrong in the end

but if i need comfort

guidance or more

my bff will be there

to open the door

i will shout it out loud

i will sign to the deaf

there's nobody quite like

my best friend,

my bff.

© rt tulley

Cypress Trees

January 7

I am thankful for cypress trees. I absolutely love them. I am fortunate to live in Louisiana and am blessed that there are PLENTY of cypress trees here.  It is not surprising that I named my publishing company Cypress Tree Publishing.  These particular ones are in University Lake in Baton Rouge. Although two of them have remnants of fall colors, these are nearly in the bare winter stage. But they are by no means less beautiful. Spanish moss draped on their branches completes the photo of these beauties.

cypress trees

cypress trees

tall, stately, and stark

stand like sentries

guarding the dark

widened base

meets with water

green leaves sprout

when it gets hotter

spindly and majestic

towering pointed spire

parallel branches outward

as it goes higher

spanish moss draped

bearded messengers

provides perch

for multiple passengers

towers of strength

and certainly beauty

lonely, lovely, inviting

performing their duty.

© rt tulley

Love

January 6

Love, above all things, is the favorite of the things on my thankful for things list. Without it, we are just empty shells of people going through the motions of life. Love can make us soar to unachievable heights. And while love elicits the strongest "feel good" emotions, it, or lack of it, is also responsible for the worst feelings we ever experience. That is why I chose this heart shaped prickly pear to represent love - it can prick us and bleed us, but at the same time, if you and the one you love are one in that relationship, it can protect you from outside hardships and more.

For Christmas this year, I gave a framed print of this photo to my wife Bebe along with this poem:

prickly pear (genus Opuntia)

heart shaped prickly pear

of our love reminds

first from a bud shoots

forming pads intertwined

spines to protect

from dangers without

storage of sustaining fluid

to protect from drought

flowers for beauty bearing

in the late of spring

succulent fruit hidden

nourishment to bring.

© rt tulley