Guesses, anyone?

I grew up on a farm, and everything related to farming attracts me so much. Not long ago my sisters and I decided to hit the dirt roads and take pictures. I found this widely known fruit that makes a very popular beverage world-wide... Any guesses?

Hallelujah to the Lord of Heaven and Earth

"Lord of all creation

Of the water, earth and sky
The Heavens are your Tabernacle
Glory To the Lord on high"
Steve Hindalong and Marc Byrd

Please take some time this weekend when we celebrate Earth Day and watch God of Wonders (just click the highlighted words to be redirected). It's worth it... Our God is still the God of wonders, no matter what happens...

Note: On April 30th the blogosphere will hold a One-Day Blog Silence in honor towards the victims of Virginia. No comments no words. Feel free to participate and pass the word around.

We can make a difference - Earth Day

"We can make a difference, we can make a change.

We can make the world a better place."
Jaci Velasquez

You can check out Jaci's website (clicking her name above) and listen to some of her songs. This flower is from Floss Silk Tree. One of my favorites. During our Summer, there are thousands of them, as you travel you can see the trees along the road, mostly on farm entrances and narrow dirt roads.
Earth Day is celebrated on April 22nd. It is a special day to learn about our planet and how to take care of it. Besides, my son and I get older on this day! So, being born on such an important date gives me even more reasons to do my share to help spread the word about keeping our planet green!

A Dutch accent - Holambra

Besides Germans, Brazil has a Dutch community in Holambra (a contraction of Holland, America, and Brazil). The town was created by Dutch immigrants who left Europe after World War II. Many of the buildings have a Dutch-style facade, the houses have the Welcome sign in dutch. Every year, at the end of the Winter, for three weeks, there is the "Expoflora," an exhibition of flowers, food, and dutch dances. The Dutch descendants cultivate and export flowers to many countries in Europe and North America through electronic auctions. We were visiting for a few hours on Saturday, but did not stay long, we left for a farm nearby.

Eugenia Uniflora - Brazilian Cherry - Pitanga

Known as Brazilian cherry or Surinam cherry, the pitanga tree has delicate white flowers. The fruit can be eaten fresh or used as ingredient in juices, jelly and sauces and it is very high in vitamin C content. The tree was blooming over Easter at my in-laws farm, and I found it so interesting that there were flowers, green and ripe fruit all at the same time. I am sure I took a picture of the whole tree but I cannot find it here now. The tree there is about 20 feet/6m and I enjoyed picking pitangas and photographing them. Sonia has more information about it as she has a tree in her backyard!

Antique Farming and Memories

The first three farming equipments, or part of them, belong to my in-laws farm. The red tractor I found at a service area restaurant and it is for sale! Does anyone have any memories of these items that would like to share? The first plow was very common during my childhood. The oxcart was already an antique when I was a kid and it is one of my favorites. And speaking of memories, if you have a chance, take a look at Mike's blog, he has some wonderful pictures and he talks about old times, when people used to have a front porch, gather there and greet one another!

The Thinking Blogger Award

I was awarded a "Thinking Blogger Award" by Gisela… I am so thrilled! This is a meme and now I must pass it on to 5 others who I feel blogs make me think. Not an easy task, at all, with so many blogs I love and like to visit.
I thought of all my blog friends and I decided to pick the ones that I have been closer, mostly through e-mailing. I am sorry I could nominate only five bloggers! So, here are my choices:

1) Geraldo at 21^st Century Grandpa - We have been friends for over 10 years now, and Geraldo and his wife have been such a blessing to our family. Our kids love them and they make sure we feel as part of their family. He has many thoughts and feelings to share about being a grandpa and life in general.

2) Britt-Arnhilds at Britt-Arnhild's House in the Woods is a woman that can make a difference in everyone’s life. She inspires me, making me slow down, and look around with fresh eyes. Her life in Norway is described in a way that she fits you right into scene, taking you together in her journey.

3) Stefanie at Maine-Coon Luna manages her blog with such grace, she has taught me so much about Germany, crafts and mostly about cats. I have to confess, I was not a big fan of cats and through her I learned so much about them.

4) Kerri at Colors of the Garden has been teaching me about gardening. Her posts are thoughtful and friendly, filled with pictures and stories of her family, her garden and birds. She often makes me feel so homesick for the US.

5) And last, but not least, Moi at Not by a long shot!, a new blog friend, who is from India and has made me think with her pictures that speak for themselves.

Now all you have to do is copy the Award button to your post and side bar, pick 5 blogs and post them on your blog. Congratulations to you all!

Thank you all for allowing me into your lives and for bringing me such joy!

A new life

It took me a few days to get the shots done, but it was worth the wait. And I chose Easter time to publish them because to me it means the beginning of our true life.

Look up and around

A trip to a mall nearby on a weekday in the morning shows me that people feel their urge to go shopping either during lunch time or after work! I had never really taken the time to enjoy the view, then I noticed the coconut trees and the sun shining through. I had my camera with me this day as I have been waiting for them to fill the flower beds with hundreds of tulips like they did last year, near the escalators. No luck with the flowers so far.

Good things

When I read Anna's inspiring blog today it came to my mind this picture I took of my son a couple of months ago. His dad lifted him up to pick a flower for mommy and he handled it to me with such a big smile. And I pass it on to you now...

Bloom where you are planted

The mall is environmental friendly and has energy saving systems. An artist transformed a condemned ficus tree found in the area during construction into art. A new perspective made all the difference for this tree to function perfectly as an art object. There is always room for growth... And beauty can be generated even under the adverse and perhaps wrong circumstances, just look around and see what God is doing, He has a plan and purpose for all of us. Bloom where you have been called...