Adding fish and butterflies to the usual mix

Soar like a fish and float like a butterfly.

A fish out of water, albeit momentarily, transmitting joy.

The birds seem to be welcoming the butterflies to the scene.

Bird, Flowers, and Fish

The usual bird and flower combination finds a new friend today, fish, joining the two contiguous realms of terrestrial and aquatic life, presented on rice paper. The second one bears a special significance. Read on.

This is a gift to our friend, Amanda. In addition to being Hubby's colleague, she is a Notary Public, the equivalent of an Oath Commissioner back home. And she has notarized all of our documents that require such an endorsement. As a token of our appreciation for her invaluable service in this regard, this is our way of saying a big Thank You. The greeting words, in Chinese, read as follows in English translation:

To Amanda, May you realize all your aspirations, May everything go your way, and May there always be a surplus of blessings for years to come.

[Note that the word, surplus, is the phonetic equivalent of fish when pronounced in Chinese. Hence, the Chinese people have always used fish to denote a surplus of blessings and fortune, especially on Chinese New Year greeting cards].

Click on the image to see a larger view.

More Basketful of Joy

Fruits and birds, the latter in a more thoughtful pose than the previous one. The top bird seems on the plump side, perhaps having had too good a time savoring the fruits.

Basket of Fruits and Birds

For a change, I have baskets of fruits replacing the flowers and leaves, the only constant being the birds, seemingly standing guard over the delicious looking food of nature.

Painting birds and flowers

Leaves, flowers, buds, and birds perched on branches together serve as the subject of my painting efforts for the day.

From No Bird to Two Birds ...

Birds and plants, especially those flowering types, do make for a natural tapestry of harmony that evokes the great love in us for the environment, for the free, and for the therapeutic serenity that invariably ensues.

Stillness and Motion: the floral and avian combination

Sometimes, mere words become superfluous. Just let the eyes take in the sights, along the garden path and amidst the serene harmony born out of the constrasting stillness and motion.