Luann Tennant Coyne

Category: Nature

The Old Man of the Mountain

The Alpine sunflower waits for as many as 70 years before it produces its flower, presenting a challenge to me: what flowers can I produce in my 70s?

The Reef in the Water

“We just want to rest,” we kept saying. “Our lives at home are so busy. We just want to get away, rest, sit on the beach, enjoy the sunshine.” And I meant it. I was looking forward to time away, time off, unstructured time, time to sit and look at the water. Time to write. Time to put my feet up and read a beach novel.
Yet, I am a human being. Fractious. Contrary. Very like my 22-month-old grandson Lucas, who, the moment he gets the toy he wants, puts it aside and wants another.

A Lesson from my Trees in Early November

My recent cataract surgeries have improved my sight so much that everything looks more detailed, more colorful and brighter than I have seen in decades.
I am thrilled with the carnival of color on the trees in our back yard: orange, red, gold, bronze and fading green, all bouncing vigorously in the breeze. I marvel at the bright glory of serrated-edged golden river birch leaves against an intense blue sky.

Respite

Whenever I come to the mountains, I feel at home in a way I can’t explain. Like I’ve come back home after being away. I breathe deeply and I say, “Yes. I’m home again.” And my age and my minor ailments fall away. Peace and happiness are here, for the taking.

52 Years and Still Going Strong

Deb and I have been friends for 52 years, ever since we met our freshman year in college. I was a timid, brown-haired, piano-playing girl determined to learn everything I could about everything in the world. Deb was a glowing, giving, curly-headed brunette with an outstanding lyric soprano voice. We lived next door to each other in the dorm. After the first semester, we moved in together and were roommates for the rest of our college years.

Independence Pass

I am so grateful that I did not take a pass on Independence Pass.

The Light I Need to See

I can choose to dwell on my grogginess. And fear. Or I can choose to see the light and the beauty, all around me.

Happy People

“They were happy people,” our guide says as she stands in the open doorway, following our tour of the beauty-filled and welcoming Bellingrath House. “You can tell. It’s a happy place.” “They” were Walter and Essie Bellingrath, who left their home to be a museum of beautiful things, and their estate to be a public… Continue reading Happy People

Of Wonder, and Beaches

So here Frank and I are again, in the land of white beaches, warm sunshine and blue skies. So grateful. Grateful for a safe drive down. Grateful that our loved ones and friends back home are safely through that record-shattering cold and doing well. Grateful for sunny days. Grateful that, although it is cold for… Continue reading Of Wonder, and Beaches