Remains of the Day

As some of you know, from my last post, we had a guest here over the weekend.  It was a short but sweet visit amounting to just under 24 hours.

Our guest was Kate from Chronicles of a Country Girl, a blogger I have long admired.  I have always been drawn to Kate's beautiful images, but even more so to her kind, honest, and heartfelt approach to blogging.


 

I've only met one other blogger in real life (Connie), and I'm happy to say that both she and Kate are exactly the same in real life as they are on their blogs. 

I am always a little nervous to meet new people, though you would never know it by how much I ramble on once I do, it's part of my nervousness I think.  And though my rambling never really diminishes, I do settle in to a more comfortable pace once I get to know someone...it just takes a few meetings.

I think I worry whether I'm truly showing someone a good time, whether they are comfortable, and whether or not I'm conveying the southern style hospitality my mother instilled in me.  

Though our dogs barked a lot, especially because there was a party going on across the street, and the weather didn't fully cooperate so that we could go kayaking, or even spend much time outside, Kate was a very gracious guest.

She gifted us with a lovely candle, bottle of chardonnay which we shared by a bonfire, and she was even thoughtful enough to bring Quinn and Misty Belle some yummy organic treats!...thank you again!

She easily conversed with our children, connected with our dogs and gave them lots of love, leaving us all sad to see her go when she left after breakfast on Sunday.  The pups were a little put out that their new friend had disappeared so quickly. 

Kate has a calm presence, an easy going manner, and an amazing outlook considering all she's been through in the past few weeks, months, and years.  I'm so glad she took a chance and drove all that way to come see us, and we hope it will just be the first of many visits to come.

Thank you Kate, it was so wonderful to have you with us, if only for a short time! 

Happy Weekend

We have company coming this weekend, in less than 24 hours to be exact, and while I should be cleaning, I'm taking pictures of fall décor...doh?!

I think that's the beauty of getting older, you don't care if everything is perfect, just whether or not you have good food, good wine, clean towels, and a calm disposition to offer your guests.  Or maybe it's just that as you age, you only invite people to your home who you know will like you for you...not how well they can see their reflection in your shiny mopped floors.

This will be the first time I've met this person in real life, though we've been friends for several years, thanks to blogging.  Her blog was one of the very first ones I ever visited, and one of the ones that inspired me to start my own.

So, unless she turns out to be an axe murderer, or I do, I should be back next week to tell you about how it all went. 

I hope you all have a very Happy Weekend!



Thank You, Thank You, Thank You

You know, I think we all question why we blog from time to time...is it worth the effort, do we really love still putting forth that effort, and does anyone really care about what we put out there?

Even though I decided a long time ago to put on my blog what I want, not what I think others want to see, and have given myself permission to only blog when I feel up to it, or I have something I think is worth putting out there for others to see, the hope is always that someone else will love it too.

It has been really freeing to accept those principles, and so when others respond to something I love, well it makes me really, really happy, but also very, very thankful!

Thankful that something I created caused a reaction in someone else, and grateful that I found this medium of photography that helps me to connect with friends, family, and even perfect strangers!

It pushes me to keep going, to push through pain, frustration, equipment limitations, and dreaded self doubt in order to make those connections and to hear your reactions...to see my art not only through my eyes, but also through yours!

Creating for the sake of creating is lovely, but creating and knowing you've touched someone, no matter what you create, well that my friends is the reward!  And I have to say that it squashes down all the other things that keep us all from being creative human beings who have the ability to make this world not only more beautiful, but so much more compassionate and connected.

So thank you, for visiting here, even when I don't post, even when I don't post house things like I once did, and walking this creative journey with me.  Thank you for inspiring me in ways you receive no credit for, in ways you aren't even aware you are motivating me, and for just looking, smiling, and hopefully going on to be more creative yourselves.

I appreciate each and every comment you left on my last post, I really never thought that a bunch of images of birds on a blog that had started out as one talking about home decor and decorating would inspire such wonderful, thoughtful, and heartwarming comments, but then I shouldn't be surprised should I?  I've been lucky to have always had wonderful readership, smart, insightful readers who give freely without expectations...but still, I am blown away, and wanted to let you know that I never take it for granted!

Thank You, Thank You, Thank You!

All Things Winged

This weekend was a beauty, a true indian summer weekend, with warm temps and sunny skies!  We were also having unseasonably high tides due to the wind, so Mr. Tide offered to paddle me around in the tandem kayak so that I could rest my shoulders and back and also so that I could hopefully take some pics of wildlife.

We decided to wander way up to the headwaters of the creek, where the marsh grasses grow tall and the eagles live.  Though we've never found a nest, we know there must be one up that way somewhere, probably too far for us to reach before the tiny trickle of water is completely blocked by overgrown wetlands.

I was so happy I felt up to going, but even happier that I was able to use my big lens for at least awhile, taking frequent breaks waiting for something to fly overhead.  Of course when I got back, I had to play around with the images I had captured.  On the one above I gave it a bit of a 1950s nostalgic look to it.  I told Mr. Tide that I could see it in a hunting lodge from the 50s, probably decoupaged onto a large wedge of wood...remember those?!

The images in this post were taken over several days, and even though I was sore from shooting the first day, I couldn't resist going out and trying again because it was so nice to be on the water again, and I wanted to take full advantage of it while I could!  No pain, no gain right?!

I was glad I pushed myself, because I captured some wonderful images of eagles on one of the days.  I always have trouble catching them in flight, especially from the land, as they often fly behind the trees before I can focus on them.

And the same is true for herons, they are so quick to fly away long before you get anywhere near them, but if you sit patiently in a kayak, sometimes they fly right past you.

This particular heron was perched high atop a long needled pine tree out in the open part of the creek, and surprisingly he or she was more than happy to let me snap a few shots before taking off.  It's the closest I've ever gotten to one and with the setting sun, the light was perfect!

But by far, this last image is my favorite.  This egret let me take some pictures of it perched atop this piling, but then it decided it was time to take flight.  I love that it had only one tiny claw touching as it lifted off...it is a quintessential "bird taking flight" pose in my mind!

There is something about winged things that makes me smile each time I see them....well most things, just not bats!  The quote below is so fitting for each of these images, so I will leave you to ponder your own winged destiny.

“I have come to accept the feeling of not knowing where I am going. And I have trained myself to love it. Because it is only when we are suspended in mid-air with no landing in sight, that we force our wings to unravel and alas begin our flight. And as we fly, we still may not know where we are going to. But the miracle is in the unfolding of the wings. You may not know where you're going, but you know that so long as you spread your wings, the winds will carry you.”
― C. JoyBell C.

Nature

Thank you all for your wonderful, caring, and kind comments on my last post.  Though it saddened me to know that so many of you have been through accidents with similar injuries, your thoughts and suggestions as I navigate a new way of doing things were greatly appreciated!

In other news, we are part of the furlough affecting so many government workers right now.  I won't get all political, because who knows what I might say, so instead I will simply say that my heart goes out to people living paycheck to paycheck who will be so greatly affected by the nonsense in Washington.  How selfish for those in power, those with money, to be so flippant about people's lives and the well being of those they claim to represent.  Ok, rant done! 

Instead of lamenting the time off without pay, we have decided to spend it together catching up on things around the house and just enjoying one another's company.

I have also ventured out over the past week and taken a few shots of wildlife in the area, like the gorgeous Egret above who seems to enjoy hanging out on some dead branches of our maple tree.  This tree overhangs the water and is actually not far from our dock, so it's an ideal spot to hang out in between tides, ie. meals.  I was amazed that it let me sit on the dock in a chair and snap away, only looking up when nearby herons would squawk.

This morning there was lots of fog hanging over the fields, so I took advantage of the misty conditions and took some shots of a deer family nibbling on the freshly mown grass.  We have several sets of twin fawns right now, some of which are still fairly young, so I hope they will grow quickly before wintertime sets in and the temps drop.

Nature truly can be a soothing reminder that even under the harshest conditions life goes on.  I hope each of you can find some time to spend in nature this week!

Laying Low

It's been awhile since I've posted, and today's post is a bit of a hodge podge of images, because I haven't really been taking many pictures lately.

I've been laying kind of low recently, mostly due to the fact that my upper back, neck and shoulders have been giving me fits, especially last week.  It's all due to the fact that we were rear ended a little over a year ago, and I have to say that is has had an unexpected effect on me over this past year.

I've always considered myself to be a pretty resilient person, but after the initial soreness from the event itself, I began to suffer long term effects which still linger on.

I went to physical therapy last winter, and it helped, but like with most injuries, it didn't take me back to the point before we were in the accident.

Little things that I had always taken for granted...like riding on an airplane to Europe, weeding my garden, sitting at the computer processing pictures, and even holding my long lens...all things I had never thought twice about before, began reminding me that I had been in an accident.

It was one of the reasons I quit blogging early last year.  I was at a loss for words then, but I was also at a loss for taking pictures and sitting at the computer processing them the way I had always enjoyed doing.

It's a bummer when things like this happen, and to be honest, I know I am one of the lucky ones, because it can always be worse.

I does get me down sometimes, and I have found that I now have to pace myself in ways I never had before.  I grab my tripod more frequently, and that means less photos, because sadly, wildlife doesn't wait for you to set up a tripod.

But it does make me appreciate my body and what I can do even more now, and I don't take anything for granted anymore...not even a little.

On the days when I do feel pretty good, I go outside with my telephoto and shoot until the aches and pains make me stop.

And though I spend far less time shooting and processing, I hope that means that the things I do capture are even more meaningful to me now.

All the shots in this post were taken over a period of about a week.  Before the accident I would have taken them all in one day, and processed them that very night.  But maybe I wouldn't have appreciated each one as much, or wanted the time I spent processing them to reflect as closely what I wanted them to if I hadn't had to take numerous breaks and stretch out my muscles.

This morning the eagles were having a literal field day with something they found interesting in the newly mown fields next door.  They were too far away to really capture any good images, but they were swooping and fighting for whatever it was and bullying the vultures out of the way as they feasted.

The juvenile above stayed put long enough for me to set up and get as close as I could with my telephoto.  He appears to be coming in to adulthood fairly soon, and he has mostly white head feathers, unlike his relative two pictures up.

I hope you all have had a good few weeks...the weather is starting to feel very fall like...and I think I kind of like it!



A Dog's Life

I think Misty Belle missed her calling as a movie actress.  In the photo above she looks as though her whole world has fallen to pieces, but the truth is she was just zooming around underneath the Japanese maple tree and had stopped just long enough to see Mr. Tide coming outside.  

The best I can tell, the only sadness this pup knows is not having free access to her food and other treats, not being petted 24/7, and being forced to come inside when she still wants to play a little bit more!

Ahh, to live the life of a well loved dog! :)

Powerful

After almost 10 full days without AC we are finally back to the land of dry, cool air!  The repair guy left around lunchtime today, and now we are playing catch up on the things we didn't do all week, like laundry, major cleaning, or even turning on our computers because they made the room so hot.

I have to admit that I will sort of miss having my windows flung wide open each night, even though everything in our house felt a bit like a soggy sock.  I loved hearing the deer moving through the tall grasses in the field next door, and realized that lots of things are on the move each night as we slumber away.  Some of them made noises that woke me and caused me to bolt to the window in hopes of seeing their silhouettes outlined by the full moon, but the creatures of the night are more stealthy, so I rarely saw whatever it was that screeched, hissed, or maybe even chortled during the wee hours of the morning.

I found I was drawn to simple things, like staying still and reading books, anything that didn't require much movement or heat generating electrical current.  And although we kept lights, computers, and tv watching to a bare minimum, outside there was plenty of electricity being generated.

Hot, humid days are often followed by strong storms in our area, and with the windows open it became a game of cat and mouse as to which way the wind would be blowing and which windows could remain open during each storm.  I love how the sky has a lavender cast to it, not sure why that is, but I haven't adjusted the color in either photo. 

And watching the storms became as interesting as any Pinterest board, and I felt myself wondering what it must have been like for those who lived long before television, computers, and smart phones.  In a way, being without AC, which allows us to close ourselves off to the outside world, became a lesson in paying attention to the beauty that resides right outside my door.

I'm still not sure I want to weather one of our typical summers without the benefit of hardworking AC, but it did leave me a little envious of those in the world who find a certain rhythm in the natural world that surrounds them and move through that world ever mindful of the glory of nature, and not an artificial schedule set up by man. 

I think I may have been gently reminded that sometimes the most powerful forces around us aren't those which we have created or invented, but those which continue on with or without us.  I have a feeling my windows will be open more often in the future.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend!