Focus

An old, snowy photo illustrates how focus changes what we see.  The background is the logical subject, but then -- would we miss the droplets for the trees?

Reflection

At the Wooky Hole today I was trying to catch fish (in a photo).  Instead, I caught the sky and treetops.

As above, so below.

Atmosphere

This old Carribbean memory illustrates so well how atmospheric differences change the light.  This twilit moonrise recalls the feel of the warm, soft, air, in perpetual motion.  Thick with the scent of sea and mountaintops, this atmosphere is singularly evocative today.

Remembering to Look Up

With blinders on, circumstances overwhelm.
One runs into the next.
Some resolve, some persist.
Realities flip.
We question our grasp.
Outside of this, looking back,
will we remember what it was about?
Does it matter, or is the point in the struggle?
Looking up, a flash of perspective soothes,
if only for a moment.

Holy

If prayer is part of our lives, we hope to make a connection.

Clarity brings us back.

This is where I pray.

Patina

The color and texture of this pine bark stands out in a sea of trunks.

Recharge

Down at the Wooky Hole, natural granite is everywhere.  The energy of these rocks is palpable and calming.

The rushing creek water continues to bear gifts.  Almost every day a new crystal collection appears upon its banks.

Inspired

This scrappy dogwood was very old when we moved here seventeen years ago.  We were advised to remove it because of structural damage but I was taken by its stalwart spirit.  Transfigured by trauma, it persists and reaches, still, for the light.

Still Life

A closer look -- examining everyday objects more purposefully yields a deeper, richer perspective.  We find treasure in the mundane.

As Georgia O'Keefe's subject filled her canvas, a tighter focus reveals more than lovely form.  A life force becomes palpable.  Fleeting as it is, it's worth the look.

Terrible Things

Some things, unforeseen, knock us off kilter.  Early on, full of hope and resilience, we glean gifts from the wreckage and move forth, stronger at the seams. 

Some things come in quick succession, before the last seam has cured. 

Some things irrevocably change us.  We become unrecognizable to ourselves, unsure of our seams.

Some things happen over and over again.  The price of changing our response is too high.  Those for whom the price is not too high begin to fall away, one by one.

Isolated, brittle from vigilance, we move forward, trying everything.  With each failure, we retreat within, in search of our innocence, where we might find a spark of hope.

Depleted, disoriented, stillness is a balm as we wait for the next . . . thing.

Exquisite Design

Sometimes nature's genetic coding is exquisitely ordered in a mind-boggling way.  This spiral-patterned cauliflower is an example of fractals in nature.  The work of M.C. Escher comes to mind, and I wonder if he found inspiration in the natural world.

Accepting What Is

For a shady spot, nature knows best.  Lovely.

Fireflies

On a gloomy day, we remember to conjure the warmth of summer however we can.  This glass ginger jar with air plants (obsessed) in a simulated cloud of warm, twilit memories soothed the soul for a little while.

Modern Veg

In organizing my photos today, I was struck by the design of this one from a garden harvest a few years ago.