My Snow Queen

How long I have waited for you to arrive..and you do not disappoint..When I first saw you, my heart started beating. Beating so fast I could not even wait to set the camera on the tri-pod. Thank you for sharing a few moments with me...I'll be back and next time, I hope I'm more prepared for your spendor.  Maybe next time you'll also feel the need to stay a bit longer...oh what a tease you are...

I do believe you are my gift, my sign, that all will be well in 2014... Already my word for the year...Persistant, has paid off...just looking at you brings me joy.

I am most alive in my photography when I am out in Nature...you can't stage it.   It happens or it doesn't, but when it does...there is nothing quite like the sense of wonder that one feels.   And so,  I continue to go...

Hand held at 500mm... ah not as old as I thought.. 

Linking up to KK Friday's Find...

 

White Owl Flies Into and Out of the Field

 “Coming down out of the freezing sky

with its depths of light,

like an angel, or a Buddha with wings,

it was beautiful, and accurate,

striking the snow and whatever was there

with a force that left the imprint

of the tips of its wings - five feet apart -

and the grabbing thrust of its feet,

and the indentation of what had been running

through the white valleys of the snow -

and then it rose, gracefully,

and flew back to the frozen marshes

to lurk there, like a little lighthouse,

in the blue shadows -

so I thought:

maybe death isn't darkness, after all,

but so much light wrapping itself around us -

as soft as feathers -

that we are instantly weary of looking, and looking,

and shut our eyes, not without amazement,

and let ourselves be carried,

as through the translucence of mica,

to the river that is without the least dapple or shadow,

that is nothing but light - scalding, aortal light -

in which we are washed and washed

out of our bones.”

 - Mary Oliver

Coming Out Of My Fog

The fog is lifting at my house...oh, don't get to excited, all is not as it should be but progress is being made. I've had my head in the clouds during the holidays and now the fog is starting to lift and I'm hoping to be on track, full time very soon...well, that is, until someone knocks me off my path again...

I've been cleaning and sorting and having Doctor's visits and yes, babysitting my Lovelies once again...we are back in our routine but unfortunately I still have some catching up to do.  I think as far as the cleaning and sorting and purging goes...I can see the light at the end of the tunnel..and oh, have you heard about the crazy cold, snow and now foggy weather we've been having here in the east...hardly make a soul want to move out of the house...I can see St. Maarten right through the fog this year...it's going to feel good.

O.K. see what I mean, it doesn't take much to get me off track.  Although I have many lessons to catch up on and perhaps a surprise in my future...I thought I would start with something that Kim put out there at the beginning of the year...Sometimes writing things down makes our intentions clearer and it gets into the old brain much better...so the lesson was, write 14 things you want to work on in 2014...

So here goes...my 14 things and believe me I could have added more.  In no particular order.

1. Computer off by 9:30 p.m...Lights out by 11:00 pm...I need more reading and sleeping time.

2.Finish and keep up my portfolio.

3. More blogging, less Flickr and Facebook...

4. Do hard copy of my blog posts in book form. I wanted to do this last year and it never got done..

5. Print more photo's and make more photo albums.

6. Play with my Boys for fun, laughter, love and de-stressing.   The years move fast..I don't want to miss them.

7. Travel more...I missed that these past 18 months...already lined up St. Maarten in February and Paris, Provence and Burgundy in April...thinking on a Fall trip and hoping for Seattle and the Oregon Coast.

8. Spend more time with friends...near and far.

9. Get back to horseback riding..I miss it so much.

10 Start taking meditation classes..and doing it regularly. 

11. Learn to relax more more.

12. I also need to finish my blog..it's almost there but needs some fine tuning...

13 Most importantly, feel and recognize Joy in every day.

14. Try my best to keep up with the lessons I signed up for...because I love it when I'm doing them.

So that is my list..you can't accomplish the lists if your head is in the fog...I'm coming out.

Thanks Kim Klasssen for the texture...KK_45

"When the song of the angels is stilled;

When the stars in the sky are gone;

When the kings and princes are home;

When the shepherds are back with their flocks;

The real work of Christmas begins;

To find the lost and heal the brokenhearted;

To feed the hungry and release the prisoner;

To rebuild the ruins and restore peace;

To Make Music in the Heart...."

Winter White

A new year, a clean slate, 2014.  What will I write on my slate this year...It's always a fresh beginning in January..as if the past has just slipped away.  It's not that we will forget the things of this past year, it's more of a second or third or 60th chance to write again, our future..our desires, what we want to accomplish.  I don't make New Year's resolutions anymore...I haven't for many years.  I remember always making the same one and then half way through the year I would be filled with sadness because , once again I didn't achieve my goal...then one magical year...I did.   It was a miracle for me...and to this day...that miracle is still alive.  After that year, 1983, I never made another resolution because I learned about real forgiveness.  We are sometimes so hard on ourselves...even when we accomplish the goals..so today, I just move into this new year with my clean slate..white and frosty, knowing that I will accomplish many things but nothing is written in stone and that's o.k. by me...

Wishing you all a very bright and shinny New Year..full of love, light, laughter and joy...but mostly I wish you Good Heath...

"In this new year, may you have a deep understanding of your true value and worth, an absolute faith in your unlimited potential, peace of mind in the midst of uncertainty, the confidence to let go when you need to, acceptance to replace your resistance, gratitude to open your heart, the strength to meet your challenges, great love to replace your fear, forgiveness and compassion for those who offend you, clear sight to see your best and true path, hope to dispel obscurity, the conviction to make your dreams come true, meaningful and rewarding synchronicities, dear friends who truly know and love you, a childlike trust in the benevolence of the universe, the humility to remain teachable, the wisdom to fully embrace your life exactly as it is, the understanding that every soul has its own course to follow, the discernment to recognize your own unique inner voice of truth, and the courage to learn to be still."
-Janet Rebhan

Textured with Kim Klassen's Minus 45