Jewels

The earth is like a beautiful bride who needs no manmade jewels to heighten her loveliness. ~Kahlil Gibran

ICE cream cone

Strawberry

Boot & Bird

Drop

Glacier

Glitter

Up

Down

Spot On

Polar Bear

Sliding Sideways

 Have a Beauty ✻ Filled Day.

Sundays are the Best

I believe in God, only I spell it Nature. ~ Frank Lloyd Wright

Sundays are my favorite day of the week. The world seems to slow down a bit… there is a collective energy that encourages relaxation and reflection. Sundays seem to last longer than most days. I decide in the moment what to do, rather than attacking my to do list. Whatever gets ‘done’ is because it is exactly what I want to do and I don’t have guilt about anything I did not do ~ Yeah!

Today I hiked in the morning and in the evening finding so many of these little ice sculptures, tune in tomorrow to see my favorites.

What is your favorite day of the week?

Good Morning

The true secret of happiness lies in the taking a genuine interest in all the details of daily life. ~ William Morris

We’ll it was yesterday… today’s another story!

Catch Me if You Can

Scatter Joy. ~ Emerson

Have a Beauty ✻ Filled Day

Anal Retentive Randomness

Don’t you ever let a soul in the world tell you that you can’t be exactly who you are. ~Lady Gaga

Perfect Path

Winter Web

Wallpaper Water

Frozen Stems

Divine Drips

Bokeh Berries

Perfect Position

Over the weekend I put together 5 different collections of photos to share with you, all with beautiful themes or color stories, but I finally settled on this random collection in a small attempt to let it be… let it be.

I’ve think I’ve spent over 20 years trying to learn how to NOT try too hard. Some of the  books I’ve read, workshops, therapists, and deep love poured into me from incredible family and friends rubs off and I can let down, let go, do less than I think I’m capable of, attempt to relax and just play,,, but for the most part it doesn’t last I soon find my way back to trying too hard… paying attention to every damn detail…Trying to get it right even when I know there is no Right.

The perfectionist side of me may always aches to create some kind of beautiful order from the chaos that life is?? It’s just part of my personality, I try too hard and that’s okay.

What part of your personality have you learned to embrace rather than TRY to fix?

Glistening

In the sweetness of friendship let there be laughter, and sharing of pleasures. For in the dew of little things the heart finds its morning and is refreshed. ~ Khalil Gibran

Have a Beauty ✻ Filled Weekend.

Happy Heart Day

My heart is ever at your service.~ Shakespeare

Flaky

They used to call me Snow White, but I drifted. ~ May West

On Fire

Build a man a fire and he’ll be warm for the night. Set a man on fire and he’ll be warm for the rest of his life. ~ Terry Prachett

I spent last week warming up in Austin TX. My husband took part in an ‘Editors Retreat’ learning all of the latest & greatest for TV, film & web video production. The retreat included meals & activities from breakfast till after midnight most days. When I join him on business trips, he will try to take an afternoon off and we usually eat dinner together, this trip was so wonderfully different. He was like a kid in a candy store with 60 other ‘kids’ so excited to be together sharing their obsessions & expertise. I hardly saw him, but when I did he was so happy.

When he creates TV shows he often directs, produces, shoots and edits, if I had to choose, I feel like editing is his expertise. I think he is one of best in the business. He got back late the first night and talked about how exciting it was to be around so many editors who knew so much more than him! He loved the class on 3D editing.

On the second night they had a poker tournament, when he rushed out to join the group he said “I’m going to win this thing” I said “How? you don’t play poker” He looked at me with a big smile and said “I read people”. I think I rolled my eyes a bit and said “Have fun”. He got back to the hotel room about 1:00 am carrying the $2000.00 grand prize…. some fancy brand new video storage device that he and all the other editors treated like royalty.

The retreat set him on fire!

I did not mind having lots of time to myself. I found the greenbelt and went on wonderful hikes. Beside all the birds that let me get so close, I found two turtles sunning! I was tempted to crawl on the warm rocks and relax in the sun with them.

Look how close this guy let me get! That pattern on his neck is beautiful.

This guy was a little more reserved.

I jumped across a few rocks and found these bubbles on top of some green gooey stuff in the water… hmmmm??

I ran into so many friendly locals, two asked me to join them on their hikes, later in the day, a group of dog owners let me play with their dogs in the water. The vibe in Austin is so relaxed & friendly, I could live there. I was warned about how terribly hot and long the summers are but when I have a choice, I prefer sweating over shivering. What do you prefer?

I was so happy to be out of the cold wandering and finding all kinds of new things to photograph. I love the shape of these seedpods, they look like skirts dangling with mini bowling balls ready to drop.

The sun sparkeled after a brief rainstorm, I think getting caught in a warm rain is one of my favorite things.

It was such a good trip. We both came home fully refreshed and ready to take on the world.

Have you been on any retreats with peers that inspired you?

“Birds Settled… Joy Accompanied”

A leaf fluttered in through the window this morning, as if supported by the rays of the sun, a bird settled on the fire escape, joy in the task of coffee, joy accompanied me as I walked. ~ Anais Nin