Frog & Fly

Up high, the flies are playing,

And frolicking, and swaying.

The frog thinks: Dance! I know

You’ll end up here below.

~ Wilhelm Busch

All the critters are coming out to play. When the frogs come out, the sound of 100’s of them croaking at the same time can drown out all other sounds … it amazes me how loud they are. When I get to the edge of the water to find the frogs they tend to jump in and disappear, this guy was more curious than afraid.

I have been spending way too much time outside the last couple of weeks. The weather has been incredible, a dose of summer at the beginning of spring. At some point I’ll catch up with my photo sorting and share the bounty, but it’s just too nice out to be inside, today it may get up to 86° whoo hooo!

P.S. I know many of you can not comment. Thanks for trying, I’m not sure what the problem is?  I have an appointment today with my computer guy. If he can’t fix the issue, I’ll be transferring over to my new website in hopes of solving the problem. My site is still a work in progress, but if it solves this issue it will be worth it.

Springing Forward

In the right light, at the right time, everything is extraordinary. ~ Aaron Rose

Mini-microphones

Dried Daisies

Floating Feather

Beautiful Burn

A Spring in his Step

I love springing forward ~ more time to hike.

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?

Here Comes the Sun

Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth. ~ Buddha

Each day that we get more sun, I feel more alive and filled with a renewed sense of possibility. Even though winter officially starts on December 21, solstice somehow feels like a half way point for me. As soon as the days start getting longer, I shift into knowing that things are getting brighter and some part of me thinks, oh good… winter will soon be over. It’s a weird way of thinking, but it seems to keep my spirits up on the cold gray days?

Luckily the sun has been shining bright the last few days and it feels so good!

For me, I think it would be ideal to live in the northern hemisphere May – October and the southern hemisphere November – April. Maybe someday.

What would be ideal for you?

Wistful

Better than any argument is to rise at dawn and pick dew-wet red berries in a cup. ~ Wendell Berry

I wish it was the middle of the summer and I was rising early to collect dew wet red berries, but it’s not. Lately it’s been cold and gray so I decided to brighten my day and organize a few of the red berry photos I’ve taken over the last few weeks. There are still so many bright red balls clinging to branches and hanging in clusters. I’m grateful for the little splash of color.

I’ve actually been hunting for blackberries this time of year, not the fruit but the branches. In July, I stumbled on some wild blackberries while hiking and was able to pick enough to have some on my breakfast cereal. It’s been years since I had wild berries and I was so amazed by the taste.

They taste like my childhood, I remember being so lucky to live next to neighbors who had berries in their giant garden. I would just sit on the ground and eat as I picked, no need to go home for lunch, I filled up on berries and played outside all afternoon. Nowadays the supermarket berries are super-sized and strange tasting compared to the wild ones. Don’t get me wrong, I love that I can buy a pack of organic berries for $3.00 to have on my breakfast in the middle of December, this morning I had some yummy raspberries with my shredded wheat, but there is nothing like the taste of a fresh picked wild berry on a hot summer day.

The reddish purply branches have a beautiful icy gray patina, the color is such a feast for the eyes this time of year, they stand out against all the gray. Now that I know what blackberry branches look like it’s so much easier to spot them. I’ve found so many stashes of berry patches on many of my regular hikes, next summer I’ll be able to pick enough for a whole pie!

What tastes take you right back to your childhood?

Transitioning

In some mysterious way woods have never seemed to me to be static things. In physical terms, I move through them; yet in metaphysical ones, they seem to move through me. ~ John Fowles

Can you help me choose?

My goal in life is to be as good of a person my dog already thinks I am. ~ Author Unknown

I took so many photos on my hike a few days ago at sunset. it was such a beautiful evening, I’ve been editing for hours trying to narrow things down. I’m often willing to toss aside the good shots and will focus in on what I feel are the best shots that tell the story I want to share, yet I’m struggling to decide which shots to save of my favorite subjects…

I love the architecture of each of these and it was fun trying to catch the webs floating in the gentle wind. Queen Anne’s Lace looks good any time of year.

a bit worried ?

seems to have relaxed

gleaming

As my dog Sunrise moves slower on our hikes I seem to be taking more photos of him, he won’t be around forever, even though I’ve asked him to live forever. I’m glad I have these moments of time captured.

Since you’re less emotionally attached to these two subjects than I am, perhaps you have a favorite of each?

Late Afternoon Meditation

No one can see their reflection in running water. It is only in still water that we can see. ~ Taoist proverb

The river water was so clear and moving so slow. The stillness enveloped me.

In the reflection the leaves that had fallen in the river appear to be back on the branches.

There are still some leaves hanging on the maples.

This tree was filled with yellow polka dot patterns.

It’s a fungi that likes maples… kinda beautiful?

We continued on… winding river… winding trails, slanting bridges over slow moving water.

It was one of those afternoons that the light called me from tree to tree.

The leaves on these trees sometimes last all winter long, I don’t know why but I love that they do.

The birds were feasting on bugs.

The squirrels were collecting acorns.

I was collecting photos… I sat on the ground trying to get just the right angle of this dried up tulip tree branch. I’ve yet to see a tulip tree in bloom in summer?

I wonder what this is?

or this… I wonder why these branches are sprouting in mid – November?

It was a long… slow… lovely afternoon. Sunny was hungry and was howling on the bridge near the parking lot asking me to please finish up so he could go home and eat (I forgot to fill my pocket with biscuits). I reluctantly listened to his request, I could have stayed till it got dark.

P.S. If you have time, check out this post from the spring with dried tulip tree blossoms and lingering leaves. (When I read what I wrote months ago, I feel like such a new person, yet the same. It’s fun to reflect on who I was and who I am becoming.)

Berries Galore

 On the motionless branches of some trees, autumn berries hung like clusters of coral beads, as in those fabled orchards where the fruits were jewels. ~ Charles Dickens

I’ve noticed so many acorns this fall, perhaps it’s a ‘mast’ year for oaks…every 7 years or so, they drop many more acorns than normal to ensure survival. And, it seems the berries are having bigger yields than normal too, or maybe I’m just noticing them more than other years?

What have you noticed lately?

Sunny Yellow

Earth and sky, woods and fields, lakes and rivers, the mountain and the sea, are excellent schoolmasters, and teach some of us more than we can ever learn from books. ~ John Lubbock

my dog, sunny, is 13 and is showing his age day by day, we walk much slower now… yesterday’s hike was perfect

i fell in love with these old telephone poles… i adore the random sizes and the fact that they don’t go in a straight line

it was raining yellow leaves all afternoon

it is so hard to capture a leaf falling, this is my best attempt so far… i’ll get a better shot one of these days

we sat by the banks and watched the leaves fall in the water and drift down the river

sunrise thought about a swim… just thought about it

i was mesmerized by the  lacey leaf patterns reflecting on the surface

it took a while to catch just the right shadow shot as the leaves drifted by, but it was one of those afternoons that it did not matter how long it took to do anything in particular

it was a magical day

it’s been one of the most beauty ✻ filled falls i’ve ever seen, i wish is would last for so much longer ♥

what do you wish would last longer?