Tag: Nature

September to November-M.I.A.

Where to start…hmm…I won’t drag you through the last few months…nothing profound really…just life as we knew it before March, 2020 is over.

You know. You were there experiencing your own version of it.

I’ll just start with today.

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We are well in to my least favorite time of year.

Fall in the Great Northwest is so sneaky…tricky for me to navigate. In the other three seasons, my daily choice is crystal clear…be outside or be inside.

But Autumn tells blatant lies, almost daily.

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This morning it’s beautiful weather, so I leave the house expecting to enjoy all of the season’s best features; its warm, intense colors, clear blue skies, and easily tolerable medium temperatures. But during the short walk from my front door to the road, Autumn cackles out loud, her temperature plummets, and suddenly it’s 45 miles an hour freezing winds, filled with piercing raindrops.

First a pandemic and now THIS!

It’s just insulting.

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To make me even more irritable during this time of year, my allergies hit the hardest, blind-siding me with itchy eyes to asthma, literally out-of-the-blue!

I don’t have any reaction to all the lovely parts of Spring and Summer, gently blowing waves of grasses, tiny drifts of golden pollen on my windshield, or beautifully blossoming trees.

Nope. I get to be allergic to the dying, moldy leaves of Fall.

How glamorous.

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BUT…since I am obsessed with mastering my ability to shift my perspective at will, on this day, I easily concede that Autumn is also my favorite time to photograph.

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It takes some work though…

I was furious the other day when I finally had time to grab the camera and head out. I had spotted so many outstanding photo shots lately and wanted to go back to capture some of that vibrant color.

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Showing off her royal prerogative, when I wasn’t looking, that nasty, conniving Autumn had apparently had a Wind-Storm-Temper-Tantrum, stripping all the trees of their stunning October/November costumes. Grrrr.

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Then, later this morning, as I walked across the long spans of sodden grass to my neighbor’s house, these words came to me:

“Lovely, lacey, leaf-littered lawn”

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I’m NOT a poet so I had no idea what to do with those alliterated words.

But, it was magnificent, so out came the camera.

The birds even came out of their storm shelters to keep me company on my stroll.

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Today, I feel blessed to be in LOVE Autumn in the Northwest!

How’s that for a Perspective Shift?

WordlessWednesday…NOOOO!!!

I’m tired of no words!! I want some words!! Apparently, because I am so visual and kinesthetic, (NOT very auditory), I need way, WAY more WORDS than most. (Probably one of the things that makes me a good therapist.)

I mean these Zoom meetings, and SKYPE Sessions with my clients are great, actually modern day miracles, in my elderly opinion, but I want to TALK with someone, lots of someones, and be able to use the rest of my senses in a conversation!!

I miss walking arm in arm with someone. I hate that the little kids in my neighborhood that usually run up and hug my legs (I’m everyone’s Grandma on my street), are now coached (appropriately so) to stay far away from me. I miss comforting a neighbor, friend or client with a hand squeeze, a shoulder pat, or a big, long, juicy hug!

Whew! Glad to get that out!

Now, onto my WordlessWednesday post.

Spirit Lifters; Day 34 of being “grounded”

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Super Bad Transmittable Contagious Awful Virus! (a parody of Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!) [Video]

 

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Now, PLEASE

WORDS WORDS WORDS 

Lots of them in the Comment section!!

 

Thank you!

 

 

 

Breaking news: Spring comes anyway….

 

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And brings with it a surprise guest under the bird feeder…IMG_2247IMG_2255IMG_2253IMG_2257

 

And still another absolutely lovely sentiment crosses my path…..

 

“Lockdown” – March 13, 2020
Fr. Richard Hendrick, OFM
(The Franciscan Order)

Yes there is fear.
Yes there is isolation.
Yes there is panic buying.
Yes there is sickness.
Yes there is even death.
But,
They say that in Wuhan after so many years of noise
You can hear the birds again.
They say that after just a few weeks of quiet
The sky is no longer thick with fumes
But blue and grey and clear.
They say that in the streets of Assisi
People are singing to each other
across the empty squares,
keeping their windows open
so that those who are alone
may hear the sounds of family around them.
They say that a hotel in the West of Ireland
Is offering free meals and delivery to the housebound.
Today a young woman I know
is busy spreading fliers with her number
through the neighbourhood
So that the elders may have someone to call on.
Today Churches, Synagogues, Mosques and Temples
are preparing to welcome
and shelter the homeless, the sick, the weary
All over the world people are slowing down and reflecting
All over the world people are looking at their neighbours in a new way
All over the world people are waking up to a new reality
To how big we really are.
To how little control we really have.
To what really matters.
To Love.
So we pray and we remember that
Yes there is fear.
But there does not have to be hate.
Yes there is isolation.
But there does not have to be loneliness.
Yes there is panic buying.
But there does not have to be meanness.
Yes there is sickness.
But there does not have to be disease of the soul
Yes there is even death.
But there can always be a rebirth of love.
Wake to the choices you make as to how to live now.
Today, breathe.
Listen, behind the factory noises of your panic
The birds are singing again
The sky is clearing,
Spring is coming,
And we are always encompassed by Love.
Open the windows of your soul
And though you may not be able
to touch across the empty square,
Sing.

“Aesthetically Appealing”??? 2/8/2020

Weekly Prompts has challenged us once again to share something inspired by their prompt. I love their weekly encouragement because they include the following:

Show us or tell us, and don’t forget there are no rules and no deadlines.

On days when I actually have the time (and energy) to post something, but my mind is empty, I go to their site for ideas.

This week’s is great for me because I have a whole category of photos for my blog called  saying about “Art is in the eye of the…” . Having this category helps me include my ongoing theme of Chosen Perspectives. Today’s challenge is perfect! How I (we) look at something is everything.

For some personal historical context aesthetics (and choosing a perspective): I spent much of my early life feeling very “homely”, a conclusion I came to about myself when, at age six, I asked my grandmother if I was pretty. I was probably playing “dress-up” with her clothes and jewelry at the time. In her defense, her answer was probably based on a religious edict to prevent vanity. She said, “well…(long pregnant pause here)…you have nice hair, Dear.”

I was crushed…and you can see here why I had a tough time believing Gramma about my hair…

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It wasn’t until I was about eleven years old that I began to reconsider her declaration about my looks.

I saw an episode of Twilight Zone called “Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder”. Clearly, I was impacted as it’s been 61 years since it was aired, and I still remember most of the scenes. If you’ve never seen it, it’s worth the time. Go online and watch it! If you did see it, I bet you remember it. Mind boggling for an 11 year old.

Anyway, it fit right in with my early thoughts on the lessons my Dad was covertly demonstrating about perspective.

I finally arrived at a time in my adult life when I was seeing myself as at least mildly attractive, with really great hair. My mane was apparently very appealing, even to strangers on the street or at the grocery store. Enough so that people would come right up to me to comment on my hair. Maybe Gramma was right after all?

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And then…AGING hit with a vengeance!

I am currently losing the battle between a really loud cultural bias about women and choosing a healthy perspective on my own looks.

Back to the theme for today. Here’s what I came up with on what is (and isn’t) Aesthetically Appealing….for me.

The first four are random shots of things I found beautiful. You, of course, don’t have to…

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Next, some comparisons…photos showing how the perspectives you choose can show you so many things…

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this was an accidental shot…kinda ugly…

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but this is a (macro) closeup of the same thing, which I find kind of pretty…

This is a photo of the San Juan Island rock, that’s been painted over and over for 30 plus years, by anonymous “artists” . I think the first one is not very “appealing”…

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But this next one…well, what do you think?

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Same rock…

I really love photographing flowers. I have hundreds of shots of perfect flowers that are hard not to categorize as beautiful and aesthetically pleasing…

as long as I don’t zoom in too close. Then, they can be downright creepy! Not at all appealing.

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One of my favorite flowers is the Hydrangea. It is so pretty in absolutely all of it’s stages.

Like these luscious, richly colored examples…

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But Hydrangeas have taught me a lot about beauty and aging. Have you ever noticed how lovely they become, in a whole new way, as they age and even die?

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I’d love to decorate a whole room in these peaceful colors

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You tell me, from your perspective, which photo below is more beautiful and appealing?

This?

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Or these?

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I really love them both.

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about nature and aging and death, probably normal given my age. Why is it more difficult to see beauty in something old or dying, than in something fresh and young?

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I did a post earlier this week for Wordless Wednesday, showing the dying process of a beautiful leaf from one of my favorite plants.

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you can go here and see more:  https://chosenperspectives.com/2020/02/06/wordlesswednesday-02-05-2020/

These are my final shots, taken just this afternoon. From my perspective, these photos are every bit as interesting, and appealing as the first ones I took.

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Thanks for coming on this long journey.

I’d love to hear your perspective now.

https://weeklyprompts.com/2020/02/08/w-p-challenge-aesthetically-appealing

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #71: Creepy 11/10/19

Creepy, huh? I’ll show you Creepy!

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I’m sorry in advance because I know some disagree, but I find this CREEPY!

 

 

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Definitely not as creepy as THIS however. (3 months absent from our mountain home and look what grows! Gross and CREEPY!)

 

 

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And this one, you might only get if you knew how absolutely sweet and loving my grandson is…

 

Many will find my bugs Creepy but I have fallen in love. I know, quite hypocritical, given my distaste of their distance relative at the top, eh?

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And I have been posting a lot lately about this Fungi Village growing right outside my bedroom window…Freaks me right out!!! I swear they are creeping closer and closer every day!

But today was the creepiest by far!

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I’m starting to see faces on some of them!

CREEPY!

 

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #71: Creepy