#31 This Moment

As the years go on, I have found a new appreciation for winter. It is restful & beautiful with its simplified, calming colour palette. And just like every other season, all too soon it is just a memory.

Monthly Blog Giveaway #1

Each month I will give away ten cards, created from the images that have appeared the previous 30 (or so) days. The winner will be randomly drawn from those who comment on THIS post, by leaving a favourite quote or passage. The deadline will be on the fifteenth of the following month. The winner will be able to select any ten images they like. Entries are accepted until midnight on February 15th & the winner announced the following day.

#30 Stare Steps

Yep, that's true enough. Vision without action, just isn't going to cut it. Step up.

#29 Knows the Answers

When the frost is thick on the trees, the sky is a brilliant blue and the air is fresh & cold & crisp, I jump in my car and drive around my own neighbourhood to enjoy the magic. I had my window open when I heard these two cats having a very intense discussion. It sounded very much like they both thought that they had the answers.

#28 Gardens of our Soul

I can hear the wind a blowin' outside and the temperature is dropping. Seemed like the perfect time to post a memory from the summer. We'll be back to that before you know it.

#27 Bow Before Children

I would say that in my quote collection, I have more favourites from Kahlil Gibran than anyone else. My copy of 'The Prophet', which I've had for well over 30 years, is well well worn, although it's yellowed with highlighter rather than age. I don't know which book this comes from, but I sure do love it.

#26 Smile

This is another lucky 'camera capture' from this past weekend. Keeping up with this daily blog is an excellent exercise to make me keep my camera handy. Although it would have been anyway, with a pen full of adorable Angora goats.

#25 A State of Grace

You can well imagine how excited that I was on Thursday to capture this image of a huge, beautiful Snowy Owl. 'My GOODNESS!! How amazing, how beautiful ... what a Gift!' was my first thought; "AWESOME!... 'Quote Photo Fodder'!!" followed quickly after that:) The wisdom of this Eckhart Tolle quote seemed to fit quite nicely.

#24 Hold Fast

I love this photo of my Dad, that was taken 56 years ago, probably right around now. It was one of only two vacations that he took in his entire lifetime. There he was at a Florida beach, in a suit - fitting for such an auspicious occasion.

#23 Come to the Edge

Brian so loves his swallows. Each spring for twenty years, they have arrived at his shop door with great noise and celebration & he has welcomed them home. Last year, for some reason, they didn't come and that still troubles him.

#22 Smallest Things

This adorable little fella, the grandson of our very dear friends, is a year old now so he doesn't fit in Dad's hand anymore. Those precious newborn moments are so fleeting. Can't wait to get to experience it again myself twice this year!

#21 Still

A great deal of wisdom in this quote. These branches, bleached and weathered from the sea air, were on the long walk in to Western Brook Pond on the west coast of Newfoundland.

#20 Chaff & Grain

A beautiful proverb. It's a wonderful way to envision friendship, with gentleness and the 'breath of kindness'. A sacredness befitting of such treasure.

#19 Kindness in Another's Trouble

I loved this quote that is engraved on a memorial stone in Twillingate, Newfoundland. The image is from a mission trip I went on to Guatemala - taken in Tikal I believe. The kindness part seems particularly fitting at this moment in history.

#18 Sail Away

If it were to seem like an abundance of my images are from Newfoundland, that is in fact true. The raw & rugged beauty of that province - the land, the sea, the sky ... calls out to the creative soul to stop for a moment to capture its essence. You can well imagine how happy it makes me that I am no longer am restricted to film in a roll or 24 or even 36 ... digital rocks!

#17 Daily Bread

This image is SOTC ... Straight Out of The Camera - no playing around with photoshop - you can tell from the reflection in the water. I was driving along a road in Newfoundland one summer evening near sunset & there it was, remarkably striking with the intensity of the coral clouds. How happy I was to have my camera & capture that slice of daily bread in all it's vibrant glory; it was not something that one could begin to describe or will likely ever see again.

#16 Silent - Listen

Having always been surrounded by kids & critters & probably too many involvements, I have thrived on chaos & activity and invented it when it would start to subside. I have now made it a mission to learn to accept Silence at times. I am hearing in a whole new way.

#15 Bewilderment

No danger here - I feel bewildered far more often that I do clever; but perhaps that's not really the point. I believe that it means to think, ponder, be observant, curious, amazed, questioning - that having all the answers, isn't the answer. This perfect snowball was way, way high up in a tree & it certainly did have me totally bewildered & sent my imagination soaring to think of how it got up there.

#14 Sing

My daughter recently mentioned that it appears that this next generation of our particular family has not been blessed with the gift of music. Neither have the previous three generations. But we sing anyway, because we have a Song.

#13 Delight

And oh my, I am delighted by the simplest of things. A cup of tea with a friend, a child's head on my shoulder, the smell of fresh cut hay, autumnal colours, the fresh green of spring, a 'crystal' day in the winter, a sultry summer evening... Delightful ... all of it!

#12 A Dance to Dance

Do it alone. Do it with friends. Just do it.

#11 Staff

Cat lovers know this for a fact. The fella riding on Simon's back is one of my Ol'Soul creations in progress. Simon insists that if I have the audacity to work in 'her space', then she has every right to take on the position of 'Production Manager'.

#10 The Fullness of the Day

This passage, from Anita Diamant's 'The Red Tent', spoke to me the moment that I read it. It etched itself into my heart and has become a daily prayer of gratitude. It speaks to me of freedom & possibilty & appreciation of the blessings we could easily take for granted and the fact that everything connected to that, including our attitude, does truly rest in our own hands.

#9 True Friend

Yes indeed -good advice. Gently. Tenderly.

#8 The Station

This was one of the first essays in my collection, clipped from an Ann Landers column in the early 70's. Dear Ann Landers, who I read daily from the time I was 11 years old until her passing, was definitely the beginning of my interest in small bits of wisdom & humour. That was way back in the day when 'cut and paste' was done with a scissors and mucilage, not 'highlight & right click'.

#7 The Heart of the Matter

Ah yes, the heart, with its ability to stretch to infinity, to encompass all that we love. We exist not, without the Heart - it's very beating keeps us alive. But in truth, what would the heart be without the mind and the spirt?

#6 Speed of Life

The sun sets pinks on a weathered old shed in Newfoundland, bringing an end to another day. It does seem funny to think that we all are travelling along at the same rate. You sure wouldn't think so with what some people can accomplish in those minutes.

#5 Defining Moment

If I were to have to choose one single moment that forever changed the course of my life and took me down a path to world that has defined the very centre of my being, I know precisely when that was: 2:18 am, January 5th, 1977.

Happy Birthday to my precious first born. Happy Anniversary to me.

#4 Go on as Fruit

Just as 'An Apple A Day', keeping this in your soul daily would most certainly lead to a healthy life, for yourself and all those around you.
When my friend came to visit, (her first time ever off The Rock), she wanted to specifically see only two things - cows and apple trees. The remembrance of the joy and delight that she got from seeing this tree, and her sincere amazement as she lovingly cradled its apples, still brings a smile to my heart & reminds me that even that which we take as ordinary, is indeed a miracle.

#3 The Eagle Has Landed

Same eagle, working hard to distract us from his wife's nest. The feathered couple resides just around the corner from our place in Herring Neck.

I intend to keep my eagle wings handy this year - no wren wings for me:)

#2 Advance Confidently

Truly sage advice: three essential words - ADVANCE - can't move forward sitting still; CONFIDENCE - a key ingredient internally & also how you're perceived; DIRECTION - if you don't know where you want to go, you won't be going anywhere.

I snapped this eagle soaring in the clear blue skies near our home in Newfoundland.


PS. Had to use lots of dashes & semi colons to make that into one big long run-on sentence. I promised three lines. I didn't promise grammatical correctness:)

#1 Begin It Now

So ... doing the traditional 'New Year Visioning' thing yesterday, I was giving deep thought to a strategy to move me towards actually accomplishing what I need to/want to-should/could over this next year.

I know what I want to do, for sure. I want to Create. I want something to show for the days I leave behind. I NEED to Create. It feeds me. I have no shortage of ideas or vision. What I have is a short attention span and lack of self discipline.

There are two things that I am particularly passionate about. Okay - there are two HUNDRED things that I'm particularly passionate about. But I am trying to focus here. That scatteredness is a major part of my problem. The two things that I'm speaking of now are WORDS & IMAGES. Both are the catalysts that move me - move me emotionally and move me to create.

Photography is a huge part of my creative process & indeed my life. A little obsessed I might confess. And words ... another obsession. I have collected inspirational quotes for more than 40 years. Last year I planned on taking one of my favourite quotes & using it with one of my images or creations every single day. The intention was to stimulate my creativity, to practise & learn stuff with my photo programs, to use some of the pile of both that I have collected over a lifetime and in the end, to have them all set to publish a book with them. I got to Day Four.

In the pursuit of Focus, I have upped the expectation of myself. I am publicly committing to having one on this blog for each day of the year. And I promise, other than today, to keep the yattering to only THREE lines. Do you know how much of a challenge that is for me? Me, who has such a love affair with words. For whom they constantly swirl around in my head and spill forth through my lips and fingertips. THREE LINES. Now that will take more self-discipline than the actual creating.

The reality is, there will be days that I cannot post. In which case, I will expect myself to have one ready for each of those days. I might have to put up all seven in one week, but I'll do them as separate posts. At the end of the year I will have 365 posts, 365 images. An extensive collection for my card line and book-ready.

Can I do it? Yes I can. Will I do it??? Let's see.

My three lines for this pic:
This was taken at sunrise just down the road from our place in Newfoundland. You won't be seeing too many sunrise pictures from me, for the obvious reason. The quote from Van Goethe, one of my all time favourites.