The Grotto Song

We'll build you a cavern, a bower miles from the sea. The homes, now empty shell and limestone will sing the water song to heaven. Your prayers,hopes and dreams will lap at the feet of your god. Carried in the grotto song.

Orchid Fairy

She sits nestled, soft, in an orchid heart. The day warms,she airs her wings and the bees arrive. Take my love and spin it into sweetness, she says. Share this gift and brighten the world.

#3's

A ball of yarn always reminds me of a birthday present. All wrapped up and the contents unknown. There's magic in all that potential. I have great admiration for those who can create wonderful things from wool. I'm very much a beginner when you mention knitting. But I can look at the ball of yarn and the No.3 needles and dream big.

LOST in Time

Time is a magical thing. In this photograph, The Faerie Falls. it slowed so as to allow me to see the flowing water, like liquid silk, soft and dreamy. Some of my favorite places are the small hidden nooks and hollows or hallows if you prefer. Places, that if you drive by too fast, or drive instead of walk, they are only a green blur. I set out to find tall majestic cliffs and hills and turned around and found The Faerie Falls instead. A favorite author of mine, Karen Marie Moning wrote "both forward and backward doth time fly, wither thou art, remember". So I'll slow down. I'll look before me and behind, ahead and back, into the future and return to the past.

Arms Akimbo

She stood, arms akimbo. This word popped up today. I remember reading it frequently and knew its meaning but got to thinking, I don't remember ever saying it out loud in a sentence. This image reminded of it again this afternoon.

The butterfly stood, arms akimbo, waiting for me to make my point.

adv.
In or into a position in which the hands are on the hips and the elbows are bowed outward:

I dare you. Use it in a sentence and fascinate your friends.

To Crochet

These are my mother's hands. She taught me to crochet,knit and tat and to appreciate anything made by hand. Thanks Mom.

Rebel Sunflower

She was a rebel sunflower. While the others were taking their time turning their faces, she whipped around and raised her head. "I'm ready for my close up. My place in the sun. I'll follow you all the days of my life and my seeds will whisper your name when eaten"

Pelican Cloud

I left work this afternoon with the intention of chasing a thunderstorm. I drove east out of town following the billowing clouds. I exited off the interstate and took a right on a road I'd never been on before. I followed the one lane road for several miles past fields and farms. I began to wonder if I would be able to find my way back. Finally the sun started breaking through behind me and began to highlight the clouds ahead. I pulled over at a field gate and got out and started taking photographs. I'd taken perhaps a dozen and kept reminding myself to be open to the beauty around me. That's a mantra I use when I head out to shoot. That kicks in the "noticer" part of my brain and small details become clearer to me. As I repeated the mantra and took a photograph I got a surprise. Just emerging from the cloud background was a black and white ribbon of movement. The ribbon rolled and boiled and became hundreds of American White Pelicans headed north for the summer. They formed and reformed ribbons and kettles and masses of birds. Always headed in the general direction, north. It was an awe inspiring sight and impossible to caputure in one photograph, but my, what a memory. I set out with one intent but allowed myself to be open for more and was rewarded for that. I'll continue my practice of asking to be open to the beauty around me and I will revel each time it is revealed to me.

Honorable Use

I'm drawn to old, worn, well used, well made, pieces of the past. They aren't just tools or hardware,cloth or lace. They are the people they served and the people that used them. They are the craftsmen and women that made them. They are the searchers like me that crow when they find them. Stashed away in old coffee cans in the garage because they were too good to toss away. Or perhaps snipped from the edge of a pillow case too yellowed and stained to present to company any more. The older I get, the more I appreciate things that have aged gracefully before me. Reminding me. I am well made. I can serve a purpose for the people in my life and there will be those who will appreciate me as I age.

My Stone Cottage Window

When I have a stone cottage it will have deep windows. The glass will be wavy and create patterns on the floor when the sun shines through. This window just happened to be in a castle but it fits the picture well for me.

Diet Dilemma

Should I choose the stuff that's really good to eat or something that's really good for me. This photograph depicts the choice I stuggle with everyday.

Fixer Upper

I've always said that I want to live in a old stone cottage. I'm officially modifying my wish since I know "the universe" is working to make my dreams come true. You might think, ok, here's where she asks for a stone cottage in good repair. Any stone cottage in any repair is just fine by me. In Scotland is my first choice but I'm open to other options there as well. This old cottage was in the river bottom farm land West of San Antonio. There's just something about a nice compact,just enough space, kinda home that appeals to me. I'll share any that I find along the way with you all.

Wildflower Tiles

Yesterday my photo safari was an attempt to find a site from my past. I had a vague idea of where I was looking but I had last been there in high school and was driven there on a bus. So before dawn I set out to find a remote park on the banks of a river that frequently floods. I was driving around randomly trying to stay open to those magic moments that, if you are open for them, allow you to make memorable photos. I was headed down a dead end road because I knew the river flowed that direction and, I found it. The park I remembered. Years overgrown and now fenced as private property. Through the rusted fence I could see the sloping river bottom land and an old picnic table. The image in my head is still clear, as a before and now I have the after as well. The wildflowers around the fence were bright and glorious. This image reminds me of a ceramic tile that a woman that loves color would have in her kitchen.