~K

I have been taking pictures for as long as I can remember.  Way before the digital camera, I recall having a 110 camera with a cube flash bulb, an automatic Kodak 35 millimeter camera and my manual Nikon 35 millimeter.  I know I have had other cameras, but when I got my manual Nikon, I was hooked.

Over time I have no idea how much money I spent on developing film.  I sometimes felt like I was an honorary member at the little Fotomat huts in the parking lots of malls.  When they went away I started sending away to a photo developing service.  I would wait for days, sometimes weeks, to excitedly open the envelope of photographs hoping they weren’t blurry, blank, filled with people having red eyes, or that I somehow completely missed the shot.  

The anticipation of waiting for the returned pictures eventually lessened when film processing evolved to onsite locations.  All you would need to do is pay extra money for one hour developing at the local drug store. 

It is all about trying to preserve memories in a perfect shot.

I like being able to manually focus the camera on my subject. When I was blessed to go to Europe in 2000, I schlepped my manual camera everywhere.  Back then, I was still using rolls of film.  I can’t remember how many I took with me and developed when I returned stateside – for some reason 24 sticks in my mind.  I was a wanna be photographer (I still am).

I held out for as long as I could making the transition to the digital camera.  Hubs bought my first one (come to think of it, he has always bought my digital cameras).  It was a small point and shoot which I used mostly around the ranch taking pictures of our critters.  

It wasn’t long after getting the point and shoot that Hubs upgraded my camera to one that had a manual option. 

Even though just about everyone has access to cameras on their phones, my Nikon is very seldom out of reach.

Experiment #1 – Tomatoes

During the summer of 2020  I decided to plant a veggie garden in containers out in the yard.  I am really not good at garden planning.  With our short growing season in the north, when I am ready, the soil isn’t – plain and simple – because I hadn’t prepped it.  Letting you in on another secret,  I am also a lousy weeder.  I keep up on it in the beginning but then, BAM, it will get out of control. I thought maybe a container garden would be a win/win.

Everything grew well that summer except for one scrawny tomato plant.  It looked really good when I initially planted it, but it never took off.  I think it gave me one cherry tomato during the growing season.  I felt so sorry for it in the fall because it was still alive and I didn’t have the heart to toss it.  I waited as long as I could before bringing it into the house to see if I could limp it along through the winter.  Maybe I would get lucky and it would bear fruit. 

Well, it did.  We ate on home grown cherry tomatoes over the winter of 2020/2021.  I don’t know why I hadn’t thought about doing it before.   I was so excited with each tomato, I would send pictures to family members.  In hindsight, I should have given the tomato plant its’ own Facebook page. 

This winter I have 2 tomato plants that are starting to produce. 😊

Experiment #2 – Hanging Flower Baskets

Yup, here I go again.

I didn’t have the heart to throw out the dead looking petunias that were hanging off our garage last summer.  I am not a great green thumb so I really didn’t expect much. As I sit here and type, one basket has a dozen or so flowers and the other basket has two beautiful purple flowers. 

Today we are expecting about a foot of snow – we won’t know until it is over.  I sit and look at my winter experiments and I am happy I have a little spring and summer surrounding me.  

Adopt the pace of nature; her secret is patience.

~Ralph Waldo Emerson

It is amazing how much we take for granted every minute of every day.

You know when you have something happen to you and you know deep down you were protected by angels?  Ya, it was that kind of morning.

After a huge snowmelt yesterday with record warm temperatures and an overnight of 50 degrees, we are now experiencing a cold front making its way into the area.  With that system we can expect to be faced with extreme winds and a drastic drop in temperature. 

This morning I was slowly driving down my muddy road (due to the snow melt)  while dodging downed branches towards home.   I was making a mental note to advise hubs that maybe he might want to go to town traveling in the opposite direction on our road.  The limbs in the road weren’t huge, but they were plentiful.

A friend, who has since moved from the neighborhood, used to joke that on days with strong winds you need to drive quickly down the road (don’t even think of taking a walk).  With all the trees around you were taking chances.  

Just as I passed my neighbor’s driveway, I saw a large tree limb fall in the woods and thought it was an interesting sight.  At the same time I was grateful it stayed there.  It brought to mind the saying ,“If a tree falls in a forest, and there’s no one around to hear it, does it make a sound?”.  Spoiler alert, yes it does. 

Barely experiencing that sight and seconds from reaching my driveway, I witnessed a tree fall across the road onto the power lines.  It didn’t bring them down, but the sparks flew.  Had I been one second closer to home, the tree would have been on top of my car.   I sent up many prayers of gratitude. 

Make yourself familiar with the angels and behold them frequently in spirit; for without being seen, they are present with you.

~St. Francis de Sales

Horses, and other animals, sense energy shifts in the atmosphere.  When I took this photo there was an approaching storm and the horses were running in the field.   I love how Alvarado, the appaloosa, looks at the camera as if saying, “Mom, why aren’t you running with us?” 

With Love, Blessings, and Peace

I got up this morning feeling negative.  I don’t like that.  I am usually that annoyingly chipper morning person.

Attitude adjustment time…

I decided to meditate before my yoga practice.  I chose a gratitude meditation and a few other prayers with hopes that it would cleanse that negative feeling.  When I completed the meditation and opened my eyes, they zeroed in on my “thankful and blessed” block I have on my dresser.  It was just what I needed.

With Love, Blessings, and Peace,

Whenever you’re feeling grateful, you are not feeling frustrated and angry and all those negative states that we go into. And that’s a big benefit in and of itself.

~Srikumar Rao

Who doesn’t love to laugh or hear others laugh?  

I don’t think there is a day that goes by that I don’t laugh…please keep in mind it is usually at myself.  

For example, when I am doing Yoga I can very easily create new poses (based on my interpretation of the instruction) which generates some laughter from myself and/or others.  Other times it is when I finally come to the realization that I don’t know my right from left and I will let out a giggle.  

In years past, most of the Yoga classes I took would not take too kindly to outbursts of laughter (except Bella’s class).  Thank goodness my practice contains very awesome women that get me.  But I digress.  

My youngest brother is a jokester.  He is always trying to pull a fast one and get a family member believing something he made up. The stories are rather funny in an unbelievable sort of way.  Especially when one of us falls for it.

Not too long ago, on a whim, I finally played back and turned the tables on him. I pulled our middle brother into it (he knew what I was doing) and got my mother involved too.  Well, I have to say, I was tickled with myself when it all came together in a matter of minutes.  

When I received my much anticipated call from the jokester, I laughed so hard, and long, I was crying.  It was one of those deep cleansing laughs from the soul that kept going and going and going.  A 10 on the laugh scale.  

What soap is to the body, laughter is to the soul.

~Yiddish Proverb