March Photo Challenge!

so here comes march, the month of lions and lambs, springtime, daylight savings, shamrocks and, oh yes, the color GREEN!  other than the obvious association with grass, leaves and plants, the color green and i are not that close of friends.  it's not exactly my most flattering color to wear and, in looking back in my photo archives, if i eliminate the plant-based greens, it was kind of tough to find green stuff. so.... i thought maybe i would challenge myself this month to get a little greener by finding some interesting green things.  here are a few to get started:

green door

green goo

green moss

green cast (she is not happy about this, green or no green!)

i hope you will join me in looking for some interesting GREEN stuff in your life!!!

Are We Better Off???

i‘ve had the amazing opportunity to visit several different ancient cliff dwellings in the last year and have found myself reflecting back about them lately. it is such an awesome experience to stand in the exact spot where our fellow humans worked, played, struggled laughed and learned over one thousand years ago.

they lacked modern conveniences and technology, but life was what it was and they didn't miss it. they worked hard for survival, had families, friends and ceremonies. they developed skills and communicated with each other and the spirit world (and even left a bit of communication for us!) they lived close to nature. there was challenge, beauty and love in their lives.

i like wondering about life in those days (that were really not that long ago!) and i find myself asking, as life becomes relentlessly more complex and confusing with each passing year, are we really better off and, more importantly,  are we even heading in the right direction???

what do you think???

This Moment

i hug my cup in both hands as the steam rises from my tea


i look outside my window and i see life


intense green on the hillsides after the rain


flowers in their first fledgling stages of bloom


birds darting to and fro on missions only they can understand


not at all shy about expressing their happiness for all the world to hear


and cavorting with abandon as they take turns plunging into my birdbath


i sat down here thinking i would make a list of things to do


and didn't realize that this is what i want to do

Peak Experience and Demon Doses

i believe that seeing the valley of fire at any time would be a moving experience, but getting to see it through and after the rain, as the clouds engaged in a true theatrical performance, from which blue skies eventually emerged - well, for me, i just kept thinking that there are no words for this - it's one of those experiences that will be etched on my soul and will stay with me for all time.

already, when i can't sleep, i sometimes see these same images life-size and all around me

i'm glad i have this this true peak experience to look back on and sort of counter-balance the dose of the demons that i seem to be struggling with today.  there are 2 completely different spins that i can use to look at my life as it is right now.  i'm really getting so much better at doing the postive one. since this year has started i feel that i'm successful with this probably 90% of the time.  but every once in a while that 10% rears its ugly head and starts asking all kinds of annoying questions - like why my projects aren't resulting in something more PRODUCTIVE, why i still don't have a nice defined plan for the future - a plan that will not only be financially rewarding, but will be doing something IMPORTANT.  it doesn't seem like such a bad thing to think in those terms, but it just ends up frustrating me and i try to go back to my 2010 mantra of "justbe"......(deep breath)......i have to remind myself that when my job went away, i decided i would give myself one year to figure out what's next.  i'm still in that year.  one day at a time..... well, thanks for listening - i know just putting this in writing will help to clarify things and give me a better perspective as it always does!!
P.S.  I will be posting more images on flickr

Desert Rain

here i sit

my pink striped knee-high slippers

propped up on the dashboard

while my half-drunk cup of hot peach tea

waits for me to take the next sip

it's got to be one of the more magnificent

views on the planet

the colors actually intensified

by the incessant rain

we wait for the downpour

to take at least a brief pause

but none is forthcoming...

for four hours now

we've made this soggy parking lot

our home away from home -

through breakfast and lunch,

reading, radio, conversations and games,

and the rain persists

like a bad habit that just won't go away.

cars pull up,

their inhabitants pointing enthusiastically

at the incredible rock formations

most never venture out of the cozy comforts

of their automotive cocoons

a few step out with their umbrellas

and their point-and-shoots

hoping at least to document that they were here

off they go and the rain persists....

and they say it never rains in the desert!

White Domes Parking Lot

Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada,  February 7, 2010

i knew as i wrote this that this was something that was worth waiting for, so i wasn't worried!  this was a rare heavy storm that ended up causing some of the roads to be closed, but not before i had a couple of amazingly fun photo-shoots!  the best part of all was the next day as the sun started poking through the dark skies - that's for next time!!

Valentine Wish

 

There’s a day that occurs this time of year

When cupids and hearts and Valentine cheer

Are all the rage and fashion.

This day has become so commercialized,

And sweethearts spend more than we realize
To indicate their passion.

This wish I’m sending didn’t cost a lot;

And trite and commercial it’s certainly not,

Just brimming with love and affection.

So please accept my Valentine wishes

In place of real live hugs and kisses

Extended in your direction.

The space between us may be wide

Yet in each other we confide –

A true heartfelt connection!!

 

(Unearth version)

i sincerely hope that your day is filled with love of all kinds,

 both giving and receiving!!

Accidental Heart

my dear friend chrissy has been having a "heart fest" this month and i haven't participated since i've been gone. i ran across this one though and wanted to post it. i was playing around with my zoom lens and the moon a while back (zooming while the shutter is open!) and look what i got!!

  i swear - no photoshop voodoo - it's the real thing!  it was sitting quietly in my archives and this seems the perfect time to bring it out.

another sweet friend, donna, has nominated my blog for this lovely award:

there is never a dull moment on donna's blog!  she has been living in mexico for, oh, maybe a month or so and has now decided to make it permanent and has purchased a house.  every day there is something new it seems!  check it out - she is an aspiring artist, a fabulous and prolific writer and a sensitive and passionate woman.  thank you, donna!!!

now, of course, i'm supposed to come up with 7 interesting things about myself.  well, even in the best of circumstances i find this a bit challenging because, seriously, i'm not that interesting.  today, however, it seems insurmountable because i seem to have come down with something.  i am so rarely sick and normally when i feel something coming on, i just take airborne and it disappears, never to return.  didn't work this time and i am not myself, either physically or mentally, and didn't sleep well last night, so i will take the easy way out and refer you to the 7 interesting things that i wrote back in november.  sorry - it's the best i can do today (excuse me while i blow my nose!) i will try to feel better tomorrow and post something valentine-y!!

Nature Fix!!

those of you who know me know that i need my nature fixes regularly (what the heck – it’s safer than drugs). i got a major fix this past week on our trip to southern nevada!!

you also may know, if you’ve been following our travels, that our trips seem to be perpetually plagued with 2 things – mechanical problems and bad weather. this trip was no exception. the weather thing i’m kind of used to and i find that often it can be a blessing in disguise, photographically speaking (more on that later!)

the mechanical problems i have a harder time with. there are just endless things that can go wrong with motorhomes and, much as i tried to apply the life lessons i am learning – you know, like stay in the moment, look at the big picture and don’t take things so seriously – sadly, i did not handle spending most of the first full day of our trip in the camping world customer waiting room paying the highway robbery rate of $119 per hour to have our battery/electrical problem diagnosed and remedied with the grace i would have liked ( i have no pictures to document this little adventure!)  and, wouldn't you know it, it was the warmest and sunniest day of the week.

if i had known at the time, however, the wonders that were to await me on the rest of the trip, i would have gladly sat there eating the stale popcorn and vending machine candy, and not complained. live and learn! the fact is, from that point onward, things improved rapidly.

i have a lot to share and will take the next week or so to do it.  for today, i’m glad to be home safely and have a lot of catching up to do!! thanks for your sweet comments and for visiting while i was gone!! i hope you enjoy this little sample from red rocks canyon, just a short distance from the lights of vegas.

muffy was a very happy camper - even enjoyed the snow!!

Out of Touch

yup, i will be out of touch for a bit and will share the details later.  i will leave you with some pics of nevada (no, not las vegas!) from '07.

here's a quote to give you a smile today:

what if the hokey-pokey really is what it's all about???

Love you, my friends!!