Karma’s June Photo Hunt

Peace ☮

Karma’s June Photo Hunt is pretty interesting. To me it expresses feelings more than person, place, or thing (although certainly person, place, or thing could represent or be the  recipient of those feelings). I wasn’t sure what I’d be able to do with some of the words. To be honest, even as I sit down to put together this post I’m still not sure. I guess we will all have to wait and see where it goes as I scan through the photos I’ve taken this month. Since I spent more than half of June traveling, I suspect most (if not all) of the photos will come from my adventures in Canada and Maine.

The first word on the list —Peace— was easy.  I always feel a great sense of peace at sunrise.  More so than at sunset.  There is something about the silence of the early morning, before the world wakes up, that automatically instills a profound sense of inner peace.  On Cape Breton in Nova Scotia, this sense of inner peace was somehow, incredibly and surprisingly, intensified.  The water in the harbor was still, everyday life was remote (almost as if it didn’t exist at all!), and the colors were the hues of dreams.  Sunrises are awakenings for me, a connection to Peace, Love, and the Great Whatever.

Let’s call that one Peace 2.  ☮  I’ll bring you Peace 3, 4, and 5 another time.  We should move on to the next word so this post doesn’t become too cumbersome. (I sense cumbersome is approaching whether I like it or not.  It’s that kind of post, the one that wants to write itself, using Karma’s list as a catalyst to fire up some words and images.)

Joy

One of the definitions of joy is “a source or cause of keen pleasure or delight.”  (Thank you, Dictionary.com.)   On a chilly, rainy afternoon, when M and I went to the Jordan Pond House in Acadia National Park (Maine), hot tea and popovers were a source and cause of keen pleasure and delight.

Pride

Pride was a little difficult to picture.  Pride may lead to a fall, but in my case it led me to the top of a mountain.  Granted, it was a small mountain (we only climbed up 500 feet to reach a grand total of 525 feet).  Having been in the Rocky Mountains, to places such as Pike’s Peak, 525 feet is a hill if you’re doing that comparison thing.  But it’s all relative, and all about the situation at the time, in my experience.

The point where I almost turned around which would have caused me to miss the breathtaking views seen in the photo labeled Pride.

As you may or may not recall, I have a fear of going down steep stairs or hills (or any steep climb).  I am not afraid of going up, but the fear kicks in as I go up when my mind starts monkeying around with thoughts about how I’m going to get back down.  The summit in the first photo was not the first time I overcame the fear on this trip, but it was the first time I posed for a photo.  The huge, goofy grin on my face clearly reflects a sense of pride and accomplishment.  I know, you can’t see the huge, goofy grin on my face.  That’s because I’m invisible.  You’re not buying that?  I don’t blame you.  I didn’t post that photo because in addition to the goofy, prideful grin, I am sweaty, dirty, and an absolute mess.  (The not posting falls under the sin of vanity, I suppose, rather than pride.)

The other thing you can’t really see is how steep that section is in the photo I took where I almost gave up.  It was twice as tall as I am and required some clambering around on the boulders.  I’m a good rock-hopper, but not much of a boulder-climber.  After a few minutes (maybe more than a few) of panic and acknowledging the fear and panic, I gave it a try.  With M’s help, I managed to get up.  I spent the next few minutes trying not to think about how I’d get back down (and reassuring myself that at least I didn’t have to go back that way since we were doing the 4.2 mile loop, heading down the mountain another way, which, oh lord, could be worse but I won’t know that until I get there and this is how my mind runs and runs in circles during these situations so I have to work on letting the thoughts flow as I acknowledge the fear and remind myself that all I have to do is put one foot in front of the other because I won’t be spending the night on this mountain!!).  Then we got to the false summit and I forgot all about getting up or down.  I was too busy admiring the views.  The Pride photo was taken at the real summit, and being there was a source of joy.  You’ll see and read more about this in a future post.

Aplomb

Aplomb is poise, balance, confidence, equanimity.  I’d say this little frog has all of those qualities as he perches on his lily pad.  He was another source of joy for me since this was the first time I’ve seen the (stereotypical) frog sitting on a lily pad (other than in a comic or cartoon situation).

Strewn

This rock strewn path was part of our first hike in Cape Breton.  This is where I learned how to rock hop and climb without thinking about it too much.  The path IS the stream (or the stream IS the path, depending on how you look at it), and in the summer months of July and August the stream dries up.  Maybe.  If it’s not been a wet summer.  Obviously, we were not there during the summer months and eventually the path became a stream too deep, ending our hike a little more than a mile or so out.  Nonetheless, it was a beautiful hike.

Water and rocks were not the only things strewn across the path.

Everybody poops — even moose. Especially moose.

There were signs of moose everywhere.  Signs, but no moose that we could see on this particular hike.

The last word is Toast.  I found this one to be the most difficult until I came across a couple of photos I took on our last day in Maine.

Toast. (Beer, after all, is simply liquid bread with a kick.)

Here’s to travel and vacations,
whether you’re seeking adventure
or rest and relaxation.
Cheers!

Cheers to Karma as well for hosting these challenges.  Thank you, Karma.  It was, as always, great fun.

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