Heartfelt sentiments
Posted: February 1, 2013 Filed under: 365 Meditation Challenge, Adventures in art, Air, Daily Walk, Digital Art, Earth, Fire, home, Love, nature, Photography, pond, Quotes, snow, Spirit, Walking, wandering, water, weather, winter | Tags: February, Lake-effect snow, MaidinSun Photography, nature, Outdoors, Photography, pond, quotes, snow, trees, water, weather, winter 26 Comments
True love is eternal, infinite, and always like itself. It is equal and pure, without violent demonstrations; it is seen with white hairs and is always young in the heart.
~ Honore de Balzac
Since the beginning of the year, I have been toying with the idea of jumping into a 365 project. There are a lot of good ones out there with plenty of great prompts. Cyndi (the Book Chick) has one going at Appearing Closer. Holly is participating in one put together by The Photography Butterfly. There are more out there, but the one that grabbed my attention yesterday is the one found at Capture Your 365. The first prompt for February is Heartfelt Sentiments. (You can find the entire February 365 Challenge List here.) Read the rest of this entry »
Wintering
Posted: January 25, 2013 Filed under: 365 Meditation Challenge, Air, Critters, Daily Walk, Earth, home, Mindfulness, nature, Photography, snow, Spirit, Today's Joys, Walking, water, weather | Tags: birds, clouds, Dark-eyed Junco, Henry David Thoreau, House Finch, Isaac Newton, Lake-effect snow, MaidinSun Photography, nature, Outdoors, Photography, Red Cardinal, snow, Snow Day, trees, water, weather, William Stafford, winter 43 Comments
Snow day
A Valley Like This
Sometimes you look at an empty valley like this,
and suddenly the air is filled with snow.
That is the way the whole world happened —
there was nothing, and then…But maybe some time you will look out and even
the mountains are gone, the world become nothing
again. What can a person do to help
bring back the world?We have to watch it and then look at each other.
Together we hold it close and carefully
save it, like a bubble that can disappear
if we don’t watch out.Please think about this as you go on. Breathe on the world.
Hold out your hands to it. When mornings and evenings
roll along, watch how they open and close, how they
invite you to the long party that your life is.~ William Stafford
A smoberversary
Posted: January 20, 2012 Filed under: 365 Yoga Challenge, Air, Critters, Earth, home, Letting Go, nature, Photography, snow, Spirit, Walking, water, weather, winter, yoga | Tags: Addiction, birds, Joy of Quitting, Lake Erie, Lake-effect snow, nature, Photography, Smoking cessation, snow, wildflowers, winter, woods 40 Comments
I had my weather facts wrong yesterday. The snowstorm that moved through was not lake effect snow at all, but part of a clipper system coming down from Canada. The snow we’re expecting later today will be brought to us courtesy of another front. The weather prognosticators are saying we could get up to 6 inches of new snow. Skiing might be possible tomorrow.
First big snowfall of the season
Posted: January 3, 2012 Filed under: 365 Yoga Challenge, Earth, health, home, Letting Go, nature, Photography, pond, snow, Spirit, Walking, water, weather, work, yoga | Tags: a river of stone, Lake-effect snow, nature, Photography, pond, small stones, snow, winter 55 Comments
Getting ready to unlock winter
Winter has finally arrived here in the Bogs. The snow has been falling and falling and falling throughout the night and morning. It’s almost dizzying to watch the snowflakes whirling and twirling as they descend from the sky.
Insomnolence
Posted: January 2, 2012 Filed under: 365 Yoga Challenge, Earth, goals, health, home, Letting Go, nature, Photography, snow, Spirit, Walking, water, weather, winter, yoga | Tags: Dream, Insomnia, Lake Erie, Lake-effect snow, Letting Go, nature, Photography, snow, trees, winter, woods 41 Comments
Dream walking through the woods
I’ve been sleeping surprisingly well since the anti-viral medication kicked in. The pain meds help with sleep, too. They knock me out, but I still dream. The dreams have been a mixture of the wonderful, the wild, and the weird, which is the usual way of dreams except when they’re nightmares, but then, those are not dreams at all, but little horrorfests that take place in the darkest nights of the mind and soul.
109: Cat blogging
Posted: January 9, 2011 Filed under: 365 Life in the Bogs Challenge, cats, Earth, home, nature, Photography, snow, weather, winter | Tags: birds, Cat, cross-country skiing, Lake-effect snow, Lolcat, postaday2011, snow 14 Comments
(Izzy relaxing by the fireplace.)
I try not to be too much of a cat lady and generally avoid posting photos of the cats (Izzy and Bella) too often. Izzy insisted on having her mug plastered on the blog today. She said to tell you all hello. Or, if you’re into that sort of thing, feel free to give her a lolcat caption.
It’s a bright, beautiful, blue-sky day here in the Bogs. The lake effect snow machine was turned off earlier than expected and we don’t have quite as much snow as predicted. It’s likely other communities nearby got more than we did. Lake effect snow works that way. Dumping tons of snow in one place and barely any in others.
I spent most of my outdoor time today cross-country skiing around Breezy Acres. When I’d had enough of that, I sat and watched the birds for few minutes. A red-tailed hawk came diving out of the sky and into the meadow, picking up something along the way and taking it back to a tree in the woods. It was too far away for me to attempt to photograph it. Just as well. I probably didn’t need to see the end results.
I’ve been playing with photo editing programs. The little bird above was processed in Picnik to give it, supposedly, a 1960’s feel.
That’s about it from the Bogs today. There’s not much happening. It’s kind of nice, being able to just hang out on a Sunday. I hope you’re enjoying your Sunday, too.
96: Moving right along
Posted: December 27, 2010 Filed under: 365 Life in the Bogs Challenge, Adventures in Life, beginnings, endings, goals, Healthful Living Plan, holidays, home, life, nature, Photography, pond, Simplify2010, snow, Spirit, videos, Walking, water, weather, winter | Tags: books, cross-country skiing, decluttering, Lake-effect snow, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Potter Furniture, resolutions, simplicity 9 Comments
(Winter in sepia. Taken at Quail Hollow State Park.)
This is the time of year when I start sorting through the goals I made for this year to see how far along I made it in terms of actual accomplishments. I know many others will be doing the same as this week goes by and there will, no doubt, be lots of blog posts about resolutions, goals, and commitments.
(Winter in sepia II.)
Themes
One of the things I started doing a few years ago was establishing a theme for the year. One or two (or three, if necessary) words to define what I hope to accomplish over the year. For 2010 the theme was: Simplify.
I have not outwardly done as well as I hoped to when I set out to simplify my life. The past two years have brought a lot of transitions (birth, death, marriage) and it occurs to me that 2010 brought an inward kind of simplicity that will help me along the way in 2011 when my theme will continue along the simplicity path: Declutter.
(Opening up. Potter Furniture. Lancaster, PA.)
There are some things I can and have easily removed from my life. “Fat clothes,” because I don’t want to go back. The kitchen gadget that seemed like a good idea when I purchased it but was only used once or twice because I found that doing things by hand is quicker and simpler. Items that are worn out and need replaced. Getting rid of that sort of stuff is uncomplicated and relatively effortless. Donate, recycle, or throw away.
(Making change. Potter Furniture.)
There are other things I have had to learn to release. Books are a good example. I have been known to hoard books. This past year I’ve given away a lot of books, and plan to keep giving them away in the coming year. I finally realized that most of the books I’ve kept over the years, carried around from move to move, are not books I will be reading again. There are millions of books I haven’t yet read and life seems to be getting shorter as I get older. It’s time to read and enjoy new stories, and even new ways of telling stories, while allowing others to enjoy the stories I’ve already read.
Not as easy
This year, I think, will be about learning how to let go of the sentimental. There are things I cling to because they represent people and/or or events from the past. If I make use of these items, they are part of my present and there is no reason not to keep them. Many items, however, are tucked away and ignored until I start sorting and decluttering. The tablecloth my mother crocheted. Craft projects made by my sons when they were children. Cards my husband gave me over the years.
(Toys without children. Potter Furniture.)
Some of those things can be given away to family, friends, or even strangers who might want and use them. Others I have plans for in terms of my own art. Repurposing. It will be both fun and interesting. The key is to make sure I do use them in some manner. Otherwise, I may end up back at start with boxes of stuff I’m saving for a future day. In other words, hoarding. Not on a horrific scale but still, it’s hoarding.
(The wheel of time. Porter Furniture.)
Life in the Bogs 