Saturday, March 22, 2014

Round Robin Challenge: Being Green



"I'll write the blue in green and when I ask you what color it is, the proper response is turquoise."

~Jarod Kintz, A Story That Talks About Talking Is Like Chatter To Chattering Teeth, And Every Set Of Dentures Can Attest To The Fact That No...

RRC: Green

For this Round Robin Challenge outing, Karen has asked us to see the GREEN. So, that's what I did! I thought about St. Patrick's Day, but decided to photograph other green things because it just seemed too easy, and I really wanted to stretch my creative bone. So, here is what I came up with!

The Green Gallery!

The Politics Of Green...

 

The Beautiful Orchid Being Green...

 

The Turtle And The Moss Being Green...



The Early Heirloom Tomatoes Being Green...



The Walton Lighthouse In Santa Cruz, California, Being Green...



As for the photo at the top, well, that is my green eye. My left eye to be exact. I have posted it before, but it's been a while. I didn't actually take the photo, my optometrist did, but it's kind of cool, so I thought I would include it anyway. 

Okay, now that you have seen my gallery of all things green, how about you go and check out what the other Robins have come up with for the challenge. Just click the link above to be redirected to the official Round Robin blog. That's where you will find all the information you need to play along, plus a list of participants! 

Mood: Happy

~ Me :)

Friday, March 21, 2014

Some Days With The Camera Are Better Than Others



"Art is what gets us beyond what is real. It makes reality more real. It also shortens the distance we gotta travel to see how connected we are."

~Laura Pritchett, Sky Bridge: A Novel

Some days I pack up all the cameras, 6 of them at last count, and I head out of the house with no expectations of what I will photograph. Other days I plan, and plan, and I map it all out carefully, from the routes to the time of day I want to be in a certain spot, and I know what I want to accomplish right down to the last detail. Two very different approaches, that usually have two different results. I swear, I do my best photos on days when I have no expectations as to what I will see or come across! I am not quite sure why that is... except that perhaps I do better when I don't assign myself the added stress.

For the most part, my photography has been a creative outlet. A way to process emotions and head noise. I know it has been instrumental in keeping myself sane! LOL. I have taken some of my best photos during times of deep grieving, and sorrow. When my friend Frank died and the weekend Pam passed away, I managed to see things with a more appreciative heart. I was still alive, and grateful for all the beauty I was seeing. It felt especially strong after Pam's passing. She and I talked more than once about the natural beauty of the world around us. She had a good heart. I miss her terribly. No one should die at 50!

Cancer is an asshole!

Anyway, it frustrates me when I leave the house with all the equipment I need to take a really excellent photo, and I just can't seem to accomplish it. The photo above is one such example. It was a perfectly clear day. I was focused on the Golden Gate Bridge, there was very little wind to mess with the focus, and yet I just couldn't seem to get the photo as sharp as I wanted and even right now looking at the photo, and remembering the day, I just don't know why. Like I said... it's frustrating. I remember giving up that day, because at one point I just knew that if I tried to force it, the whole experience would have become a chore, and not a joy. There is definitely a time to let go.

Still, in an attempt to pull something positive from the photo, I love the way Cozelman road, along the headlands, lines the hillside. It looks really sharp I think. Okay, so it wasn't a total waste of time. And at least I have the experience of knowing when to give up, and save it all for another day.



Mood: Quiet

~Me :)

Thursday, March 20, 2014

Welcome To Spring 2014 12:57 P.M. EDT



"Springtime is the land awakening. The march winds are the morning yawn."

~Quoted by Lewis Grizzard in, Kathy Sue Loudermilk, I love You

Spring begins at 12:57 P.M. today. Just 3 minutes shy of tomorrow. Odd. But that's Mother Nature's way, isn't it? Everything, including the seasons, are left up to her whim, and she has been acting strange here on the west coast. I can only remember 3 truly cold days, and they were way back in late November, while it was still autumn! It's been unseasonably dry and warm since then, and frankly I am damn tired of it! I want some nice, cold, windy, rainy days. Days when I can curl up with one or more of the cats, under a big blanket, with a bowl of popcorn and a spooky movie on the TV! But instead I am getting relentless, sunny, GOD AWFUL cheerful days!

On the other hand, it's perfect weather for getting the vegetable and rose gardens up and going! There are some big plans in the works for this year. Like I said in a previous post, pumpkins are a new try. I love those little orange heads. Little souls. I know, it's a pumpkin, it doesn't have a human soul, but to be honest, since carving my first pumpkin as a child, when I made the pumpkin's face friendly, I kind of began believing that pumpkins did indeed have souls, as well as full on personalities! LOL. Now, as an adult, I know about how healthy pumpkins are for you, and how versatile they are to cook with, and I believe more than ever that they absolutely have souls!

Call me quirky!

So, as the earth breaks forth with all the colors possible, and everything becomes hopelessly cheerful, I know that spring is just something that's necessary, in order to have healthy happy pumpkin patch come this autumn! So I will smile, sneeze, and be grateful. 

:)

Mood: Happy

~Me :)

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Ukalele Lessons



"Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything."

~Plato

While on my little art walk down Addison st last month, I looked up from the poetry panels and noticed this sign outside a music shop. The thought of learning the ukulele made me smile. I have always thought of maybe taking music lessons, but the piano was what I had in mind, I had never considered the ukulele. But somehow, as I was smiling that day, the idea of playing that particular instrument intrigued me! Sure. Why not?

I have officially added ukulele lessons to my bucket list!



Sing, it with me now...

Tip-Toe Thru The Tulips With Me

                                                 Tiptoe, through the window
                                           By the window, that is where I'll be
                                        Come tiptoe through the tulips with me

Ladies And Gentlemen... Tiny Tim (Rowan And Martin's Laugh-In)




I can see myself holding impromptu ukulele concerts. You'd come... right? 

Mood: Silly

~Me :)

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

Whisper To Me



"Every time I stand before a beautiful beach, its waves seem to whisper to me: If you choose the simple things and find joy in nature's simple treasures, life and living need not be so hard."

~Psyche Roxas-Mendoza

What can I say? The weather in the Bay Area has been nothing short of summertastic! Yes, I know, not a word. But we will ignore it in favor of setting the mood. And what is the mood I am speaking of? Why... summertastic of course. LOL. It's winter, and it's so hot in the Bay Area that we are putting the air conditioner back in the window today!

All things being subject to Murphy's Law, you know what that means... right?

Snow in the Bay Area by Friday!

Just in time for Spring.

You may thank me now!

:)

Mood: Silly

~Me :)

Monday, March 17, 2014

Happy St. Patrick's Day! 2014



"St. Patrick's Day is an enchanted time... a day to begin transforming winter's dreams into summer's magic."

~Adrienne Cook

May the Irish hills caress you.
May her lakes and rivers bless you.
May the luck of the Irish enfold you.
May the blessings of Saint Patrick behold you.

~Irish Blessing

:) Kiss me, I'm Irish! Well... no not really... but it's a fun thing to consider isn't it? :) Not kissing me specifically, but having a day when you must kiss someone, just for being who they are. I know, I know that is kinda what Valentine's Day is for, but somehow that has gotten lost in all the candy hearts, and Duck Dynasty love greetings! LOL. I have to admit, after seeing those valentine cards, I may never think of that heart shaped made up holiday the same way again! LOL. 

I am not Irish, but I love St. Patrick's Day all the same! I love the cooking, the green clothing, the silly "Kiss Me I'm Irish" buttons, all of it! Halloween will always be my favorite holiday, but St. Patty's day comes close. On Halloween you can be anyone, or anything you want, but with St. Patrick's Day, you can wish your friends all the wonderful things in life that are possible. An action that should be done anyway... don't you think?

It's a nice reminder about how much your friends mean to you, Irish or not!

Here is the original version of the photo above. I took it last year in Half Moon Bay. It was a very beautiful day, and I was grateful for it!



:)

Mood: Happy And Blessed!

~Me :)


Sunday, March 16, 2014

March 2014: The Full Worm Moon...



"I love the silent hour of night, for blissful dreams may then arise, revealing to my charmed sight what may not bless my waking eyes."

~Anne Bronte, Best Poems Of The Bronte Sisters

It's time for another full moon! I have been blessed to be able to photograph all of them this winter, as the weather has been unusually warm. Good for me, bad for the drought situation. Still, I am going to focus on the positive... the beauty of the full moon. 



Mood: Happy

~Me :)

The Morning After...



"Perhaps the most important skill in photography is learning which images to show."

~Leslie Dean Brown

Is it a tree ghost? No. Is it a plastic bag ghost? No. Is it a spider web? No. So what is it? 

You tell me!

Oh, okay, if you must know... it's a sheer camisole. Someone got lucky last night!

Outside a Starbucks.

LOL.

It wasn't me!

But...

Good for them!

;)

"You can lead a horticulture, but you can't make her think."

~Dorothy Parker

Mood: Inspired.

~Me :)