Apparitions Of Gentleness

A soft gentle rain is slowly sliding down from the sky this early morn, all is silence, tranquil and soothing. Everyone is inside either sleeping away to the perfect gentleness of the world or up slowly making their way across their morning. Weekends are made for that, the leisurely kinda pace, taking the world cautiously, so as not to miss out on something extraordinary, such as this soft rain and how it modifies our surroundings with apparitions of gentleness, serenity, and peace. It makes you want to travel inward to reveal your own spirit settling down in  a unruffled, hushed corner, breathing a huge sigh of relief at this new respite from a rat race, hurry up world. Nature is here to strike a chord, to stop us for a second and make us pay attention, watch the world evolving outside our windows, always shifting and bringing us unceasing beauty to lessen our loads of day to day life. Inhale the scent of splendor, which dances in the drops of warm heavenly wet kisses that flicker down our face. Let its gentleness guide you thru the day as it settles into your moral fiber to bring calm and enchantment in your world around you.

These photos were taken at the Dallas Arboretum June 10, 2014

SHIMMERING IN THE FIRST LIGHT OF DAY

Flowers; are our senses not sabotaged in some small way by the beauty, grace and tenderness of their gentle and fragile demeanor? Do we not look at their vastness and see something that excites and makes us want to paint or photograph them?  Shimmering in the quiet, first light of day, their beauty takes our breath away, easily. Exquisite flowers, you befriend me with your innocents and allure. Nature is absolutely in its magnificence.

They are bathed in sunlight, moistened by raindrops, God using His heavenly set of watercolors and brushes to paint on their glorious riot of colors. And just as we get spoiled with their dazzling colors, they almost immediately fade away to make room for the new kids of flowers on the block.

WAG MORE BARK LESS

WAG MORE

BARK LESS

Saw this bumper sticker last week and I reflected on it all the way to work, pondering its meaning. How does it speak to you, what does it whisper about you? To me it means to try and always see the positive side don’t take everything so glumly in life, look for the thrills-they’re out there somewhere.  Be a kinder, gentler, softer person. Love more, laugh much, and unearth ways to be carefree. Don’t gnaw people’s heads off, see their side of life, and wallow in their reasoning a bit and find understanding in your heart. Walk in the rain with your face turned upward towards the wet stuff catching gentle kisses from the sky, take more naps, sing, and watch silly movies. Try to show people you care, smile at strangers.

Now, if only I could follow my own advice I’d be in a happier place.

These are pictures I took of Chad and Kelley's horse 7 years ago.

Goodbye Summer 2013

This summer, my entire family traveled together to Durango, CO. Traveling together on the highway, stopping at rest stops along the way was the most fun way of making a long trip, shorter. We all stayed under one roof, which added even more fun. Sitting in front of the fire at night after putting the kids to bed, everyone in the kitchen at once cooking meals together, sitting outside on the second story deck, submerged in nature, walking down to the lake with fishing poles catching fish or sliding across in canoes, exploring nearby towns, and just hanging out together made for the most wonderful and exciting vacation. Below are shots of the tiny, quaint town of Silverton, home of the Silverton Durango Railroad. Such a neat place to go explore.

Simmering summer with its high heat and laid back ways invites you to slow down and savor all it has to offer. Backyard barbecues with family and friends you haven’t seen in forever, baseball fever, hot dogs and popcorn at the games, swimming, fireworks, ice cream and anything cold. The circus comes to town in the summer filled to capacity with excitement, acknowledging summer sizzle with clowns chasing it away with frolicking laughter and capers. Enchanting musicals bid for your attention, as well as plays and other entertainment arriving to perform under the summer stars bringing enigmatic feelings of days past. To me, this is the time to move with dawdling determination to not get in a hurry; the entire summer lays at your feet. So much to see, do and experience. Dip your senses into the sights, smells, sounds and feels of summer around you. But be quick, as it runs across the calendar like a gazelle on a mission. The splendor of dazzling days and sunny spirits is dimming before your eyes; the long days vanishing quick as a wink to be replaced with autumn’s promise of shorter days. Then all too soon, school is back in session, we teachers return back indoors to our classrooms to start the year new. How I miss those languid, summer days and how quickly they fade away, harrowing heat is but a distant delusion. Nine more months til the fun starts all over again.'

Spirits Free to Fly Away

Vacations are such happy times, getting away from tedious, hurried, fast paced lives to be replaced with renewed wonders. New sights, new experiences, a new world, opened up to our senses. Whether it’s the beaches or mountains that attract our spirits, it is there that captures our hearts, it is there that sets our souls and spirits free to fly away with reckless abandonment. Sleep in, be lazy, stay up late to watch the moon slide across the sky; slowly covering the distance in its own way. Vacations put the pieces back together that have fallen apart over the year from too much to do in too short a time, meetings at work turning into shouting matches, juggling of having to be so many places at once, rush hour traffic, gobbled up quick lunches-rush, rush, rush-that is our world. But vacations stop that craziness and lighten our load, put sunshine in our hearts with a promise how sweet this week is going to be, creating a rhythm of passion and excitement in every step of the way. Hold on to your precious vacation memories close to your hearts so they never evaporate.

In love with Apsens

Off roading

In the backseat shooting away at the beauty

At the top of the trail

Beautiful river

Enchanted town of Silverton

Family crossing, one changing her mind

Famous Durango train

Aspen so tall that they brush the sky

Gorgeous hanging baskets

Life Preservers

Imagine this, you are walking down the passageway of your life, when abruptly you crash into a brick wall, you look down and there is your life and soul smashed into a million pieces. Struggle as you might, you can’t get those pieces back together again, they are too miniscule, too numerous, too intricate to even undertake. So you sweep up the pieces, then go from location to location to try to find ways to make sense of nonsense, to find a life preserver but realize you no longer have that life to preserve. Every direction you turn, you don’t hit upon the answers that you need, and no one seems to comprehend how to get those pieces back together for you, or even have solutions of how to initiate undertaking your crumbled life. Just when you are about to throw up your hands and feel it is futile, you go around a corner and run into this incredible entity who just happens to have a miracle bottle of super glue. This person looks at you and says  "I was told you needed this", and begins to put all the pieces back slowly and painstakingly together once again.  Instantaneously your life is whole and complete once again. Yet somehow it is dissimilar. Same pieces but they were put back together in unlike places to make a completely altered life. You try it out, and discover to your amazement, you love it. Now your life is an utter delight, complete and whole once again. Yeah, life is like that sometimes.

Belated Christmas Outside Lights

Outside Lights

Close up

Candle and Bokeh

Close up

Tap Into Life

Rivers flow, clouds float, birds sail, trees bend, but what about us-what do we do? We are a part of nature, we sail thru our days, we flow thru adversity, and we even float around trials and tribulations shunning pain at all costs.

 But sometimes life snags us in its web, we are stuck, we cannot move, we cannot think, the spider web of life is coming closer.

But wait, we do have a brain; we have a soul-use it! We have freewill-exercise it. Tap into those resources that God gave you, brush them off and put them to good use. That is what they are there for.

Then we can break free of the hold and get back to the flowing, floating, bending, and sailing life once again.

Bear Lake Rocky Mountain State Park

Estes Park Cabin

Bear Lake

Trail around Bear Lake

Cabin at Estes Park

View from behind cabin

Falling Into Autumn

This weekend, fall came crashing through nature’s front door in its quest to be seen and felt. Friday night the trees were bent over double from the fierce winds, while leaves flew around like they were trying desperately to escape the tempest. In the aftermath, branches, fallen debris and assorted other fallen abrasions were littered on the carpeted grass. Temperatures were diminished much to the delight of hot Texas residents, and excitement escalated all thru this Longhorn area. Everyone was clambering to pull out sweaters and to do the happy dance of autumn. Goodbye hot summer, I won’t miss you at all.

Farmer's Market thru bridge

Sunlight and shadows

Serenity and quiet

Colorful playground

Bright green and blue

Quaint train station from yesteryear