Christmas past

It's a time of innocence and wonder. We all grow up too fast!

Merry Christmas everyone.

A Gift

These amaryllis are so beautiful.

 I have them in front of the mirror so we can see them from all angles.

tidal

It's a life's lesson looking at our views.  I'm in the process of studying change 101. This tidal vignette was underwater by the end of my photo shoot. I'm learning that change is very subtle and sneaky but inevitable. And it's even necessary in order to appreciate the moment.

OK it's official

After 30 years in our home, where we brought up our boys who are now fathers,we have turned it over to new owners. Hopefully they will bring up their children in the house that loved us. Hopefully they will wander the halls with dreams of their own, will play in the yard and swim in the pool. Hopefully they will feed the birds and create stories of their own in the gardens I loved. Hopefully all the good that is in the core of that house will seep it's way into their lives. I wish them well.

Tully on the other hand went kicking and barking. She had to make friends with her reflection in the floor to ceiling windows that seemed to follow her everywhere. Once that was accomplished she has found a sunny spot in the front hall where she watches her new world go by. She loves the new wet walks on the sandy shell filled beach and chasing the shorebirds. She now sleeps closer to us at night but I think that will pass once she gets braver in her new world.

And our new world looks beautiful to us. We are happy here. We can finally call this place our home.

bird in flight

wait for it wait for it

blue coat day

A low tide walk with Tully followed by a bath.

through the looking glass

The view changes everyday and today the rain has in control of our world.

Rain and wind and more rain. 

 The bay has ruled over the shoreline. 

And I in my perch am witnessing it all.

different point of view

Same tree different background.

passing through

An afternoon storm was moving through. The day was dreary and grey but when the sun peaked behind the cloud for just a moment I was there to feel the warmth and witness it's potential.

I'm back

I have been lost but now I'm found. 

Life grabbed me and whipped me into a frenzy of packing and unpacking and moving things from here to there, or should I say from there to here. We can now call this new house our home. In my whole life I have never lived in a house with vistas. I feel like the birds that I love so much, I'm flying and experiencing the sky and the water and the tides and the weather. I'm overwhelmed with joy and I'm so thankful. But I have missed sitting at my computer and going to another place within my heart.  I have missed this quiet time that nourishes me. I have missed my photography. 

I'm glad to have found myself again…..

I shot the rocks

Late afternoon walk along the beach, I mean late meditation in an otherwise chaotic time.

 I'm savoring my few quiet moments before the big move.

I'm wired

I've been creating so many images lately, only not with my camera, only in my head. I have no time to do what I love most because we are moving next week and my time is not my own. I'm packing up our 35 years of memories box by box. I don't' even have time to linger with the photographs, I have to toss and sort as fast as I can. My closet has never looked so organized. My bookcases are cleaned out, I'm moving ahead. So I take my images with my eyes, I compose with my heart and I stay patient. Soon our new life begins…

by the way this image was taken in our new cellar.

an inside view

I found the sunrise in these dahlia petals.

early morning

It felt so good to take some time to get up in the dark and photograph the rising sun. I've been so busy lately getting ready for the new house that I haven't been able to shoot. I loved every moment of my quiet morning. You can see our new house lit by the rising sun.

looking up

I love the symmetry of the leaves, the way the shadows draw attention to the limey green and the contrasting blue of the background.

a moment

What is more beautiful, the foreground or the background. I think the beauty lies in our ability to focus on both at the same time, one allows the other to to reach it's greatest potential. I think this is why I love photography so much, it lets me stay with what is beautiful.

autumn

 I love his pumpkin orange feet and matching feathers. His tail feathers are going every which a way, a regular black watch plaid with an iridescent glow. And of course his tiny little red head. Wow he is like a box of crayons!

transitions

Time to reflect on the happy sounds of summer when the littles floated on these waters, when friends walked the dock to board At Ease, when the fishing rods bent with floundering fish, when I would sit at the end of a long day alone with Tully.

Now it's time to put sweaters on and walk the beach and wait for the changing of the leaves. Everyday brings something new and glorious.

underfoot

If I'd gotten any closer I would have been knee deep in muck.

taking wing

I'm flitting all over the place as well.

underfoot

If I were very young I might have walked right by this pile of dead leaves.

But I'm not so very young and I stayed and played with the shapes and crackling dryness that reminds me that the seasons are changing once again. 

comings and goings

Late day on the beach and the birds were feeding on the berries.

 A beautiful afternoon filled with warm light and birdsongs.

the ying and yang

Early morning light warms her sleepy wings.

dahlia time

When I got sidetracked by the backlit leaf I forgot that I did capture a few dahlias.

Beautiful soft full petals.

tail end

I'm so creative! Well maybe not.

I had partly covered this original image with another open window on my computer. A happy mistake. I was blown away by the patterns and love this result. Here is the original.

dinner at the new house

I was checking on the progress of the new house and heard the familiar cry of the osprey. I love the sound they make. And there he was above our roofline eating his freshly caught fish.

Sunday morning

Everything is about the light.

 I was shooting the dahlias at Planting Fields but the wind was unforgiving and I wasn't feeling very patient, so I headed home. On my way I discovered these huge backlit leaves and I lost myself in the light. I saw purples and aqua and limey greens with a deep bold red stem holding it all together. I have a beautiful series of these images. What a great way to spend the morning...

last image from the woods

This represents what I love most about the woods.

 There were so many levels to fall into. My boots were on the muddy earth while my eyes were drawn into the depth of the still water in the beaver's pond. At first I loved the vibrant colors of the changing leaves against the green of the freshly fallen ones. And then I saw the clouds and then I saw the tree trunk. It brings new meaning to Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow. I am in awe of our natural world,

and to think it was taken with my cell phone.

Black bear

This black bear is about 18 months old. I have been told that his mother has pushed him out on his own because she is in her breeding time again. He looks beautiful and healthy and very sweet. But if he thinks that humans are going to feed him then the bear is in trouble. I hope this guy heads deeper in the woods and manages to take care of himself. 

Indian Head

On top of the world with the Littles!

They are true mountain ladies just like you know who!

patterns in nature

Arriving woodland toad.

Departing woodland toad.

old friends

I'm reading Mary Oliver and Henry David Thoreau in the chill of the evenings and early in the morning. My usual walks in the woods have a slower pace while I wander off trail to sit on the nursing logs and wrap my arms around a tree or two.

home again

Isn't it beautiful? 

This has always been my first desire when I arrive at Ausable. To climb Indian Head and wrap my arms around the mountains, to sit on the rock and pull up memories of my connections with it.

 I am so happy here. 

keep moving

Every blade reflects a new image as the wind pushes for change.

almost there

Three more days till I'm back where I love to be.

flight

I wonder what it feels like to leave where you are and fly. 

To open your wings and let the air curl under your spreading feathers. 

To just let it go.

Do you ever wonder?