Just add sunshine...

Butterflies are my thing.  OK, they are a lot of people's thing but that doesn't mean they can't be mine too.  I love this!  If I had one section of lawn with consistent sun for more than 30 mins at a time this baby would be mine.

Tears of happiness...

After it rains the world is drenched in color and dripping with crystal tears.  One of those magical moments to create truly beautiful images. Even a mud puddle sparkles with color.

Pretty in pink...

http://instagram.com/p/ZBgDGyllrH/

I've been so busy I've almost missed Spring.  So glad it is only almost, I still have a little time.  Starting with this!

Flower peeping...

It is a gorgeous day!  The sun is shining, the temperature is practically perfect with just a little chill to keep it interesting and there is a beautiful breeze.  Well, not so beautiful when you have the perfect image in your view finder and the breeze shakes it up.  That just means you get to take more time to enjoy the view while you wait for that second when the world stops bending with the wind.  Just like life...

What makes me happy...

Daisies!

Please don’t glorify the cowards...

Please don’t glorify the cowards.   After, once again, struggling to find a way to tell my child about the senseless violence in our world and a night of praying for those that were lost and those that are fighting to recover, I needed to throw this out into the virtual void: Please, news media, don’t glorify the cowards.  Tell us about the first responders in Boston, the heroes that ran into the fray not knowing what they were going to find but wanting to make a difference.  Tell us about the ones who lost their lives, senselessly, while trying to make a difference in the world.  Tell us about the ones struggling today to move past the horror of what they saw and what it took from them.  

When you know the truth, when you have done the research, when it isn’t speculation, tell us all of that.  

However, when you find out who did this, when you know the individual, or group, that hid in the shadows while so many cried out for help because of their shameless acts, please do not tell us about them.  Call them ‘the cowards’ and give them the notoriety they deserve: none.  Don’t give others the idea that these crimes make you into something.  Don’t give these people the time of day.  Let them be prosecuted quickly for their crimes and let us move on. 

For some reason so many will watch the freak show that is to come and the ratings will insure that this message will fall on deaf ears but this morning, with a truly heavy heart, I had to put it out there.  Thanks for listening.

With prayers for peace and joy, we move forward.   Tomorrow is always a new day.

I use this space to show my view of the beauty around us.  It has been awhile since I have posted but I have wanted to for months.  Funny how we can never find the time for the little things.  We need to make that time.  Well, I am back and I will be posting images that reflect my view of the world we live in.  It is time to start viewing beauty again.   

Finding a memory...

Yesterday we were hunting for a comic book store that would satisfy the needs of my 10 year old Justice League enthusiast.  He isn't opposed to DC comics but he is partial to the JL.  Someday I will need to post my feelings on the lack of appropriate comics for 10 year olds and why there are so few that I could place in his hands without censoring pages, but that is not for today.  Today, after spending way too much on something that we knew he would have mostly read before we ever reached home, we decided to find a park.  It was a gorgeous day, too beautiful to waste, so we looked for a large green area on the GPS map and asked the nice lady to take us there.  She took us to Eagle Rock Reservation. 

It was lovely!  As we drove in on a winding, switchback road, we couldn't wait to park the car and hike the trails.  There wasn't much parking at the access points and the spots were already filled with the cars of other people who had this great idea first.  We kept driving, looking for someplace to pull over.  We found it. 

As we crested the top of the hill we could see the New York City skyline off in the distance.  It was gorgeous and we could see some sort of park ahead so we went over to investigate.  What we had found was the Eagle Rock Reservation 9/11 Memorial.  What a day to be drawn to this spot.

Tomorrow 9/11 rolls around again.  We are 11 years past the day that the world collectively gasped as they watched the towers fall.  In that moment we all felt the sorrow, shared the shock, and experienced the pain.  Living where I do, I know many families that lost loved ones that day.  We've all moved on, they've all tried to heal, but seeing that date on the calendar must be so hard.  It is just a day but it is a day that changed us all. 

So much has happened since, so many things that create so many conflicting feelings in so many people but as I stood at that overlook and ran my hands over the names of the people who lost their lives that day, I just felt sad. No philosophical, religious, or political rationale can return what was lost to these families.  Here and at memorials the world over that hope to show us how much is lost when we can't find a better way to resolve our differences, you wonder, can humankind ever realize that a peaceful resolution is the path forward? As I looked out at the Freedom Towers rising on the horizon, I offered up a prayer of hope. 

There is so much to say and yet finding the words is so difficult.  These images are a true reflection of my feelings.  I was unprepared and did the best I could to show how I felt with the camera in my cell phone.  It isn't close to all I wanted to show you but it is what I have to give.  I'll go back, I'll use better equipment, I'll try again.  Isn't that what we all have to do?  Keep trying, change our tactics, find other ways to move us towards a better understanding so we can all say, 'Never again.  Not here, not anywhere.  Never again.'



Back at it...

Hi!  I'm back. Did ya miss me?  Don’t answer that! 

It has been a while since I was able to get over here and post.  During that time I never stopped taking photos though, so I have a stock pile of things I cannot wait to show you.  I figure over the next few weeks I can get us all caught up and any leftovers I will use to fill in the blanks when inspiration eludes me. 

For my first post of the new era I shall start with, drumroll please, flowers!  It may have been a while but did you really expect that would change?  Again, don’t answer that.  I have thrown in a lake and some spider webs to spice it up for you.  The frog, well he just needed to be seen.  Enjoy.

I'm Back...

I got swamped, what can I say, but today I realized something; I stopped posting here after a freak snow storm in October.  It snowed on my Halloween decorations and I pouted... for a long time apparently.  However, a long awaited, very appropriately timed, snow storm today set everything right.  Snow on my Christmas decorations was very inspiring!

I have been taking photos for the last few months, I just haven't been posting.  In the next day or three I will catch you up with a few large posts and then we will be back in business.  Until then, here is a sneak peek at the snow that made me smile.

Talk with you soon!

Oh, the places you'll go...

If you haven't figured it out yet, reading is a pretty important part of life in our household.  I was reading to Philip in utero.  Once he was here, soothing him with the sound of my voice as I read a favorite story was a daily occurence.  When he was old enough to ask, he would bring me books to read with him, sitting in my lap while I made all the sound affects and characters voices.  I honestly can't say who loved it more.  Now we sit side by side and read our books.  What a wonderful way to share time together. 

On this day I got to head over to his school for the book fair.  Talk about viewing something beautiful.  Watching kids run into the library as if it was their favorite toy store and excitedly pick book after book to take home and read...  it was so wonderful.  Dr Seuss knew what he was talking about, 'Oh, the places you'll go.'  Hang on to your hat and let the written word take you anywhere you can imagine.  October 5th

Daisies...

'I love dasisies,  They're so friendly. Don't you think daisies are the friendliest flower?' as stated by Kathleen Kelly from 'You've Got Mail' and me.  October 4th

Alone again...

So lonely, sitting in the corner, biding its time, waiting for its dog to come and get it all slobbery again.  Actually, maybe it was just hiding!  October 3rd

Swampy marsh...

It was a gorgeous day: cool and slightly sunny with just the right amount of fluffy white cotton candy in the sky.  It must be time for our Fall swamp visit.  Betcha don't hear that too often. The Great Swamp National Park in Central New Jersey is really beautiful and we head out there often.  You won't see this any time soon on the Jersey Shore.  I am sure that is why we like it so much.  October 2nd

Stackers...

Let me start out by saying we were there to see the 3D version of 'The Lion King', but thanks to some maniacal cross promoting mastermind, the movie theater was at the mall.  Now add to that the strange alchemy that makes small pieces of plastic turn into magnets for any child in a 1 mile radius and 'The Lion King' was suddenly just our first stop on the tour.  The Lego Store was a true highlight; bazillions of tiny little pieces of plastic that drew my 9 year old in faster than I could say, well, anything.  I am still trying to recover from the $299 price tag on the 'totally amazing and absolutely necessary' big box of rattling pieces.  It is good to know that when his mother started to choke after one glance at the price tag, my child had the good sense to step away from the box.  $20 dollars and a Harry Potter Quidditch set later we were off.  All in all, a good day.  October 1st

Posies...

No, they are not mine.  No, I am not jealous.  Yes, I am so happy for my friend who did get them.  Well, two out of three of those statements are completely true.  September 30th

It creeps closer...

It isn't even October yet but Halloween is upon us.  The candy is out, the pumpkins are waiting to go under the knife and children are testing out their costume choices.  Well, mine was at Wendy's this evening.  Got to love the face painter that puts black face paint all over your child's eye.  Yes that was a bit of sarcasm you detected... Philip loved it though.  Wendy's chicken sandwich with a little Skeletor on the side!

Photoshop effects added for an extra eerie feeling.  The eerie carpet effect provided by Wendy's.  September 29th

Lonely town...

Not really.  I was actually getting quite concerned because this little town is going to be the backdrop for a few photo sessions in the next month and I was so afraid I wouldn't be able to get any images without people in each setup.  Well, people who weren't suppose to be there.  Um... people that I didn't want to be there.  People are allowed to be there but I will be trying to see only the people I bring there...  You know what I mean.  I loved this image though.  What do you think?  September 28th

Swirlies...

Ever tell yourself that you have to save something because it is too beautiful to throw away.  You know, that you can clean it up and restore it and love it forever and ever ... and ever.  Me too!  Ummm... do you actually ever get around to doing any of those things, I mean, besides holding on to the 'priceless' object?  Wow, me either!  But I will...  September 27th

Witch's hard hat?...

Don't ask, I couldn't tell you, it just caught my eye.  It was like the wicked witch had been working construction and got caught in the rain.  I'm melting, I'm melting...  Don't groan, I know you see it now too.  I have already warned you, I am very easily amused.  September 26th

Soft and fuzzy...

Yes, I know they are weeds.  The bee didn't seem to mind and I didn't either.  I think they look a bit like baby's breath's wild cousin that got too many tattoos and won't take off the leather vest at the dinner table.  Oh man, those LA Ink commercials stick with you.  September 25th