Stepping Away from the Edge

12 (Blog) Days of Christmas: On the Seventh Day

On the Seventh (blog) Day of Christmas . . . I bring you images of the season.  (Which works well with Carole's Ten on Tuesday topic this week:  Ten Favorite Things to Photograph at Christmas!)

1.  Decorations that just shout out "Christmas!"



2.  Sunlight when it makes a rare appearance and washes over my space.



3.  Candlelight and twinkle-light . . . when there is no sunlight.



4.  Trees . . . inside.

5.  and out!

6.  Snow . . . when it falls.  (But this year?  Not so much.)

7.  Us . . . when we're all dressed up and ready for a night out.  (Or, even when we're not.)

8.  Food . . . like my sushi plate from a party last Friday.

9.  My house . . . in all it's seasonal finery.

10.  Traditions . . . treasured people and events.

My Star Tree . . . the "match" to my Bird Tree!

How about YOU?  What are your favorite things to photograph during the holiday season?

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Join the fun!  Sign up for Ten on Tuesday here.

Looking on the Bright Side

One good thing . . . about shorter hours of daylight . . .

golden sunsets . . . at the end of a busy day!

 

Totally Noncommittal and Definitely Wishy-Washy

It's November.  And a lot of bloggers are taking the NaBloPoMo challenge.

I haven't decided whether I'm up for that or not.

But I might be.  (We'll see.)  For now, I'm keeping my options open.

In other news, this morning we have slightly-frozen water in the birdbath.

And frost in the garden.

I think the cold days are taking hold.

Happy Saturday!

Buggin' Me!

Before the end of . . . bug season. . . I wanted to share these photos with you.  Bugs . . . from my world!

A dragonfly in my garden.

I seem to have had more visiting dragonflies this year than any other year I can remember.    (I didn't notice his damaged wings until I saw the photo on my computer.)

A spider (and shadow) on our pontoon boat.

This little guy was quite small, but kind of interesting there. . . in duplicate.

A cicada on the window screen.

While kind of creepy, nothing says "late summer" like the sound of cicadas.

I'm enjoying the "bugs" in my world. . . before the cold weather sends them into hibernation!

Have a great weekend.

 

 

Shining Images

Each month, the One Little Word project leads you through a guided exercise to help you connect with your chosen word in new and different ways.  For February, it was all about images. . . connecting with your word through photographs or other images that represent your word.

I had a lot of fun with this exercise!  I enjoyed looking through my photo files and finding those that "spoke" to me, in some way, about my word.  I ended up with quite a collection of photos that said SHINE. . . and then I winnowed it down to just nine.

After I chose my images (or maybe. . . I let them chose me. . .), I started reflecting on just why they said SHINE.  What, exactly, was it about each image that so represents SHINE for me?

Well.

Sometimes, something is incredibly beautiful and delicate and fine.  But you don't always notice it until the sun shines and catches it in the light.

There can be plenty of color and passion and beauty . . . even at the end of the day.

Take time to smell the roses!

Embrace each new day.

Quit putting your dreams aside.  DO the things you've always wanted to do.  SEE the things you've dreamed of seeing.  Find a way.

It's a beautiful world we live in.  Get out there.  Notice.

Even when things are in shadow, or you just see an outline, remember. . . the light is shining behind you.

Go for it!  Sip a café crème on the Champs-Élysees!  Follow your dreams. 

Every day is a gift.  Embrace your birthday.  MORE candles; more light; more chances to SHINE.

And, as a final reminder, I included a large image of the Holstee Manifesto - one of my favorite reminders to SHINE.

One Little Word. 

SHINE!

Out of the Fog

Yesterday morning, I was running late.  Scrambling around, as usual.  But as I pulled out of my driveway, something caught my eye.  I had to stop.  Run back into the house for my camera.  And take a few minutes to try to capture the shimmering I saw out of the fog.

Sometimes, you've gotta slow down. . . to see the beauty.

PS -- This photo is better bigger.  Click on the photo to make it bigger.

Overhead

Look what passed overhead the other evening as we were in the backyard. . .

A perfect welcome for July!

Happy Fourth of July.  Happy Summer.  (I'm headed Up North.  See you next week.)

The Merry Month of May

Looking back at May. . .

from here at the end of the month. . .

gives me a little perspective.

Yeah, the weather has been - for the most part - crappy.

And it seems I've been scrambling to complete the most basic tasks.

But there have been some big things in the works.

Beginnings.

Endings.

Growth.

Beauty.

Unfoldings.

May tends to be like that!

(The photos in today's entry are from my May postings to my 365 Project - the entire month devoted to MacroMay.  To see the entire collection of May photos, click on the 365 Project link in my sidebar.)

Tulip Mania

As I mentioned in one of my earlier "travelogue" posts, my sister and I chose our travel dates based on our own convenience and schedules, not based on where we were headed.  It can only be serendipity, then, that put us in the Netherlands during the peak of . . .

Tulip Mania!

Yes, we arrived in Amsterdam during the peak weak of "tulip time."  So we boarded a charter bus and traveled about 35 miles to Lisse, the tulip capital of the world, to visit Keukenhof Gardens (I like to think of it as The Disneyland of Tulips).  My sister and I are NOT the charter bus types.  At all.  But we just . . . went along for the ride. . . ignoring the schmaltzy charter bus tour guide schtick. . . and laughing with each other. . . about How Had It Come to This?  But, then, we caught a glimpse of this out the bus windows. . .

and remembered why we got on the bus in the first place!

Keukenhof Gardens really is an amazing place.

Acres upon acres. . .

upon acres upon acres. . .

of amazing tulips. . .

and bulbs. . .

of all kinds!

But wait!  There's more!

The garden incorporated the most wonderful collection of outdoor sculpture!

Truly delightful. . .

and a fabulous way to mix the art of gardening with . . . art!

But wait!  There's more!

Not only were there tulips and bulbs and sculpture at every turn. . .

There was also a Spring Garden Show. . .

an Orchid Show. . .

frequent glimpses of surrounding tulip fields. . .

treats . . .

and lots of Dutch heritage!

Trust me, you haven't fully experienced Keukenhof until you are munching on a "Warme Beenham" (basically, a bacon sandwich. . .) surrounded by The Throng of Tourists and listening to a middle-aged Dutch choir sing Songs from the 80s -- in Dutch, of course.  (Yes, I think that WAS "Eye of the Tiger". . .)

But I digress!

The gardens at Keukenhof were totally over the top!  WAY over the top.  Gorgeous and a true treat for the eyes.  As you might guess, though, being in the peak of tulip mania, it was PACKED with tourists.  PACKED!  (Our charter bus was probably one of 500 that afternoon.  No kidding.)  But, unlike Versailles, we were outside and the gardens are huge.  We followed our "Robert Frost Plan" for touring --- always (ALWAYS) taking "the road less traveled."  (And . . . that has made all the difference!)

Di?  We'll always have . . . Keukenhof!

 

Start to Finish

Yesterday was a perfect day. . . all the way through.

Sunshine.

Digging.

My garden coming to life.

Puppy love.

Playing with my camera.

A new tree.

Mother's Day Ferns.

Time with my Mom.

And the Red Wings even won!

A perfect Mother's Day.  Start to finish!