Sunset

 

Wow.  This beautiful winter scene gripped me as I stood outside in the frigid temperatures and watched the big orange ball dip below the tree line.  The coral hue on the horizon, the stillness and the sharp contrasts on the landscape were stunning.  For a few moments I forgot about the cold and all the other noise in my head.  A gift from nature that I'm glad I noticed.

“Life does not come with instructions on how to live, but it does come with trees, sunsets, smiles and laughter, so enjoy your day.”

                                                                                                          --Debbie Shapiro

Sigue

 

There is a song written in Spanish that contains the phrase "No pare.  Sigue, sigue."  It simply means don't stop.  Keep going.  

This time of the year, with the cold firmly entrenched and a snowpack over a foot deep, the above quote along with that short phrase resonate with me.  They are simple truths for anyone, anytime; however, given the headlines of this past year, these words are food for my soul.  In addition, I loved this beautiful photo of the exposed winter woods but found that I got lost in all the white and harsh constrasts; therefore, I made it more manageable by just highlighting a small portion and softening the rest.  Hmmm...sounds like a metaphor for my daily life -- take it in small portions (maybe just a moment at a time) and simplify as much as possible, including all the unnecessary stuff.

Between the Pines

 

This piece I drew while taking a virtual art class that focused on creating potential pages in an adult coloring book.  For the assignment the instructor provided an image of a mountainous landscape that the students were to use as inspiration.  So, I got busy.  In the original photo there was a cabin in the center with a winding road passing through the scene and connecting to the dwelling.  As you look, notice a portion of the passageway that I retained along with the quote that I strung across the first open expanse.  For me, in this creation the words seemed meaningful as my eyes explored the design and moved effortlessly with the lines and shapes.  Ah....

"When you do things from your soul, you feel a river moving in you, a joy."

                                                                                                                         --Rumi

Indoor Air Purifiers

“A beautiful plant is like having a friend around the house.” 

                                                                                                        — Beth Ditto

Although we have no children nor pets, our home is full of plants.  I love them.  They require very little care but are generous with their benefits, including cleaning the air, adding extra oxygen and humidity (which is especially helpful in the dry winter months), and reducing dust and mold.  In addition, there are studies that have found caring for and being in the presence of plants can also help lower anxiety, improve attention, decrease the severity of depression, recover more quickly from a medical procedure and tolerate pain better while needing fewer medications.  Wow!

And, for me, I have even more fun talking to them (sometimes apologizing for not watering in a timely fashion) and giving them names.  Moreover, it's also fun to imagine how our houseplants would talk about the humans with whom they reside....seems like that could be material for a comic strip. 

The particular plants in these photos are low-maintenance snake plants.  They love a little water and some light but don't require much else.

“Plants give us oxygen for the lungs and for the soul.” 

                                                — Terri Guillemets

Mixing It Up

Currently I'm taking a virtual art class that has participants draw images that could be in an adult coloring book.  Initially I thought that topic might be too involved and/or too confining for my tastes; however, it's actually been just great.  Most of the time I create a piece that focuses on the assigned theme and then embellish it with tangles...ah...that's what I love -- repetitive strokes and soothing lines that let my pen and mind wander and relax.  For this assignment the instructor asked us to consider Japanese woodblock prints in creating our own landscapes that moved the eye using lines, cropping and unusual viewpoints.  Below is simply an extension of the original that includes a little color and gives the brain a change of pace.

Got Patience?

 

Right about now my supply of patience seems to teeter between almost none and a little bit.  Can you relate?  Anyway, given the current big topics making headlines on any news program along with winter's chill, snow, ice and often cloudy skies, we all understand how our amount of patience may feel depleted.  And so, as the quote suggests, I can start by having patience with my thoughts and find the stillness within me that is as calm and beautiful as the winter woods, the snow-covered river, and the blue sky with wispy-white clouds.   It's back to the basics:  inhale....exhale.

Winter on the Water

During February in Iowa things on the river look a lot different than during warmer-weather months.  And, of course, my preference is for 80-something degree days, sunshine and blue skies.  However, regardless of the temperature and outdoor conditions, just being on or in or near the water is a gift.  So, I dress for the elements and make my way...with camera in my pocket so I can photograph all the cold-weather enthusiasts who traverse the river on a snowmobile or spend time ice fishing. 

Clearly, those activities are obvious in these two photos but did you also notice the deer?  It's in the first photo walking in the snow between the two retaining walls.  See it?  Being out in the winter woods allows me to see so much wildlife, including songbirds, bald eagles and other raptors, rabbits, squirrels, deer and all sorts of animal tracks.  Plus, during the cold weather in a pandemic, when my human interactions are more limited, I look forward to seeing all the forest friends, including my two favorite squirrels whom I've named Oreo and Cream Puff. 

"Go to the winter woods:  listen there, look, watch, and 'the dead months' will give you a subtler secret than any you have yet found in the forest."

                                                                                              --William Sharp

Oh, Deer!

 

This party of four, consisting of mom and her triplets, is often seen in our area near the river.  Although I don't care for them munching on trees and shrubs nor darting onto roadways, I understand how we share the space and there's room to coexist.  Obviously, in order for me to capture these photos I had to get pretty close to the animals....and I did so by remaining calm, quiet and just letting them do their thing.  Seems like that's a metaphor for life that mimics the widely-known British poster that states "Keep calm and carry on."