Seuss On Books

“Fill your house with stacks of books, in all the crannies and all the nooks.” ~Dr. Seuss

I, for one, take Dr. Seuss seriously! This is a small sampling of the wide variety of books, new to well-worn, that fill our home; stacked up in random piles here and there, next to beds, on tables, cabinets, and of course, shelves. 🙂

For more Dr. Seuss fun visit my February 22, 2015 post which includes a wonderful video rendition for grown-ups of Oh, The Places You’ll Go filmed at the  Burning Man Festival in the Black Rock Dessert of Northern Nevada.

The quote above is the second of three which I’ll be posting in response to the Three Quotes Challenge that Gabriele, who authors  Flights of Fancy, invited me to participate in. You can find the first quote here.

This post is also my response to Jennifer Nichole Wells’s One Word Photo Challenge: Book.

Photography 101: Triumph

Friday was day twenty, of Photography 101. The theme, Triumph.

“Today, let’s bump up the contrast for a bold take on triumph… Tip: Triumph usually denotes drama of some sort, no matter whether it’s big or small. Playing with contrast is a great way to enhance your photos for a more dramatic effect.”

“The first fall of snow is not only an event, it is a magical event. You go to bed in one kind of a world and wake up in another quite different, and if this is not enchantment then where is it to be found?”  ~J. B. Priestley

I took this photo on Wednesday after the first snowfall of this year. It came immediately to mind for Friday’s theme. I remembered being blinded by a blanket of white with a skeleton of dark branches and hills protruding from it while framing my shots. Nature was triumphant in her presentation of contrast!

This was the last theme for Photography 101. I have enjoyed it immensely and feel I have grown as, I hesitate to say it, a photographer. The commitment to take and edit photos every day created the paradigm of practice, and the daily prompts, tips and comments from fellow participants and presenters were all helpful.

I’m hoping to post a  gallery of images in the next day or two as a synopsis of my participation in Photography 101.  At some point, I would also like to revisit and complete the optional weekend assignments which I was unable to do during the event.

Sending out a big thank you to all involved and looking forward to seeing everyone’s future photos!

Blessings,
Terry

Weekly Photo Challenge: Achievement

Balance, a goal to be achieved, a state to dwell in.

In my yard, at the beach, and on hikes, I make these stacks of stones. The creation of each one a meditation on balance, a practice of centering mind and sprit. This one currently sits on my back porch.

“Happiness is not a matter of intensity but of balance and order and rhythm and harmony.”  ~Thomas Merton

My response to the Weekly Photo Challenge: Achievement.

One Word Photo Challenge: Mahogany

“If animals could speak, the dog would be a blundering outspoken fellow; but the cat would have the rare grace of never saying a word too much.”
~ Mark Twain

Thank you Jennifer for the One Word Photo Challenge: Mahogany.

Photography101: Warmth

Warmth is the theme for day nine of Photography 101.

“Today, capture an image of warmth, ideally using the sun as your source.”

The weather cooperated this morning and I was able to photograph my backyard Buddha, in the dappled sunshine, tucked-in warm and leafy.

I played with cropping the image. I think I like the close-up, the best. I wish I had taken the time this morning to actually frame the shot these three ways. Perhaps I will tomorrow, if the predicted snow holds off, and the sun shines bright.

“Waking up this morning, I smile,
Twenty four brand new hours are before me.
I vow to live fully in each moment
and to look at all beings with eyes of compassion.” ~Thich Nhat Hanh

Each morning we are born again. What we do today is what matters most.” ~Buddha

As you walk and eat and travel, be where you are. Otherwise you will miss most of your life.” ~Buddha

Happy Halloween!

I had some fun carving these pumpkins last night. Tonight I’ll put them out on the front porch, all aglow and halloweeny, and hope for some trick-or-treaters. To pass the time while I wait, I’ll indulge in my yearly Halloween ritual since childhood, watching It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown! 🙂

 

From ghoulies and ghosties
And long-leggedy beasties
And things that go bump in the night,
Good Lord, deliver us!
~Scottish Prayer

May Jack-o-lanterns burning bright
Of soft and golden hue
Pierce through the future’s veil and show
What fate now holds for you.
~Author Unknown

When black cats prowl and pumpkins gleam,
May luck be yours on Halloween.
~Author Unknown

Happy Halloween!
~Terry

Refraction

This is my response to the WordPress weekly photo challenge: Refraction. I took these photos in 2011 while visiting with friends in St. John, US Virgin Islands.

I was very happy to capture that little bit of a mirage along with the slight alpha shape of the sun as the light was bent through the atmosphere. Some of the very center of the sun was blown out. I cloned-in the surrounding color, but I’m not sure if I’m happy with that. Constructive feedback in the comments below would be helpful!

I also came across this quote by J.R.R. Tolkien from Tree and Leaf.

“Man, Sub-creator, the refracted light through whom is splintered from a single White to many hues, and endlessly combined in living shapes that move from mind to mind.”

It reminds me that we are all individual expressions of the One Universal Light with the power and responsibility of sub/co-creators. We can help or hurt. Hinder or facilitate. Create or destroy. The choice and the struggle is ours from moment to moment, circumstance to circumstance. Are we an asset or a detriment to creation and our fellow co-creators?

Wishing you a wonderful rest-of-the-week.

Blessings 🙂

Dreamy

Never fear shadows. They simply mean there’s a light shining somewhere nearby. ~Ruth E. Renkel

This post is  my response to the photo challenge Dreamy. It’s also my belated response to the Blogging 101 assignment Try a New Posting Style. I decided to pair one of my photos with a quote. This isn’t stretching myself much, but it’s all I could muster these past several days to catch up a bit.

I wish I could have gotten out this weekend to photograph the fall foliage, but I was occupied working in our little gallery. It was quite busy because of a fall festival which ran Saturday, Sunday and the holiday Monday. It might have also been nice to stroll around town and photograph the crowd.  The festival-goers and leaf-peepers were out, but sadly I was not.  With my eyes wandering out the window and my mind drifting to fall color and this weeks photo challenge, I remembered this dance of light and shadow that I captured a couple of years ago. It was a fantastically bright day, rich with contrast. Standing in the shadows of the forest looking into the light, the landscape seemed a bit surreal and dreamy.

… And since this is the second time I have responded to the weekly photo challenge, I think I’ll make it a habit thereby completing another Blogging 101 assignment, Create a New Regular Feature. 🙂

I hope you all have a wonderful week!