early morning

a slow slow morning

the sun barley awake

prayers at a farm table

i adore the morning

so still

so filled with promise

Good morning, Girls!

It's what I say every morning when I let my fifteen hens out of their coop....good morning, Girls! They greet me with soft chicken clucks and immediately start pecking at the cracked corn I've thrown on the ground for them. They go about their business of looking for yummy things to eat....bugs, worms, grass, flowers, the occasional larger critters....mice, snakes....yes, I said mice and snakes! They do their job and I do my job as chicken herder.

I couldn't resist showing you a picture of Henrietta, my silver-laced Wyandotte. She posed so prettily.

gray dancer

the fog drapes the world in a silken gray mantle. holding it and comforting it as it awakens on a crisp november morning. as i walk through it, the crunch of acorn and oak leaves cushion my footsteps and i can smell the faint echo of smoke from the night before. the world is quiet, except for the fall of my feet and i can imagine being alone...then the traffic passes and reminds me of responsibilities and work beckons me. so, i climb into the jeep and go, again...watching the fog continue to dance...by itself. between the branches and along the grassblades.

silly fog.

good morning.

here is my breakfast table. littered with my coffee (cup is a marshalls buy) date book, watch, nadina berries, and a camera in the distance. not shown: raisin bread toast. hope you had a great start to your day!

Volunteer

Position: morning 8th grade field trip chaperone, back of the bus.

I spend good money, quite often,

to achieve the red tones the young lady on the right naturally possesses.

Destination: The Pittock Mansion, Portland, Oregon

Morning Walk

I used to walk alone, my girls in the UK or married and away.  I loved the sense of starting a new day, all alone.  I enjoyed that tiny piece of time when the world was mine, no one else was awake and everything belonged to me, just to me.  The air fresh and crisp, clean and cool was mine, the horizon shrouded in fog or twinkling with the glimmer of the rising sun, it was mine alone.  The carpets of flowers fallen over night from the trees, they were all mine.  Now we go together, it's ours the early morning, the chatter, whispered so we don't wake those that don't know the secret beauty of the early morning.  The secrets told, the hopes shared, the decisions mulled over, these are ours and the morning is still beautiful.  We go together in this life and in our morning walk.

Good Morning

iphone pic

It was a dark morning. Most would want to stay in bed or curled up reading a book - all misty and gray outdoors. A day some would complain about - the sun wasn't shining. True, it was a morning I would have liked to have stayed home and painted, but it's Wednesday and I had to go to work. Once up and out of the house I decided I liked the feel of this morning. Very much. The temperatures have been unseasonably warm here making it hard for me to get in the holiday spirit. But a day like today, cooler with a drizzly rain and a briskness to the air, I can dream up fresh snow replacing these leaves of red and gold. Silly me. But I'm one that likes a gray sky for Christmas instead of a bright blue sky (it makes it seem as if there's a slight possibility of snow in the air).

This morning I enjoy the autumn leaves, the few remaining on the trees and those scattered on the ground. The reds and golds against the wet dark wood remind me of fire light and coal. This morning, I enjoy the cool moistness in the air. I'll go home tonight and make my own firelight (I hear it will be in the 30s) and gather close to it's heat with the stack of catalogs that have been flooding the mailbox for weeks. After all, whatever the weather brings, Christmas is just around the bend.

our mornings

Our bed, this is where we begin our day- and when I say "we" this generally means the entire family, my husband and our 5 children. Inevitably, each of my children make their way here, some during the night, others closer to morning, slowly they trickle in to soak up the warmth, talk about silly things, giggle and beg for more time before having to begin their day. On the weekends, our bed looks like this all day, we don't even bother to make it as someone can be found in it at any given moment, readings, napping or watching television.

My Mornings

an early hour
before the sun is awake
a new red mug
some strong, hot coffee
my journal and pencil
a book on mindfulness and
gentle mothering
my ideas written down to reflect on later in the day
a quiet house

these are the things
that get my day off to a good start
these are the things i love most about mornings

My Early Morning!

"Early rising, not only gives us more life

in the same number of years, but adds,

likewise, to their number."

by

Charles Cotton

what a morning

By morning, I am usually as bleary eyed and ruffled as this robin.
When I stagger home from my nighttime job, the rest of the world is stretching and yawning and feeling fresh to greet the day.
I am craving supper and sleep.

I dream through the dawn.

A French Toast Kind of Morning

Eggs, bread, cinnamon, butter and syrup are

the makings of a homemade french toast morning!

Yum....what a morning!

"When you wake up in the morning, Pooh," asked Piglet, "what's the first thing you say to yourself?"
"What's for breakfast?" said Pooh,
"What do you say, Piglet?"
"I say, I wonder what's going to happen exciting today?" 

Pooh nodded thoughtfully.

"It's the same thing," he said."
~ A.A. Milne

@Heartfelt and Homemade

Good Morning Everyone!

Morning Walk

found

these on a

quiet me-time walk

to energise me for the day.

morning light

a quiet start
to another day
reflected in the window

Good morning!

I don't love mornings...only because it means getting out of my comfy, warm, soft bed.  Thankfully there is this thing called coffee...without it, I would see no reason to start the day...lol.  I wish I could say that I am a morning person, but I would be lying to you.  But I do love the essence of morning if that makes any sense...

What a Morning...Glory

waking with the day
soft golden light shines within
morning glories life

Oh, What A Beautiful Morning!"

Looking out my front door ---
not expecting the absolute delight at seeing
the day dawn so beautifully.
How can a day like this not please?

Looking Up

cloudy skies.

bare brown branches.

winter in the air.

Things are looking up, oh finally!

Lyrics from Paramore, Sophie's fave band of the moment.
Could have given up so easily
I was a few cheap shots away from the end of me
Taken for granted, almost everything that I would have died for
Just yesterday,
Just yesterday...

Apparently, the song is about how the band almost gave up, just before they made it to the big time. Message to frustrated teens everywhere- hang on in there, and keep looking up.

looking up...

Crisp air...brilliant blues...silhouettes...
The change of season definitely brings some extraordinary views...especially whilst looking up.

Another very rushed week...not sure where it went...but I managed to squeeze in this image. Fortunately here in Canada we are blessed with so much light throughout the Winter that even with the cold approaching the Sun still shines high in the sky, and manages to make every season stunning.

Looking Up

Every day may not be good, but there's something good in every day.
~Author Unknown



After a crazy, draining week, I saw this quote and it fit perfectly.
Every day is certainly not perfect
but undoubtedly, there is something good in every day -
something to be grateful for, something to consider a blessing.

So, tonight as I sneak this week's entry in at the last minute,
I am mindful of my blessings
and not giving thought to the negatives.
Tonight....I'm looking up!

As I look up at what surrounds me I am inspired at the perfection of the world. The few remaining leaves with their golden sheen, the plump raindrops that steadily nourish the earth and the winter winds that sweep clean the fallen debris, making way for renewal.

I am reminded of stories of the Hindu God Shiva...also known as the destroyer. Brahma is the creator, Vishnu the preserver and Shiva is the dissolving force in life which is necessary to create. Shiva is at hard at work in the world right now to bring new life next spring !

Looking Up...

While hiking if you always look down...you will miss all the good stuff...

Looking Up...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

...His head looks down one side of the building, his tail droops down the other side...If you don't look up you might miss it!

Looking Up

I love a shot where the light has been caught just right. Quite a challenge for me but I finally managed to get one of these shots of the light streaming through the trees. Really set the tone for the rest of the day. How could it not be wonderful?

Looking Up

I've been sick this week, but I thought this image, taken earlier this fall, was nearly perfect for the prompt this week. Hopefully I will be able to get out next week and shoot something new.

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!

Looking Up

This is how you know you're at the beach.

looking up

He took me on a hike outside his new home. We took it slow as we crossed a log over a creek, we stopped to listen to the gentle sounds of a cascading water fall, walked around a pond where the geese swam, met a pair on horses, then through a tall pine forest where there was a drastic hush, a quietness, unlike the crunch and rustle of leaves that accompanied our steps earlier. I felt small in the great big beech forest. We sat there beneath the trees dressed in yellow, green and gold, in the soft cushion of their leaves, and looked up - looked up in awe and appreciation of God's glorious creation.

looking up....

bird watching no doubt...or maybe squirrels. for 10 years old is quite spry and always "looking up".

looking up from inside a magic garden

Looking up from inside my mother's magical garden,
the sweet fennel stalks
look like dainty parasols,
or some sort of imaginary tree from a Dr. Suess storybook.

Can you smell the lovely, sweet licorice scent of the fennel?

Up In The Tree Tops

Looking up….

 This is what I see……..the old hickory nut tree in my backyard. I look down and I see the nuts, shells, hulls, leaves…etc…down where the squirrels leave a mess because they love eating them. I look up and see the beauty of it all!...The bright golden yellow leaves and the sun. As a child we have to look up and as an adult we forget to do this simple task and we tend to miss so much beauty above ourselves.

Today is the first day the sun has shined in several days due to the Hurricane Ida weather we had in south Alabama.

So I am proud to get out and LOOK UP!

@Heartfelt and Homemade

Looking Up

to see what is looking down

looking up...

looking up

over the mountains

at the break of dawn

the smell of burning wood

permeating the misty morning air

stop. pause for a moment. inhale.

then exhale.

Look Up @ Home

“I’m the house with the green roof, you can’t miss it”.….. I include this sentence in my set of directions for anyone coming to my house for the first time. Although my roof wasn't always meant to be this colour.

My roof was meant to be a Charcoal colour but in what I thought was a cruel twist of fait, I was denied this colour by rule of my estate and a fellow neighbour when building.

I chose to go back to the drawing board and redesign my colour scheme. Looking up at my roof now I’m happy with my choice. It stands out in a good way among the many black, grey and red roofs around me and green is far more energy efficient too.

Sometimes when things don’t go as planned it is because they weren’t meant to be. Everything will work out in the end if you have the right “Look Up” sort of attitude.

looking up

we stopped for dinner
a simple place
a place where we bowed our heads
when our food was placed in front of us
and others did too
i dig a place like that
; )

looking up

union square :: new york, new york

soon all the leaves will be gone. and the city will be gray for the winter. i find myself already dreaming of the spring.

up

when i'm down, i should look up.

not only is it a beautiful view, but that's where the answers are.

now if only i can remember that...

looking up

semi-famous diner.

overcast day.

random passerby.

iconic seaside symbol.

scrumptious pancakes.

Looking Up

I see nothing in space as promising as the view from a Ferris wheel. -E.B. White

The first Ferris wheel was invented in the 1893 for the Chicago World's Fair. The Fair's organizers were looking for something to would rival the Eiffel Tower, which was built for the Paris World's Fair of 1889. A bridge builder, George Ferris envisioned his wheel during a engineers' banquet and scribbled his idea on a napkin. His wheel held 36 wooden cars and could hold up to 60 riders. Each ride cost 50 cents and the 1893 World's Fair made $726,805.50 from rides.

Things are Looking Up

It's been a tough 7 months for us.  If you'd asked us back in May what we would be doing in November, our answers would be nothing like they are now.  Some things wipe you off your feet and there are times when it feels like you'll never get over it.  But then out of the blue something like survival kicks in.  We have a natural desire to love, to laugh, to be happy and to enjoy.  So in the midst of a crisis humour kicked in.  Adrian and the girls jumped in an empty pond in the park and went all Foo on me.  You must have drawn a Foo at some time in your life.  You know the guy with the big nose and eyes peaking over the wall.  Well here are the 3 Foos.  The park was full of people and the commando Foos had to be quick.  In the midst of everything, suddenly things were looking up!!!!!   We laughed and giggled and life goes on, and it all starts when we Look up.

strut your stuff autumn

it is a perfect time of year to look up, look down and look all around.

up to the cornflower blue skies and the crisp, colorful leaves strutting their stuff against the perfect backgrounds. down to the gorgeous litter of crunchy leaves, pinecones, acorns, all tossed before us like a lovely quilted carpet of color. all around us is color, texture, beauty of a different kind - sister autumn showing sister spring that she can be just as beautiful. soon, sister winter will walk the runway with another set of color, light...more for us to savor.

fall is my favorite time of year...

Looking Up

Looking up I found
That I could
Touch the stars
(even though they weren't real)


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Looking Up!

Sometimes when I look up,

There is no reason to look down!

No, not even one!

Looking up

Funny...I don't really think to look up much when I photograph.  So today I set out to capture something... I was almost ready to give up when I turned a corner to find these birds resting.  I was tempted to stand directly underneath...but then I thought the odds of getting creamed were pretty high...lol.

looking up

what a joy it is to look up

such a nice reprieve from looking ahead

or looking behind

I find that when I am looking upward

my dreams take flight

up against the sky

my favorite shot...maybe my signature one

prairie grass against the sky

nothing more brautiful in my opinion

no matter the season

looking down is safe, but looking up fills your heart...

it's easy to walk with your head down

~~

a fear of tripping is set aside

~

being recognized on a bad hair day is much less likely to happen

~

smiling at strangers

~when your heart wants to frown~

doesn't have to happen

and

you can even jump over cracks and protect your mother's back

~

but

looking down

takes away your ability to see

~

the shades of blue that the sky wears everyday

~

birds resting on tree limbs

~

sunshine that lovingly blinds

~

stars that twinkle

~

planes that bring our loved ones home

~

bats on their night flights

~

balloons lost by children

~

kites flying with grace

and

clouds

amazing and beautiful clouds

that draw pictures for you

like an etch-a-sketch

as long as you're willing to lay on your back in a field

and

look up

*

Light At The Top

This is an autumn sky in Maryland.
As the sun sets the clouds
begin to create layers.
The radiance pushes up, up, up
so we get the late day sun
in spectacular beauty.

Looking Up

 

Up, up and away!

This scurvy pirate  has been captured

and is about to be hanged by the yardarm.

But first, she must be tossed into the air

until she stops giggling with glee!

(Our granddaughter Lauren being tossed up by her daddy, our son Jaye.)

For those who wanted to see Pirate Lauren's face. She's about to walk Ye Olde 4 X 4 gangplank.