be still...sunrise

i am grateful to be doing this class with kim klassen, be still 52...

i finally committed to going to the sunrise and even though i was late, i got there.

it is not a still life, but the two sandpipers were still.  and alive. 

close enough for me :)

rule of thirds, room to breathe, a moment of mindfulness to myself.

mission accomplished.

and, i got back on track with my picture ride. 

this day is starting off right :)

simplify . .

for a retired girl, i have been way busier than i thought i'd be, this 2 0 1 4

but it has been a productive time, so i am going to cling to the glass-half-full mindset.

the condo is on the market, 

all the cats have settled in to the cape house, 

i am making huge progress on the preparations for the HyArt Artist Shanties

 (http://hyartsdistrict.com/visual-arts/art-shanties )

that i'm doing in june, 

and the gardens in both houses have been worked on (a little bit, at least).

i keep taking pictures, posting on facebook and for the word-of-the-day photo hunt challenge.  

but the blog, my flickr and housecleaning all keep falling off the to-do list.

i hope to S I M P L I F Y this summer.

until then, i added another to-do for my list - 

i started taking a class from Kim Klassen (http://www.kimklassencafe.com/) 

called Be Still and i am very excited about it.  

i know that the first few weeks will be hectic, but the class is for a full year so i will catch up.  

i am longing for the feeling of Be Still.  

and i know i will learn a lot of things, and be inspired. 

it is going to be exactly what i need...

 

meantime May/June will be a little bit crazy.  

i am multi-tasking.  

my head is muddled. 

but a word-of-the-day was CUP this week and i am going with the 

half-full glass mindset 

as i simplify.

so with no textures, no enhancements at all -

here is a simple half full cup.

which i totally love.

be still my heart :)

lost and found...

around 4 months ago, my blog access changed.  

i don't know why it happened but it made it almost impossible to post anything without a bazillion steps. being a lazy girl,  i got lost and drifted away.  however, i missed it alot. 

so i am decided to apply myself, figure out what happened - or at least how to live with it - and come back home...

it is good to be here.

 

i have been crazy busy.  we have the condo in CT on the market, finally.   that was all-consuming and we crossed the finish line on the day before Easter.  oddly enough, last year, on the day before Easter, I retired.  big milestones, back to back :)  

we loved this condo, it was the first place we ever bought and it is hard to move on.  it is also the first place we ever sold and we never knew how much work went into putting something on the market.  wow.

we have moved ten of the eleven cats.  one crazy hold-out - tony baloney - is avoiding capture.  he is missing his cat family and we're all sad over the separation of the gang.  however, a new cat-trap is on the way and we hope to join all the rave reviews and success stories online in about a week.   

get in the cage, tony-the-tiger.   please.  we are begging ya....

it has been a cold spring, both at cape cod and connecticut.  

the trees are starting to flower though and it is a beautiful thing to see.  

 

 

as much as i thought this past winter was just beautiful,

it is so good that spring is here.

 

"Breathless, we flung us on a windy hill, Laughed in the sun, and kissed the lovely grass."
~Rupert Brooke

the lightness of being...

 i am leaving winter behind.

right now.

i need light and color and softness and warmth...

it's not spring yet

but it helps to think ahead...

february love

i've been gone a month.

wow. 

i went on vacation for 10 days to florida.

when i was there, i took over 2000 pictures. 

i waited until i came home to edit them.  

but when i got home, i also wanted to shoot each day. 

this winter has been cold and snowy but one of the most beautiful i can ever remember...

so as a result, i was buried under thousands more images. 

it's been a wonderful time, but i am overwhelmed with it all.  in a good way...

here is a few of the moments i love from my lovely month of February...

snowy owl on cape cod

snow storm, west yarmouth

a touch of spring while it snows outside...

a young bald eagle at the connecticut river

i can see her soul there in her eyes...do you see it too??

Mallory Square sunset...

the sign says no diving...it doesn't say anything about a running jump :)

worn and weathered...

island colors ...

walking the streets of key west...

more key west streets

mellow yellow...

on the beach!  EGRET.   ON. THE. BEACH.  i love this place...

making hats, seaside...

blue eyed pelican

street entertainer...i kept giving him money.  he juggled fire.  on his face.  and took his shirt off.  this guy was amazing  :)

pink beauty!

heart to heart...

i love photography. 

not only was i there, seeing a snowy owl,

a eagle child, an egret on the beach, a pair of flamingos,

i am reliving it as i go through my pictures. 

my ability to appreciate a moment increases dramatically when i snap a photo,

and then again when i edit an image and see it come to life.

and when i share it, or just look at it by myself,

i feel that thrill again and again....

i am living a good life, a very good life indeed :)

more images from the wonderful month of february...