When It Snows Before The Leaves Fall

When it snows before the leaves fall, you can get some really awesome photos.
Back on November 12th it was almost magical outside. There were all kinds of leaves in different stages of color transformation all over on top of the new snow. I couldn't stop taking pictures. This is the first one that I am posting in this series. I did not arrange/rearrange the leaves. This is exactly how Mother Nature put them there. I did an edit by adding some lace texture and some pastel colors.

"Snow Kissed"

Fall is Here, I think...

I can't believe I haven't posted a new post since April 25th. That one was titled "Spring is Here, I think..."  well Spring and Summer have come and gone and Fall is Here, I think....the past weekend was hot, (in the 80's) & humid. Today it is back in the 50's and 60's, more like true fall weather. The leaves are turning pretty colors and it is cool and brisk at night. The change of the seasons reminds us that everything is in a constant state of flux, nothing is permanent. Life is a constant cycle of birth, death and rebirth....
Below is a picture of a stylized rendering of a fallen leaf I photographed back on July 17th. It looked a little like an autumn leaf, but not quite. I am fascinated with falling leaves, all the colors, shapes and sizes. I am planning to transfer this image to a piece of polymer clay, metal or wood.

Spring is here, I think...

Spring is here, I think.....

Well at least it should be, according to the calendar. Well actually the temperatures are slowly rising, and on some days are even too high, then it goes back down and snows and melts, and if it is above 32 degrees F. it is raining.  Well there is that old adage, April showers bring May flowers, we shall see. There are sprouts and shoots coming up and buds are on the trees and the forsythia, crocuses and daffodils are blooming too. The birdies are chirping up a storm and start their 'concert' at around 3:45 a.m. And for final proof, I took this photo of some new buds and sprouts on an unidentified shrub, with beautiful, almost sunset backlighting.  So this is helping to convince me that Spring is here. It is I guess, as much as it could be...

Today...

Winter is still trying to keep Spring from Happening.....but Spring will eventually win out....Hope!

Happy New Year!

A New Year is upon us...

Oh, those new year's resolutions. Why do we resolve to do one or more things at the beginning of a new year?  Perhaps we feel that this will be the year that we finally break an unhealthy habit like smoking or drinking too much alcohol.  Maybe we'll finally shed those extra pounds or get organized, go back to school, start that hobby we've been thinking about, or maybe just stop being too busy.  Maybe we should spend more time with our family and friends, or go on that dream vacation that we've talked about for years.  

So why do we have this ritual at the beginning of each new year?  Maybe the answer is hope.  Hope is something that can motivate and help us to move forward.  It gives us a chance to start over and review what we have learned from past mistakes.  Maybe this will be the year that we succeed.

The fallen leaf in my photo, will soon be composted back into the earth to become nutrients for new life.  It is a symbol of the end of a purpose fulfilled and it knows that it will become nourishment for those new sprouts waiting to spring forth when the temperatures start rising and the snow melts.  Mother Nature knows instinctively that life will begin anew and every year is another cycle completed and a new beginning.  Maybe that is what gives us hope, and enables us to try again.  After all, if we lose hope, most of us would just give up.  Trying and falling short is part of the human condition.  We have to take what we have learned and do things different the next time.  Not trying for fear of failing is the biggest mistake of all.  Like a line in a well known song:  ".....we go round and round and round in the circle game".  Right now as I am writing this, I've just figured out why we make New Year's Resolutions! It is all in the Grand Scheme of life.

Good luck on your journey through another year and yet another opportunity to accomplish whatever it is that your heart desires! And don't forget to be mindful and enjoy the journey along the way. Many times, it is more important than the 'reward' at the end!