Cactus Ranch

My throw-back Thursday image is one that I really love. It makes me a little homesick for the desert and the Catalina Mountains I saw every day. I think I took them for granted. Sorry!

When I first got my Nikon camera, I played a lot with settings and this image is one that came out pretty good, I think. The sun was starting to set on the mountains and peering through the storm clouds that were gathering for a summer rain that evening.

We called this place the cactus ranch because it was eight acres of cactus; all shapes, sizes and varieties. But even cactus has it’s own beauty.

Be good to yourself and each other. Namaste’

Pennies from Heaven

On my recent visit to Tucson, something happened that proves the Universe obliges us and that what we focus on expands.

My Mom lives in a residential care home and hates the food there so every day when I went to see her, I would stop at the grocery store to bring her some goodies.  She loves sweets and even though I know they’re not good for her, I brought them anyway. She’ll be 92 next month and I believe that she deserves to have anything that makes her happy.

One night while reading from Pam Grout’s book, E-Cubed, I decided to try one of the experiments. It’s called Pennies from Heaven and it goes like this: in the next 72 hours be aware of Pennies from Heaven. Most people discount pennies as seemingly worthless, but they represent abundance in its many forms.  So I set my intention to consciously put them on my radar.  The next day my Mom asked me bring her a Coke, among other things, from the store. When I reached into the cold case to grab the Coke, there was a penny just laying there.  I picked it up and let out a big “woo hoo!”  People stared but I didn’t care.  There was a Penny from Heaven!  Proof that the Universe obliged my intention.

After I had swiped my credit card to pay for the groceries, the clerk asked if I had a member card.  I said no, so he told me I could use his to get the discounts on the items I purchased.  OK, cool, I thought.  What happened next blew me away.  He gave me $10.20 back in cash. What???  I thanked him and put it in my pocket, still baffled by what had just happened.

Out in the parking lot I noticed there was a woman standing in front of my rental car smoking a cigarette. A homeless man walked up to her and asked if she had a cigarette he could have.  She told him she didn’t have one to spare.  So he asked her if she could spare some change because he was hungry.  She told him she couldn’t help him. Without even thinking, I blurted out “I can.”  I pulled out the $10 bill I had been given and gave it to him.  He looked me square in the eye and said, “God blesses you.”

I will never forget him or the events that took place in the space of just a few minutes … serendipity.  God put me in the right place at the right time.  A blessing for that man and me.  It wasn’t my job to know what he was going to do with the money.  But it was my job to share a blessing.  Both of us felt God’s grace.

I got in the car and looked skyward to say my thank you’s and saw the palm trees.  I love palm trees so I took this photo, knowing that every time I see a palm tree, I am grateful for my Pennies from Heaven experience.

But it didn’t stop there.  When I got back home from Tucson, I had coffee with my neighbor and was relating all of this to her.  As we were talking, I set my coffee cup down on the table, and there was a penny.  Wow!  Neither of us had seen it there when we first sat down. We were both speechless and just burst out laughing at the wonder of it all. And then when I got back to my house, as soon as I put down my purse and keys, the music station hubby and I usually listen to played … you guessed it  … Pennies from Heaven.  I kid you not.  Life is full of magic.  Go find it.  Namaste’

Regina (Reggie) Arnold is a “flunked retirement” entrepreneur, co-author of The Art & Science of Recruiting, an award-winning photographic artist, and photo blogger.

 

I Didn’t Really Want to See That

While at the Reid Park Zoo in Tucson, I was trying to catch a good shot of the flamingos but ….

No, I don’t need a model release for this shot … hahaha! Namaste’

Regina (Reggie) Arnold is a “flunked retirement” entrepreneur, co-author of The Art & Science of Recruiting, an award-winning photographic artist, and photo blogger.

My Scenery

Most people think of southern Arizona as a dry desert with hardly any green at all.  But that’s if you haven’t been here.  There are a lot of things that make it green in places.  Like the monsoon rains that we have in the summer.  They’re now over, but the plants and trees are still loving the effects of our rain, as you can see in the foreground of this image.

I took this shot from the passenger side of the car as hubby was speeding down the interstate.  I like it because it has the Santa Rita mountains in the background, the cloudy sky and the foreground of green.  Added a slight watercolor effect to give it a dreamy look.

No, I can’t just sit idly by in the car, especially when I have my camera, so here’s an image that I took as we came upon this semi-truck hauling coffee to those Pilot travel centers.  I love coffee, so of course I had to share this image with all of you.  But I have to say, this is the first time ever in my life that I’ve seen a coffee truck rolling down the freeway.  Namaste’

San Augustin Presidio

I mentioned in a previous post that I would publish some of the images I got from the San Augustin Presidio so here they are.  I really like the contrast in the first image of then and now.  A new parking structure sits in the background of the old presidio.  The image below that is a collage of several that I took that day.  As usual, click to enlarge.  Namaste’

Balancing Act

This image was taken at the same place where I took Eyes of the Future. Whoever balanced these stones must have had some help. ‘Ya think?  Each stone is at least one foot high, some higher.  Wish I had been there when this was done. Namaste’

The Eyes of the Future

I’ve been trying to get a shot of this stone statue for quite a while but each time I want to stop, there’s usually a lot of cars behind me.  (Busy road).  No place to pull off.

So yesterday, I set out from home with the intention of getting a shot.  I specifically put it out to the universe that there would be no cars behind me and I would be able to pull over.  Lo and behold!  No cars, and I even spied a driveway that I never noticed before.  Pulling in was a breeze and no worries about getting hit from behind.

I added a slight illustration effect so that the writing under the wings would be visible.  Click on the image to enlarge but if you can’t for some reason, it says: “The eyes of the future are looking back at us. To protect what is wild is to protect what is gentle.”

The palm tree shot was taken right across the street in stark contrast to the desert scene.  Namaste’

A Rare Sight

It’s a rare sight around here to be able to photograph the sun.  There was just enough cloud cover last night to let it shine through without burning my eyes (I hope).  Today is all about indoor activities, like cleaning out some files, because we’re supposed to hit 113 or higher today.

I heard that Las Vegas, where it will be even hotter than us, has set up temporary cooling stations around the city and in Henderson.  Bravo for you guys!  It might save some folks from heat stroke, especially the homeless.  Stay cool … namaste’

Can You See Me If I Can’t See You?

It’s that time of year in the Old Pueblo when the lizards come a-callin’ and this one tried to hide from me but I got the shot anyway.  Daisy usually patrols the perimeter and somehow missed this one (she was probably napping), or she would have chased it down.  He’s hanging on the wall with both of his left legs.  A bit of an acrobat if you ask me 🙂  I wish I could have got his head in the image but I had the feeling if I moved closer, he’d be out of there.

Hope your Monday is a good one.  Namaste’

Weekly Photo Challenge: The World Through Your Eyes

So much going on today; so many feelings and emotions.  Maybe it’s the Summer Solstice, but let’s just take a moment to send light and love from our hearts to the hearts of all other beings on our beloved planet.  That’s it – close your eyes and beam love out for just 10 seconds.  Thanks!

The weekly photo challenge is pretty appropriate for me today.  My little friend that was here last weekend has come back.  It seems to like to hang out on our pool fence.  How it can hang there I just don’t know, but I watched and it kept landing there again and again.  So of course I asked it to stay long enough for me to get another photo.  I’ve decided to name this little fella “Tude.”  Short for gratitude. Maybe it’s a female.  How would I know?  But for my purposes, it’s name is Tude.  Click the photo to see Tude larger.

So the world through my eyes today includes Tude.  Did I tell you that last weekend I asked for rain and got it?  And then it stopped so I went outside again and said, “oh no, this isn’t enough.  I want more.  I love the smell of it and my plants all need nature’s water.”  The universe obliged and it started pouring.  Strange but true.  Ask and ye shall receive.

My mantra these days is “wouldn’t it be nice if … (fill in the blank)?  Namaste’