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’

Let the Magic Commence

Tonight I waited for a while to see what would show up even though I had already taken my shot for today.  I’m glad that I waited.  My favorite time of day is when the sun starts to sink in the sky, creating a magical dreamscape with the clouds.  The sun sets; the moon rises.  And the palm tree got a haircut!  Well, that’s not so romantic but I know she doesn’t feel so shaggy and I imagine she can feel more of the breeze now.

Goodnight, all you beautiful people.  Namaste’

 

Smell the Rain; Feel the Wind

Today was the day!  The first time it rained here in I don’t know how long.  Seems like forever.  I watched the clouds form this morning as I set out to visit my Mom.  By the time we had lunch, visited for a while and I was about to leave, I thought I saw lightning.  Sure did!  The clouds had come in full force, the wind was blowing, the thunder was rolling and I could smell the rain the minute I walked outside.  Am I excited???? Yes!  I love the summer rains here in the desert.  So my pictures for the day are (1) our patio just as the rain started in and (2) the wall of water forming to the west from our house.  I hate those power lines in a picture but they keep the lights on and the internet connected 🙂

(Thanks, Kathryn, for sending the rain all the way over from England). LOL. I didn’t have to do that rain dance after all.  Happy dance instead.  Namaste’

 

 

Woody’s Hotel From a Different Perspective

Hi Everyone!

Hope you all are having a great day and if it’s evening where you are, have a pleasant evening.  I just felt like saying that.  Besides Word Press, some of my readers come from Facebook and Twitter and I just want to say that I’m grateful for all of you.

Just had to have some fun shooting Woody’s Hotel again in the morning light.  There are quite a few woodpeckers who have made this sentinel of the desert their home and not one of them is paying any rent.  Squatters!  Oh, well, that mighty saguaro was here long before me and Darryl so I guess we’ll let her have her say in the matter.  It’s her body, after all.  And in my opinion, she’s very generous.  Nature is like that.  If we but look for an instant we can see and feel her generosity and she gives FREE LESSONS to us just by observing her.  Namaste’

 

Purple Mountain Majesty

Coming in from walking the dogs, I saw the mountains and realized that a scene similar to this is where the phrase “purple mountain majesty” probably came from.  Of course, one of our desert cotton tails posed for me in the foreground.  (One that Foxy and Daisy would like to chase down, I’m sure). Click to enlarge. Namaste’

Filled With Glory

LOOK AT EVERYTHING AS IF YOU WERE SEEING IT FOR THE FIRST OR LAST TIME. THEN YOUR TIME ON EARTH WILL BE FILLED WITH GLORY~ Betty Smith

What would change in your life if you looked at things as if seeing them for the very first time?  Or what if you looked at them as if it were the last time?  We never know what’s going to happen in the next minute, let alone tomorrow.  Lately I’ve been more aware of my surroundings, the things I see, and wondering why I hadn’t noticed certain things before.  Have they been there all the time and I just didn’t notice?  Or is our planet changing and I’m just noticing THAT now?  I feel like a kid in a candy store.  Really!

Today’s photo was taken as I was heading out this morning.  The cloud caught my eye because it was so intriguing as I faced it head on, driving down the road and it was the only one I could see.  I found myself thinking, “Either pull over and take the picture or keep your eyes on the road.”  As soon as I got to a place I could pull over, this is what I got.  Namaste’

About Tomorrow …

 Yeah we all shine on, like the moon, and the stars, and the sun.~ John Lennon

Tomorrow is World Liberation Day and the super moon of 2012.  So what exactly is World Liberation Day?  Millions of people around the world will gather and visualize the liberation of our planet and her inhabitants … healed ecosystems, abundance, and freedom from every kind of oppression for all of humanity.  I plan to be outside tomorrow night and do the same thing.  Something else that I’m going to visualize is how I would like my own life to be from this point on.  The key to this whole visualization thing for me is to not only see it in my mind, but to feel the feelings associated with it.

I think it’s pretty cool that there will be a lot of us watching the super moon tomorrow night at the same time around the world.  How’s that for a connection?  Might be the perfect time to take a few deep breaths and just BE. The moon will officially turn full on Saturday, May 5, at 11:35 p.m. EDT. And only 25 minutes later the moon will also arrive at perigee, its closest approach to Earth — a distance of 221,802 miles (356,955 kilometers) away.  The effect of this coincidence is a stunning skywatching sight called the “super moon.”

In fact, this month’s perigee is the closest of any perigee in 2012 (they vary by about 3 percent, because the moon’s orbit is not perfectly circular). The result will be a 16 percent brighter-than-average full moon accompanied by unusually high and low tides this weekend and into the new week.  In contrast, later this year, on Nov. 28, the full moon will closely coincide with apogee, the moon’s farthest point from Earth. [Amazing Supermoon Photos from 2011]  I think I’ll be setting up my tripod early tomorrow night to see what kind of an image I can get as it comes up over the Catalina mountains.

As for today’s photo, if I could post one of me doing the happy dance, I would, but instead you’re getting this box of tissues.  Why?  Because my imagination took a mini-vacation to the moon, and this is what came to me when I realized that I no longer have to tote this box around to catch my runny nose.  All gone.  Color me happy!   Namaste’

The Heart on Fire Award

I have been terribly behind on the awards that my blogger friends have kindly bestowed upon me, so today is the day I begin to catch up.

Thanks to Jeremy for the Heart on Fire Award.  Please visit Jeremy’s blog if you haven’t already.  His photos and descriptions are uniquely inspiring and creative.  To keep this award, I have to share seven facts about myself:

1. Reading and writing have both been my life-long passions, whether it’s a hard-bound book, a paper-back, reading/writing an article or blog, or reading a book on my Kindle Fire. Thanks to my WS (wonderful spouse) for that beautiful Christmas present.
2. I worked in the staffing industry for 25 years – started out by being a temp.
3. I co-authored a book with my WS about how to find a job using staffing services.
4. I’m a huge fan of Neale Donald Walsh – having read every single Conversations with God book in his series.
5. I am proud to be “owned” by two wonderful mutts, Foxy and Daisy.
6. Being a believer that humans simply can’t be the only forms of intelligent life in our universe, I’m a student of anything that points to the truth of that.
7. Taking pictures has always been a thrill for me and this is the time in my life that it has evolved into a passion.
8. My uncle taught me the most about taking good photographs with my very first SLR camera, a Pentax K1000.  It was a completely manual film camera which I took on a trip with him, my mom and my kids back in the 70’s.  At one point we were so engrossed in photographing the indoor pool at Hearst Castle that the tour bus almost left without us 🙂  And he held onto my legs while I leaned over a cliff at Big Sur to get just the right shot of the pounding surf at sunset.

OK, you got an extra tidbit thrown in for good measure.  And now I’d like to recommend some blogs for this award (in no particular order).  Please take a look yourself.  They’re pretty cool.  Note to nominees:  don’t feel bad if you don’t have the time to go through the procedure for this award.  Just know that I think highly of your blogs.

• in my back pocket
• nick exposed
• a window into the woods
• laviebohemeart
• gaia 365
• ramblings
• photographyofnia

Today’s photo is of my favorite mesquite tree, backlit by the sun, illuminating part of the Tortolita Mountains.  Click to enlarge. Namaste’

Bus Stop

Today’s photos came from a bus stop that I passed and had never really noticed before.  It was so interesting once I got closer and really looked at it.  It tells the story of our summer monsoon season, which normally begins in early July.  We get afternoon thunderstorms that sometimes last well into the evening.  Lots of crazy lightning and thunder and torrential rains at times.  By the time the season rolls around, we’re all so excited because June is normally 100 degrees or above every day and we’re praying for rain.  (Note to Self:  Go somewhere cool this summer).

Click images to enlarge.  Namaste’

The blue mosaic tiles show the water flow:

The close-up here is of the “windows” showing the old adobe homes backed up against the mountains:

This one depicts the lightning strikes, the rain, and the stars, including a falling star on the right:

Bloomin’ Ocotillo & Here Comes the Heat!

On our way over to see my stepdad in the hospital, I told my husband that I’d really like to get a picture of the ocotillos that are blooming so beautifully right now.  I’ve seen them all over town but mostly in the medians.  Well, with no place to park, I can’t just jump out of the car to get a photo.  But right before we got to the hospital, there they were.  In plain sight and right off of a parking lot so I could be safe getting the pictures.  This was definitely a case of the Universe granting my wish.

Today was just a beautiful day weather-wise.  That’s good because the heat is definitely on its way … 90’s by the end of this coming week.  Ugh!  Usually we don’t see the 90’s until May.  Everything seems to be speeding up.

This first picture is how the whole plant looks … long, thin branches that develop green leaves and then the orange blooms at the top.  Some of these grow to about 20 feet tall.

The photo below shows the actual bloom close up.  Click to enlarge the photos.  Namaste’