Favorite Photo Friday January 4, 2013

Quote of the Day:  Don't shoot what it looks like. Shoot what it feels like. David Alan Harvey, about photography


(This post is appearing a day late because I had problems uploading photos to my blog. It didn't give me the browse option to chose photos from my computer. Have any other Bloggers experienced this? I'm already paying the extra fee to use as many photos as I like, so why doesn't the browse option appear?)


Naturally, I couldn't chose just one photo from our Christmas celebrations. So, here are the highlights.

My mom and I worked together to make the Biker Chef a quilt out of his old Harley-Davidson t-shirts.

Gave my mom photos of her making things in the kitchen.

All six of the kids were home for Christmas this year. Mom and Dad were so happy!

 

I had a great time celebrating with my four sons, sister Joy, and The Biker Chef!

Bobby was home from college in Texas. So great to have him around and catch up!

Even Leo got in on the fun.

 

I wrote more about the quilt making and the holidays on Ride off the Page!

 

Go. Create. Inspire!

 

Journaling Prompt:  How were the holidays for you? Any surprises? Were you able to spend time with loved ones? I hope so.

A Walk through the Crow Wing State Park

Quote of the Day: There is nothing like walking to get the feel of a country. A fine landscape is like a piece of music; it must be taken at the right tempo. Even a bicycle goes too fast. ~Paul Scott Mowrer, The House of Europe

Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves. ~John Muir

Favorite Photos Friday, and a recurring theme - Walks

 

A couple of Friday's ago, the Biker Chef had the day off. After eating lunch at a local establishment, I said, "Is there some place we go for a walk?" So, he turned into the entrance of the Crow Wing State Park, bought a season pass (good until next October), and we took a little walk.

 

You are here.

 

The park offers many winding trails with information boards along the way. This is the location of an early settlement and town, a stop along the rivers, Crow Wing and Mississippi, for travelers and traders. The Chef brought back his best boy scout skills and gave me a guided tour.

 

 

An intersection of two water-ways.

The waters flow one way, and the wind blows another.

 

Isn't that how we feel sometimes? On the surface, we seem to be heading one direction, but underneath, our true course flows another way.

 

 

 

As I walk, I keep my camera open, looking for the beauty in nature. I start to wonder, Who walked these paths years before me? Who settled here? What were their hopes and dreams? If the trees could talk, they'd tell me stories of other walkers.

The rustling leaves are whispers of those stories. I listen, but can't quite here them. I look and see only subtle clues. What was once alive and vibrant is now at the end stages of dying and decay. That's what the fall of the year feels like, sometimes.

All summer my photographer's eye has been drawn to dead trees, standing tall, some polished bare, amidst the young saplings and new growth and strong, solid ones at their peak.  I'll probably share more of those photos on another Favorite Photos Friday. Until then, here's one for your imagination. What do you see in these twisted limbs?

I see a knobby-kneed cowboy crossing his feet. "Howdy Pardner!"

Go. Create. Inspire!
And, walk yourself into a creative mood.

Journaling Prompt:  Do you have a state park or historical site to go exploring?

Open to Adventure

Quote of the Day:  Go forth seeking adventure. Open your eyes, your ears, your mind, your heart, your spirit and you'll find adventure everywhere. ~ Wilfred A Peterson

Open the window in the center of your chest, and let the spirits fly in and out. ~ Rumi

Favorite Photos Friday:

Adventures happen on the 4th of July when celebrating with friends and family at a lake home.

Adventures happen in the kitchen when you get creative with your oft-requested fruit pizza. I'm calling this

Variation on the American Flag.

Krista, Publicist Extraordinaire

Adventure happens on a friend's screened-in porch.

JeMA, Artist and Writer Extraordinaire

Especially when you add ingredients like wine, chocolate, creative spirits, and an openness to dream and scheme about more adventures.

Mary, fueling up for more adventures

Adventure comes from being open, trusting your intuition, and listening to the voices that say, "It's okay to jump on the bike!"

The Biker Chef

Seriously, with a look like that, who could resist?

The open road, whether physical or creative, awaits you.

Jump on the bike and start your adventure today!

I'll be on a blogging break next week as I go on an adventure with my family.

Go. Create. Inspire!

Journaling Prompt:  Do one adventurous thing today and write about it. Make a list of adventures you'd like to take.

Beauty of the Bicycle

Quote of the Day:  The bicycle, the bicycle surely, should always be the vehicle of novelists and poets.
Christopher Morley

I'm lazy. But it's the lazy people who invented the wheel and the bicycle because they didn't like walking or carrying things.
Lech Walesa

Life is like a ten speed bicycle. Most of us have gears we never use. Charles M. Schulz

A woman without a man is like a fish without a bicycle. Gloria Steinem

Favorite Photo Friday

I'm ending the week with an easy one. On Sunday, April 1, we start the Blogging from A to Z Challenge. I've written A and B, and have plans to write C tomorrow, and get through G this weekend, so I'm one week ahead on posting. Any blogger can join. As my publicist Krista likes to say, "Jump!"

Go. Create. Inspire!

Journaling Prompt:  Are you joining the A to Z challenge? What's your theme. Would you ride your bike through the city? Do you have any bike riding stories?