Tiptoe Through the Tulips

Inspiration is an amazing thing. For a few months now I haven't been very inspired to take any pictures. As I have mentioned before I have been in a bit of a rut artistically. I have tried to be patient with myself and just wait for the motivation and the inspiration to occur. Earlier this week I decided to just grab my camera and go outside in the yard and take a look around. To my surprise my backyard is in full bloom! There are tulips, daffodils, hyacinth and there are even little tiny buds on my rose bushes. Isn't spring an amazing time? I am hoping if I just keep pushing myself to make the time to take a walk with my camera I will get my groove back. I am getting tired of waiting to have it happen spontaneously. Maybe that in and of itself is the answer. It is not waiting on the sidelines hoping something will happen but seizing the opportunities as they happen and even going out there and making the opportunities happen! The image above is a tulip that was happily growing by my front door. How many times had I walked right on by this?

One Friendship At A Time...

This blog post is going to be a bit different this time around. I am posting a link to a video that my husband Kendall made for COJ of some footage that he captured while on a mission trip to Honduras a few weeks ago. Those who are close to me know that I was lamenting that my husband was gone to Honduras for 10 days leaving me home to hold down the fort and tend to the kids...ALONE. I kept a running count down on facebook of how many days until he came home to us. Well, after viewing the raw footage that he captured while he was there I realized that it was well worth my being on my own for a few days.

Before he left I knew about the bare bones of this trip. I knew that he was going on this mission trip for work and that he was supposed to be capturing footage of the house they were building in La Masica and that they were going to be visiting a nursing home. Beyond that I wasn't exactly sure what he was going to be doing. I had heard several times at church about previous work that had been done during mission trips that our church has gone on. Deep down I could sense that this was going to be life changing experience for him. Little did I know how much it would end up touching me personally.

When he got home he had to log all of the footage that he captured. There were several times when I was watching the raw footage that I caught myself tearing up. I was deeply touched by the people and the faces that I was seeing. I wanted to know about them and who they were. I was captivated by the beautiful children and I was touched by the look of thanks in the eyes of the adults. Even now, even though I wasn't the one who went on the trip I find myself thinking of them on a daily basis.

When I watch the video it brings tears to my eyes and makes me want to be a better person. I want to look for ways that I can help others. It also makes me think about why I went into Anthropology in college. I finally decided on Anthropology because I found myself drawn to those types of classes. I loved learning about other cultures, their traditions and belief systems. Another interesting tidbit is that photography was something that was encouraged as a minor for Anthropology!

I want to thank my husband for sharing his experience with me. It has opened my eyes, my heart and my mind. I find myself thinking about how and where I can make difference whether it is in helping those people in Honduras or those here in our own community. My hope is that it will give you pause to stop and think about how fortunate we are to live where we do. How fortunate we are to have a roof over our heads, clean drinking water and an over abundance of food on a daily basis. Treating others with kindness can go a long way. I think we can help others...one friendship at a time!

Artistic Slump...

I am sure that every artist goes through times when they suffer from artistic melancholy. I would have to admit, that has been the case for me for past several months. For me personally, photography started out as way to express myself during a dark time in my life. I was dealing with the deaths of several of my close family members, my mother's diagnosis of cancer and all of the feelings of helplessness and sorrow that accompany times such as these. Photography became my outlet; a way to see the goodness and beauty that surrounds us on a daily basis. It became something that consumed my thoughts, in a good way. Looking back now, maybe it was an escape of sorts.

I was learning how to operate my camera, I was learning about the basic rules of photography, I was learning how to tell a story through an image! I guess it took my mind off of all the hard things I was dealing with in my personal life. It was a great distraction in a lot of ways. I have always tried to be a person that focuses on the positives; photography helped me to do just that. It gave me direction and passion.

Somehow in the past several months it seems that I have lost that passion. I see glimmers of it every now and again. But just as quickly as it came, it seems to fade away. When I put myself out there and shoot something I tend to focus on the flaws of the images I have captured.

I miss that passion that I used to have. I am not quite sure how to get that back. I read somewhere once that when an photographer captures an image he shows a little bit of himself. Well, if I could sum up how I feel right now, I think the image that would represent me is a tree, stark and barren in the winter months. Hopefully, this is just a time of hibernation for me. I am hoping that my Spring will come, my leaves will come back and I will burst forth with new passion and dedication to expressing my little view of the world.

Happy New Year!

Again, it has been far too long since my last post! The holidays were a whirlwind of activity in our household. It was a wonderful season spent with friends and family. One of my favorite parts of the holiday season is getting the holiday cards from those who are near and far. It is such a wonderful time of reconnecting and getting a glimpse into the lives of those we care about. It can make it seem like we don't live so far apart from each other after all. We are blessed to have friends who live all over the country and even have some who live overseas.

Now that the holidays are over and as we start a new year it is hard not to feel a little bit of let down after all of the hubbub of Thanksgiving and Christmas. January can tend to feel like a drab and dreary month after all of the color and festivities of the holidays ~ all the decorations have been put away and the anticipation is over. My understanding is the month of January can typically be a bit dreary and drab here in the Tri Cities weatherwise. As I recall, the month of January last year did fit that description but it was our first year here so I wasn't sure what to expect. Well, so far January is starting out in the typical fashion. I find myself longing for Spring already! I long for the bright lights and color that Spring will bring!

The picture above was taken in Wallowa, Oregon on a beautiful April morning in 2009. When I look at it, I see the promise of Spring. The sun will shine and the grass will be a vibrant green once again. I am already dreaming about the day that the first daffodil will make its appearance in our yard.

Although, if it decided to snow a couple of more times this winter I have some children who would be quite happy with that!

Happy Harvest Time!

October has flown by so fast! The nights are getting colder and the days are getting shorter. I do love this time of year though. I love the crispness in the air and the splendor of autumn colors. It brings about a time of year that has always been close to my heart. I have always loved taking my children to the pumpkin patch every year to pick out their pumpkins. I have some wonderful memories of sipping hot cider, taking hay rides and seeing the pure joy on my children's faces.

As my children get older I am trying to hold onto those memories as we make our yearly visit to the pumpkin patch. Gone are the days when they would go with their preschool teachers, or the kindergarten class and I would get to tag along as a chaperone. This year marked the next season, so to speak, as we ventured out to the pumpkin patch on our own as a family. We have always gone as a family every year anyway but this marked the first time that the kids almost seemed to be getting a little bored with the petting zoo and the hay ride. It almost seemed to be an obligatory part of the pumpkin patch experience. I can't say that I blame them but it does make my heart yearn for the days when their eyes would light up on their small little faces as we took a hay ride and surveyed the land full of shiny, orange pumpkins.

I have to say that I was glad to see that they were still excited to go hunting for the perfect pumpkin out in the patch. They were much more picky this year as they analyzed which ones had the best look and feel for whatever Jack O'Lantern face they had in mind. During past pumpkin patch experiences I always had to remind the kids to be sure that they didn't get a pumpkin that was too big, or too green, too squishy or too whatever. They were so independent picking out their very own pumpkin. I was in store for a special treat this year, low and behold, I didn't have to carry a single one.

I think I will continue our family tradition of visiting the pumpkin patch every Fall. I think we may just have to step it up to the next level and visit the pumpkin launching area and the corn shooter machines. They were also eyeing the haunted house as we left this year. My suspicions that my children are growing up were confirmed when my son wanted his pumpkin to be a barfing pumpkin this year!

Many Glaciers

I had a yearning to see some live shots of Glacier National Park today. I went to the Glacier National Park website and checked out the web cams that have placed throughout the park. (Check it out at http://www.nps.gov/glac/photosmultimedia/webcams.htm) You can click on an active web cam image that updates every 60 seconds. It was fun to go check out all of the web cams and see how the the effects of Autumn are changing the look and feel of GNP. If I am not mistaken there was a trace of snow on some of the mountains! You should go check it out!

The image above is one of my favorites from our hike around Swiftcurrent Lake which was taken on our trip to Many Glaciers. Many Glaciers is yet another gem in the crown of Glacier. We saw some gorgeous scenery, as well as a black bear, on our way up to Many Glaciers from Two Medicine. We were not disappointed with this view of Mt. Wilbur that you can see along the trail as you hike around the lake.

Good Medicine

We decided to spend the first half of our summer vacation this year visiting my aunt and uncle in Missoula, Montana (what a great time!) and then head to Glacier National Park for the remainder of the week.  Glacier National Park is a place that Kendall and I have always wanted to take the kids.  Years ago we had gone through part of the park on our way by Amtrak as we headed out to Green Bay, Wisconsin.  If I am not mistaken we had a stop over in East Glacier.  My uncle has been to Glacier many times so we asked him what he thought should be on our agenda for the week. One of his favorites spots is Two Medicine (pictured above) which is located on the East side of the park.  Kendall and I planned out our camping/sight seeing route, bought all of the supplies we thought we might need, and read up on what to do if you encounter a bear (seriously!).  It was a gorgeous drive up there and I was quite impressed with Flathead Lake which we saw along the way.  It reminded me a lot of Lake Coeur D'Alene in Idaho! 

Montana has to be one of the most beautiful states I have ever seen. Some of the scenery is quite breath taking.  Between the winding rivers, stands of ponderosa and lodge pole pines, and the mountains, there is plenty to feast your eyes upon.  The mountains are enormous, standing stately and proud, jutting up magnificently into the sky.  The nickname Big Sky Country is very appropriate for Montana...there would have to be an enormous amount of  sky to contain the Rocky Mountains as they run through the Western part of the state. 

Our visit to Glacier National Park was something that truly touched my soul.  It was an experience that proved to be good medicine for my soul.  I thought it was quite appropriate that we stayed at Two Medicine the first couple nights of our stay in the park.  Right away, Two Medicine seemed to have a calming effect on all of us.  It was a special place where we could get away from our cell phones, the quick and hurried pace of life and (gasp!) even our laptops and email. 

The beauty of our surroundings from the sheer cliffs, sweeping valleys and the soothing turquoise lake should be enough to quiet anyone's soul.  It is great place to visit, whether you're hiking along the shore of the lake with gravel crunching beneath your feet or resting on a rustic bench contemplating the wonder of it all as you breathe in the scent of mountains around you.  The quietness I encountered was astounding.  It made me realize that sometimes we need to seek that stillness, take the time to watch the quiet dance of nature and appreciate the interconnectedness of everything around us.   

It was  wonderful  for us to spend time as a family together, no distractions.  I think we all got a lot out of our time spent together in the woods.  We were able to talk, laugh and hike together.  A great way to make memories that I hope our kids will treasure forever.  It was a time that  we were able to stop the world outside for just a little while and and enjoy our children and each other.  There weren't any schedules that we had to adhere to, no place that we had to be.  I am so grateful for this time that we had to reconnect.  

(A favorite time of mine was to sneak away early in the morning just as the sun was about to rise and walk over to the lake.  The picture above doesn't even begin to capture the beauty of the sun's rays as they started to bathe the mountains with the first light of the day. Truly stunning to see in person I must say!)

I want to thank the Park Ranger, Pat Hagan, who led us on a nature hike at Two Medicine.  He helped me to put into words this wonderful feeling I had, as he talked about what really is "Good Medicine".  As a whole, my experience in Glacier Park brought a calmness and sense of restoration to my inner self.  That's powerful medicine!  I think the following quote sums it all up for me, "In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks." ~ John Muir  

(I will probably do a couple of more posts about our adventures in Glacier. It is such a special place that I think it may deserve more than one entry.)