Backtracking to last week when I dawdled on the swing or other sitting spots on our property with my camera alongside me, passing the time feeling the breezes and watching the hawks, you'd think boredom would set in. Watching a movie indoors is one thing, as is reading a book. Your mind is engaged in or transported to another world. Sitting outdoors doing 'nothing' is really no different, depending on how active your mind is--how imaginative your are--or whether you choose to just 'be' in the moment and allowing your senses to be the director or author of the scene you're involved in.
For instance, I could be gazing in one direction, say, at our garden, and a slight movement of a squirrel's tail at the edge of the woods just above it will catch my eye. SNAP!
From the distance, we made eye contact momentarily, but I stayed with that squirrel for a few minutes more and watched the antics of it skimming up and down the fallen branch it was on, heard it chattering (sometimes arguing) with the other squirrels and see how they'd engage in their foraging, and you can really learn a lot just by observing a small segment of their lives.
After watching them for a while my gaze might return to where it was before it got sidetracked, only this time, my gaze will see things differently than before. Something will call my attention to a particular flower, that might be standing taller, prouder than the rest or perhaps it's the way the sun falls on it, causing it's petals to appear brighter or more brilliant than the others, so I'll meander over to the chairs set up there and spend time there for a while appreciating the flowers enough to do an impromptu shoot while recalling the roots (no pun intended) of where or whom the original bulbs came from and the sentimental significance they have in our lives. Several endearing moments or stories will unfold just from changing the place in our yard that I sit and rest.
An unopened bud is glorious to me and celebrated, for similar to an unborn child developing in the womb, it will emerge--burst forth--in it's own time, revealing delicate beauty and the newness of life. What wonderful thoughts come to mind, while sidetracked by the flowers of the garden!
There is a special, real-life connection between this actual flower and the child growing inside this belly. Every fall when these flowers bloom, the bonds of love spanning through generations grows as well.
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A flash of white turns my attention back to the woods. Ah.... a little kitty.... the cats around here love exploring... what a fabulous place for them to do it! Of course, with my camera handy, they, too, become interesting subjects.
Back to a wild side of things....
Again, even the tiniest of movements catch my eye. Something was different over on Shade Rock. Our children and their friends used to play on Shade Rock. And while they were at school, Shade Rock became a quiet meditating place for me to sit, where I'd usually ring my Indian brass bell. It's one you don't shake or strike with a mallet, but with a thick wooden stick held at an angle the bottom edge of the bell, when rubbed round and round, as smoothly and as slowly as you can, a solid sound begins to resonate, louder and louder until the woods and our backyard become filled with a steady tone; a steady hum. It's a 'patience bell', for the ringing technique cannot be rushed and the motion must be continuous, or the sound will immediately break. Fire ants have since taken over Shade Rock, so now, in only a matter of seconds, they find you and let you know it! Quite a different experience than joyful play or meditative bells! Today Shade Rock was occupied by something else:
Sitting... looking... I loved how this image captured the fall season, as this Jay became a silhouette before a background of yellow.
This Red-Bellied Woodpecker flew briefly into the scene, pecked a few holes, then flew away.
Although it wasn't by choice, I couldn't have picked a better time to be home in convalescence than during the fall season--as if it's not beautiful enough, the world is alive with color! What a better way to stimulate healing! It's invigoraging!
Laura gets all arsty. This was actually shot from outside looking in through a screen at an image of fall colors behind me that bounced off a mirror.
I'm sure as the season unfolds and I continue to snap away, I'll be sharing more of the beauty with you, but I end this three-part series with this cross that I noticed on the wooded floor.
GlauraB!
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