Around Here Mid-May 2019
It’s time for another round of Around Here – little bits and pieces of inspiration and thoughts I have.
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TRUSTING
This week I find myself deliberately trusting that I don’t need to do it all or even keep track of all the steps ahead of me. I just need to know the very next step on each project with an occasional look ahead. Trust was a guiding word for me one year in the past that shifted absolutely everything to better. Time to dig that word out again to pull me forward. I’m almost through the backlog of projects that need wrapping up from the winter, so I’m ready to enjoy this summer as fully as possible.
APPRECIATING
I’m so appreciative of the opportunities that have come my way. I’m pleased to announce that four of my fine art photo prints are now for sale in Yellowstone Forever stores in the park and online! About ten years ago, when I really started to take my photography seriously, I sent up the small wish/prayer to someday have my photos sold in the park. With practice and persistence – that is happening this year! I so very much appreciate the path that has led me here! If you’re in the park, stop in and look for them as well as my West Thumb Book.
ADDING
In my research over the years, I keep running into these Nature Notes in one shape or another. Not only do these give a window into the attitudes and practices of years ago in Yellowstone, but they also have valuable tidbits. Phenology is nothing but tidbits building patterns. I was so inspired by the “Leaves from our diaries” entries that I’ve added them in on the phenology pages on this site. I love seeing the old and the new together and thought you might as well. I have to say that entering this park service information to my phenology pages has inspired me to get out there more often. If you’ve wanted an easy way to keep a nature journal, this is it! If you have Yellowstone phenology tidbits you’d like to add to what I’m collecting, I’d love to hear from you.
ENJOYING
Movies – Since being single again, I’ve found the joy of going to the movie theater to watch movies. I felt really self-conscious the first couple of times I went by myself. But that passed very quickly – this is a part of my self-care. I keep a tab on the movies I want to see and make it into an “artist date” of sorts (as Julia Cameron calls them). We all need downtime, but watching tv/movies almost every night of the year gets old. I love how seeing movies either at the theater or renting them online a couple times a month has become fun again.
Is there something you’ve done for fun that became a routine/rut? Easy to fix. Stop it. Shake up your life a bit more, and you’ll find more fun everywhere.
WELCOMING
Welcome is my guiding word for 2019. A companion word recently showed up with this one: open. Welcome is showing me that I’ve closed myself off too much in the past few years as I’ve gone through a divorce that was amicable and then turned ugly. So the word welcome is doing its work to show me how to open up more. Blogging more is a part of that. I miss how open I used to be and want that back. Love how this practice shapes my life into one I adore.
FINDING
Every problem has multiple solutions. My camera is slowly, but surely dying. The on/off switch broke (thankfully in the “on” position), and the shutter doesn’t always work correctly. I still have an older back-up camera but have been looking at various options for new camera gear. I’m really still not sure of which route to take: Nikon, Canon or Sony. I’ve had Canon for years, but this photographer that I met on a media tour (glamping trip) in 2013 strongly suggested Nikon (I do love the sharpness of the lenses). He said on his tours to Antartica, the cameras most likely to fail are Canon. And yet, I’m also intrigued by the reviews for Sony. In my searching, I’ve found this possible solution for making my decision. So, looking at the business budget and seeing if this might be a fun way to play around with cameras this summer.