Dandelion

Saw this walking to my car one afternoon a few weeks ago. The sun hitting the one flower looks like it is flat against the wall. Like someone drew the image in place. I walked past this wall yesterday and the dandelion was gone. This exercise I'm doing of taking pictures in my life has made me much more in touch with my surroundings. I grieved quickly and quietly for the loss of this flower. Living is about the temporariness of things, as much of a reason to keep this blog as anything, to capture moments that quickly disappear.

Ivy Buddha

Buried almost to the top of it's head is my backyard Buddha. I put it near my hammock and it, she, he has become my measure for how much my backyard is getting over run by ivy. When I originally sat him there you could see most of his body. This small space seems idyllic to me. I just napped near by him the other day. Why don't we all sleep in hammocks like Gilligan and the Skipper? I can crash out in seconds swaying back and forth between the trees.

View from my hammock

I spend as much quality time on my hammock. Good for resting, chatting on the phone, hugging the dogs, and my favorite thing -- napping. I took this sometime last week while looking up. Ever have a class where you had to keep journal? I faked that. This blog thing with pictures is me making up for that.

At the river

Anytime I head to a big city I need to come back and immediately take my dogs for a walk. It centers me and calms me. Yesterday, when I returned from New York, I went to the river with the dogs and saw Melvin. I know him from dog walking and we have chatted several times. He had his saxophone and was prepared to start walking down the river on the rocks while practicing with his dog following along.

NYC

I go to New York every year for work. I look forward to it but also find it incredibly overwhelming in terms of sight, sound, and smell. I took this shot at Times Square right after having seen the musical 9 to 5. Pushing on to the street was a heroic task. The street was just filled with people. I realized standing there that all the people who live in Athens, Georgia could probably be represented by the number of people in Times Square on an ordinary Saturday night in May.

Magnolia time

I love these trees and the flowers. The trees can become simply enormous and you can walk under them and feel like you are in a different world. I feel so lucky when I can get close to the flower to look at it and smell the lemon zestiness. The curves, the vibrant white, the scent all make this something to look forward to each year. The blossoms way at the tops of the trees that only the squirrels and birds get to see close up. I love Georgia for the magnolia.

Field next to yoga

Today, at the grocery store, an old man with white hair stopped to talk to me. He told me that I was light, that I could just float away, that it didn't matter how much I weighed, and that's all he said. And he dramatically gestured with his hand the floating away. Then he walked away. I saw him later walking to the parking lot, slowly, stooped over, in his suit, white shirt and black tie with a woman in a bright floral dress. I wanted to kiss him. To thank him. I wish I had.

Walking to work

Walking to work this morning the spiderwebs were made visible by the morning dew. There were several places in these plants where the webs were visible. The most beautiful things are temporary.

Blur in the forest

I now have this fear that my life is not interesting enough to take photos of and comment on. It's silly I know, but I still have that feeling. I need a creative outlet and this is very easy for me to do and rewarding because I have a finished product. This picture I took last night trying to capture the energy of walking the dogs. I like the blur and seeing just bits of Ralph behind the tree. I like using the iPhone because it so easy to carry and use. It sucks in the slowness sometimes but I like the accidental pictures I get, like this one.

Cemetery Tour

I toured the Oconee Hills Cemetery yesterday. It is right on campus, huge, and beautiful. I had seen the entrance but never paid any attention to it. In fact, I have passed the entrance at least a 1000 times. I toured with a group of people and learned a great deal about Athens my adopted home town. This picture of a gravestone surrounded by wild flowers is so right to me. Some might say that no one is taking care of the site. I disagree. If I were to be buried, which I don't want to be, I would want it to look like this with wild flowers. I'm all about cremation, just fling my ashes in beautiful natural spot and I will be forever grateful.