A Brief Respite and Many Thanks

Oct14

Know how the drudgeries and duties of life sometime step to the forefront and keep us from doing what we want to do? That’s happened here and I’ve spent the past few weeks organizing, purging, cleaning, doing some part-time work to earn a little extra money, and taking care of those unpleasant tasks of life.

As a result, I’ve been away from my blog community. I’ve been nominated for several awards recently; I am humbled and honored by every acknowledgement and nomination, but I’ve not had a chance to accept and to pass on the honor. I plan to take care of that very soon. My thanks and gratitude to each of you who have nominated me.

Tomorrow, it’s back to teaching as fall break is over, but I’m thankful for my brief respite in this beautiful piece of Arizona.

This shot below is taken from one of the more common sites for sunset pictures in Sedona. Tomorrow I’ll explain what I learned from my mistakes in getting the sunset shots.

The rays of the setting sun reflect against the light rain falling on the Red Rocks of Sedona.

The Hollyhock and the Ants

Sep24

It is not enough to be busy. So are the ants. The question is: What are we busy about?

~Henry David Thoreau

The ants are having quite a party in the hollyhock ballroom.

i carry your heart with me(i carry it in my heart)

Aug31

i carry your heart with me(i carry it in
my heart)i am never without it(anywhere
i go you go,my dear; and whatever is done
by only me is your doing,my darling)

i fear no fate(for you are my fate,my sweet)i want
no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true)
and it’s you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you

here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows
higher than the soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that’s keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart)

- e. e. cummings

What do evaluations, cactus, and rocks have in common?

Mar28

Today was my 2nd observation of the year & I can honestly say that I am satisfied. I did the absolutely best that I can, which is a good feeling. For a change, I’m not kicking myself for forgetting this or that. I pulled out every teaching strategy that could possibly fit with the lesson, and my students were 100% engaged the entire period (I was so proud of them).

I had not realized how much I enjoy getting out with my camera and posting my new images until lately when I’ve been too busy with work. Saturday, I went into the city park (no, not a pond with ducks, or trees and grass, but a small mountain with rocks and cactus). I must have been distracted, or maybe I’m a little tired of rocks and am longing for green grass, but I just didn’t connect with my subject (i.e., rock).

The setting sun adds dimension to these saguaro, sentinels of the Arizona desert.

The Arizona state flower is the saguaro cactus flower, but they won’t bloom for a few months. (They seem to like the ridiculously scorching temperatures.) The state tree is the Palo Verde, which is not in bloom yet. In fact, right now it looks like a bunch of green twigs on a smooth green trunk and just does not make a good picture (I tried). This mesquite tree was vibrant from the glow of the setting sun; however, by the time I’d parked and changed lenses, the angle of the sun had changed and the impact was gone. However, I did capture some of the remaining light on the trunk.

The smooth trunk of a mesquite tree.

The mesquite survives in the desert because of its small leaves that take little water and thrive in the blistering summer sun.

New mesquite leaves

Kreativ Blogger!

Mar25

I do not see myself as creative and am amazed by this nomination from Mehmudah, who describes herself as a writer, a mother, a wife, a sister, a daughter, a student, a blogger, a dreamer, a cricket nut, a photography enthusiast, and a courageous Muslim woman. Check out her powerfully engaging blog Ummanall’s Musings.

7 More Things You Might Not Know About Me

I have failed at dog training. My rescued dog has now trained me.
I cannot sing or dance but pretend I can when no one is around.
My heart sings when I granddaughter calls out my name and smiles at me.
I worry that my father’s Alzheimer’s will take him away before I have a chance to go home again.
I have fantasies of being a great photographer as I travel the world snapping powerful shots that move people to think and take action. Because I’m already 61 and have little experience I doubt that this will happen. But I can dream, can’t I?
I rejoice when my students get turned on to learning and are so involved that they don’t notice when class is about to end.
This is my 100th post! WooHoo!

And now I have the privilege of nominating seven bloggers. Check out these blogs by people who truly are creative:

Dragoneystory by Andy

Beautiful Pictures in Photobach

Images by Regina

Marita’s Indigo Spider

scrapydo

Jessie Hagood

RUBICORNO

Old Friends

Feb26

(Click on the title to open) While on our way to photograph beautiful trees and water streaming over rocks, we lingered a while with these old characters. I wonder what stories are hidden within the rusted curves and angles. I wonder what lives were carried on the long-forgotten wheels. I think that, in their decay and deterioration, they have taken on a fragile dignity.