The path in front of us may seem daunting. It is dark, winding and uncertain. We have a long way to travel, but there is light ahead. There is a path, we must all pull together, keep our faith, and help each other remain on it. Falling off the path is not an option if we are to reach the light.
The peak of the pandemic is a few weeks ahead. Maintaining our social distance from each other is critical to minimizing the size of the peak. Let’s all stay on the path!
This image is another perspective of the photograph in my prior post. It is also an infrared (IR) image, but processed in black and white. This is typically how I handle infrared images focusing on the contrasts of dark sky and light clouds and foliage from the trees.
A positive ramification of our “stay at home” order is that I can spend a good part of my day working on my photography skills. I enjoy experimenting with different methodologies to create moods and feelings. One of my next endeavors will be to combine IR and long exposure photography into B&W images. Rather than facing each day and thinking about what I cannot do, I much prefer to envision what I can do. It is a time to explore, examine new things, experiment, and learn. I really do not have time to think about what I can’t do.
It is a pretty spring day here in the Yakima Valley. The cherry trees are out in the Arboretum. I’ve been a little restless so I decided to experiment and play a bit. I shot this with a converted full spectrum IR camera. The colors were a little gaudy. Black and white looked pretty good but I felt like a splash of color. So … I added a little artistic flair to simulate a watercolor painting. So here is something a little different for today. I hope it brightens your day.
It is a beautiful day and time to get out along side nature. We all have felt “cooped up” for the last several weeks. There are many places where we can go and remain isolated from others and just enjoy the outdoors. Today my mission is to get outside as much as possible and just enjoy nature’s beauty surrounding me.
Have a wonderful day!
I have been keeping a close eye on our dogwood tree buds. A few are getting ready to start their bloom. The sepals on this bud are starting to pull back. Soon the blossom will start to appear. The yellow blur in the background is a Wintersonne Mugo Pine. I had to stand on my tip toes to line the bud up with the Wintersonne. It was hard to keep the camera steady on my toes. (I was too lazy to go in and get a tripod.) I took a million images to get one that was reasonably crisp. It was a good way to pass the time!
The last couple of weeks, I have been spending way, way too much time sitting around. My excursions have been short trips to the garden to take a few images. I have made a resolution to be much more active in April as we will be pretty much staying at home.
And above all I will make the most of each day as I enjoy the wonders of the world around us!
I would like to pass on this message from Dewitt Jones, a photographer that I follow (dewittjones.com). How many times have we sat and watched the beauty of a sunset? Remember the warmth, peace, and happiness it has brought. Some evenings it will be bright and glorious. Some evenings it will be gentle and peaceful. But, it is always there.
There are so many good and wonderful things in this world to celebrate. In times like these, it is extremely important not to forget to celebrate what is right in this world. Dewitt asks why can’t we be like a sunset to the people and world around us. Why can’t we bring beauty, brightness, peace, and hope to the world … every day? Are we too busy? Will people care? Are are efforts good enough? Why can’t we be like a sunset, showing up every evening without any expectation of the result? The essence is being there, celebrating life, and bring forth happiness to whoever may be there.
It was a beautiful spring day, and we needed to get out and wander a bit. The Yakima Arboretum was just starting to show its cherry blossoms, so we decided to take a little walk. It was a little early in the blossoming cycle. The trees were not in full bloom, so we will go back in a couple of days.
It was still nice to be outside for a peaceful walk in the Arboretum. We saw only 5 or 6 people wandering around like us. It was easy to keep our “social distance.” As we were leaving the arboretum, we walked along this meandering path to the exit. The path zig-zagged along the way. We couldn’t see the end, but we knew where it was. It reminded us of what is in front of us all. As with the Coronavirus, the path is not straight. We will need to take different directions to adapt how we will live with this difficult situation. We don’t know where the next step will be. But, we must keep our faith and move forward.
The Path
We’ve seen it before—the curving path.
The end is out of our reach,
but it has promise nevertheless.
We are left to wonder where it goes.
“Uncharted territory” has become a cliche,
and we want answers—the right ones.
The path must lead forward because
we want to know what the ending brings.
Yet the path itself has curves
from one side to the other. Its shape
suggests an ebb and flow of life’s fortune.
We take the uncertain journey as that is the gift.
Mary Dahlin Graf
Looking up at me
bright and brilliant as a star
brings spring’s warm glory.
The Seattle Japanese Garden posts a daily photo accompanied with a haiku. The haiku form is a 3 line poem consisting of 17 phonetic syllables. The first line has 5 syllables, the second 7 and the third 5. I thought I would give it a try (at lease for one post).
The star magnolia is the second plant in our garden to bloom each year, following the forsythia. We do not have any spring bulbs planted … yet. This spring we are planting several shrubs and trees that will produce even earlier blossoms. Hopefully this fall we will get some spring flowering bulbs in the ground.
Our first flowering plum blossoms peaked out yesterday. Their blooms really say it is Spring. The rest of the trees start to come out soon after the Flowering Plum. Our driveway is lined with these plum trees. When they are in full bloom, it is a beautiful sight.
These plums are planted only about 8-inches from the edge of the driveway. Their branches encroach and rub any wide vehicle that enters. In addition, they drop their fall fruit all over the driveway creating quite a mess. I have made the hard decision to remove them after they bloom this year. It makes Mary and I very sad. They will be replaced with Green Vase Zelkova’s planted a save distance from the driveway.
I really wish that the plums would have been planted in a spot that considered their mature growth patterns. As we develop Heatherwood, we are planting trees spaced for their mature form even though it will take years for them to fill in.
Last week we cleaned the Japanese garden stream bed and turned on the water. Previously we added an Adirondack settee that I made over the winter to the top viewing area. It is a great place to sit, relax, contemplate, and just enjoy the wonderful world around us.
When I get up in the morning, I like to pause and think about little things that will “make my day”. Today, I thought about sharing my morning cup of coffee sitting in the Adirondack chair with Mary. It will be a wonderful way to start the day.