Thru the Eye of the Fish

Yesterday I grabbed my fisheye and my Scarlet Scout (you have to be a Lensbaby person to understand that one) again and went for a much-needed morning walk.  I've nothing profound to say about that. I just had a good walk. 

Come on.  This way. 

It's not the Caribbean; but its as close as I will get to a beach for awhile.

So I can pretend.

The lake shows how desperate our drought situation is.

The waterline normally comes up the the bottom of this image

Like I said ~ nothing profound to say. Just the images from a good walk.

Maybe Tomorrow

I haven't been in the blogging mood lately and it occurred to me this afternoon that maybe it's not just all this crazy health stuff going on (wait... wait... wait...) but maybe also due to my lack of morning walks in the past few days. 

I rarely walk in the park on the weekends because there are, you know - people - there on the weekends.  I prefer it like this

Thank you very much.

I missed another morning because I needed to finish a couple of projects.

Burpies for Seal Beach, CA

Whee Ones for Cherry Creek North, Denver

(And I'm promising myself that one of the first things on my July reboot is to set up a new spot to shoot my products properly!)

Then we spent some time with this guy one night

He was... magic.

But any time I'm awake past 9pm (it was close to midnight!  Gasp!) and up with the puppy at sunrise ~ I'm not too motivated to walk a mile or two.

I was all set into head to the wild this morning and then I stepped outside.

The smoke from no less than 8 wildfires burning in my state 

is lying thick over the metro area.

Even walking a couple of blocks with Boo - breathing in the smoky air was suffocating.  I am really claustrophobic so the thought that I can't breathe can send me into a panic attack in a heartbeat. In fact, even though windows were closed all night, I woke suddenly at 3:30am with the feeling I couldn't breathe. I bolted out of bed and headed to my studio ~ to breathe.

At sunrise I repotted some veggies and herbs (quickly as the smoky air was not fun to sit in)

Roma tomatoes

Mint ~ for those mojitos

Basil for caprese and pesto

And I watered the flowers

Maybe I'll be inspired to blog tomorrow...

Some Sunday Solitude For Your Soul.

Sunday should be all about relaxing.  

So take a stroll with me (and my 10-20mm) and hear what I heard earlier this morning.

I have never found a companion who was so companionable

as solitude.

*Henry David Thoreau*

Solitude matters.

And for some people it is the air that they breathe.

*Susan Cain*

If you are lonely when you are alone,

you are in bad company.

*Jean-Paul Sartre*

In every walk with nature

one receives far more than one seeks.

*John Muir*

To sit in solitude, to think in solitude

with only the music of the stream and cedar

to break the flow of silence

there lies the value of the wilderness.

*John Muir*

To make the right choices in life,

you have to get in touch with your soul.

To do this, you need to experience solitude.

Most people are afraid of that because 

in the silence

you hear truth and know the solutions.

*Deepak Chopra*

Go. For. A. Walk. That's All. Period.

So this is what happens when I have a grrrrreat idea for a blog post and I don't sit down that minute and write.

I kind of forget my point. And I had a really good point! Dammit.

It had something to do with getting back to my routine of walking every morning in the park ~ of rising very early, grabbing my water bottle and a camera - any camera - and hitting the trail.  I'm happy about this because being in nature is good for my head, good for my soul and any physical benefits are a bonus.

So although the skies were threatening yesterday (and it did pour later) I strolled down familiar paths with my little pink Nikon Coolpix - you know - the one I wanted so badly because it was pink. And I use it about once a year.  

There were clouds in the water as well as the sky. 

Part of my reason for resuming these morning walks is that I quite often clear my head and/or get ideas when I'm in nature. And I wouldn't mind losing a couple of lbs. so previously I have been obsessed with how many miles I've walked and what my time is. Get that cardio up! So those two things (which when you think about it are a total dichotomy) are usually my intent when setting out. But intent can sometimes backfire.

Because I find I can't concentrate. Because I'm distracted by a pelican.

Or a squirrel.  SQUIRREL!!

And I have to stop to get just the right angle 

to make some nice bokeh behind those pink flowers. 

Wait - how do I turn the macro setting on on this thing again?

And I start slowing down because I'm framing things in my head and then - hey - wouldn't that look cool framed like this.

And then I remembered something I read recently.

The purpose of fishing is not to catch fish.

So...

I told myself.  Just stop. Stop trying to control something as simple as a walk in the park. (No pun intended. Or maybe it is...) Maybe the purpose of a walk in nature isn't to solve the problems of the world - or your little life. Maybe the purpose of a walk in nature isn't to see how fast you can do it.  I've climbed mountains in my life.  I'm done with that. Maybe the purpose of a walk in nature isn't to get the *best* photograph of a bird. 

(Full disclosure - I took this pic and the two following

today with my Canon; not the pink Nikon.)

Maybe the purpose of a walk in nature is to just fricking walk in nature.  Don't count my steps; don't plan my new business model ~ just be in the moment and Go. For. A. Walk.

And don't even think about what is around the next bend.

Fingers in the Dirt

I got my fingers in the dirt the other day

and it felt really good

and looked even better

The Mister planted all our trees ~ big and small.  My marigolds have found a home.

And with just a few more pots of marigolds and veggies and herbs we will be ready to kick back and enjoy 

Ahhhhh... with temps in the 80's already it's beginning to feel like summer. 

I might even read a book.

The Private Umbrella

As I write the Mister is on the deck planting 5 of these puppies (the large ones) and 9 of these puppies (the small ones)

(Arborvitae ~ or what I call Cedar)

The way our house was designed left our deck somewhat "public."  As in not super private. As in it is my least favorite feature of our house (which in general I pretty much love). As in it almost made me pass on this house. As in once Mr. Friendly (aka The Mister) got to know everyone within 500 yards of our house and the joke "What time is the umbrella going up at the Herleman's?" became a real question... 

well, it was time to retreat a bit.  So we planted the slowest growing bushes known to man around the deck. And every year we have to remind the landscapers ~~ please don't trim them!

We needed more.  So my Mother-in-law (who loves to problem-solve and catalog shop ~ lucky for us) gave us four fabulous all-weather wicker-looking flower baskets to add another level of privacy.

So I can soon see these little lovelies return from last year (I harvest seeds from one year to the next)

We still needed more.  Now with our little forest 

well, maybe not quite a forest...

we are building a fortress around us.  

Maybe not quite a fortress...  but we're getting there.  Flowers are next.  Hummingbird feeders to follow. Maybe a new comfy chair or two with a little table for cocktails...

And soon the phrase heard coming from this deck will be, "Hellooooo Privacy. I've missed you!"