May All Beings Be Happy and Peaceful…
Wordless Wednesday
Bee Happy…
May All Beings Be Happy and Peaceful…
frosty point of view
I woke up this morning to another frosty, cold day. While I was not looking forward to doing my daily morning chores in the freezing weather, I took comfort to see the sun was trying to work its way out of the thick gray clouds. The weather has been unusually warm all through fall, up until a few days ago then suddenly, we had our first frost. Normally, our first frost happens around mid-October and it would signal the end of the growing season for most of the plants. However, because of the warm days, some of the plants continued to grow and put out beautiful flowers. As I headed off to the chicken coops to do my chores, the sunlit frost covered vegetation and mountain view caught my eye. My initial negative thoughts about being out in the freezing cold vanished as I stopped to admire the beauty all around me. The serene moment changed my point of view to feel grateful for being able to live in such a picturesque place.
This is Joy, the newest member of my furry kids. She has the most beautiful golden eyes I have ever seen.
May All Beings Be Happy and Peaceful…
my thanksgiving turkey
Five years ago, I bought a dozen turkey eggs with the intention of starting a flock of turkeys for both eggs and meat consumption. However, the intention did not work out the way I had anticipated. I discovered it was difficult for me to eat these critters that I have lovingly raised from an egg. It was such a guilty and gut-wrenching experience for me to be an executioner that I decided to pardon Blue and the other turkeys for life.
Blue was one of the four turkeys that hatched from the first dozen turkey eggs. He is a heritage blue slate turkey with a calm and curious personality. For the longest time, he would not come near me and is still skittish when he sees me coming towards him. I certainly cannot blame him for being cautious around me after what I had done. However, I noticed lately he is starting to respond to me when I called him. He would look at me with curious eyes and not run away as fast. Since today is Thanksgiving, I decided to shoot Blue with my camera. Personally, I think he is incredibly photogenic with his majestic plumage, unique head and colorful wattle. He definitely looks better in the field than on a plate.
May All Beings Be Happy and Peaceful…
Living in the moment
It was my birthday yesterday. As usual… I was doing my negative reflection of my yearly life’s journey. I could sense my mind was trying to focus on all my accomplishments or lack thereof for the past year, when suddenly visions of my long departed furry kids, Evie and Maximus, filled my thoughts. Thoughts of them distracted the self-pity, depressive path I was heading. As I look through all the photos I took of them over the years, I see the joyful, carefree, and adventurous life they have lived — reminding me how fortunate I was to have been a part of that life. They have taught me many life lessons along the way. Such as how to be happy when oftentimes I felt there was nothing to be joyful about or to appreciate little things that seem insignificant. Most of all, they taught me to live in the moment. While the challenges of life might have made me forget their lessons at times. Somehow seeing my ability to capture them living in the moment, helped remind me to appreciate my talents and accomplishments as a photographer…
May All Beings Be Happy and Peaceful…
My childhood dream
Finally… after 46 years of waiting; I fulfilled my childhood dream of shelling on Sanibel Island, in Florida. Last week, I traveled to Sanibel Island for my seashell bucket list vacation. I stayed at the Sanibel Island Beach Resort for three days. The resort was one of the few places that has reopened on the island after the massive destruction of hurricane Ian over a year ago. The whole island was completely decimated by the category 5 hurricane. While there is a great deal of rebuilding, unfortunately, most of the homes and businesses still remained uninhabitable.
It was a very long and bumpy flight to Florida. I definitely did not enjoy the journey, but the destination was stunning. It is an experience I will forever hold dearest in my heart…
After 15 hours, I finally made it to my long awaited destination. I didn’t bring my usual camera gear because my mind was looking forward to just walk aimlessly on long sandy beaches picking up seashells. I took all the photos with my camera phone.
My hotel was only steps away from this awesome view. When I first stepped on the beach, I was overwhelmed by the amount of seashells around me. They were everywhere. I was like a kid in a candy store… picking up almost every shell I see. It didn’t take long before I filled up my three shelling bags.
During my three awesome days, I walked for hours on the beaches, thinking about nothing but the beauty of the seashells. It is amazing what nature can create.
May All Beings Be Happy and Peaceful…
The Golden Hour sunset
May All Beings Be Happy and Peaceful…
life under the rusty dock
May All Beings Be Happy and Peaceful…
Rocky Shore
May All Beings Be Happy and Peaceful…
shooting at the speed of light
Will work for bread
If you ever feel the need to improve your photography skills, seagulls are a fun and interesting subject to shoot. All you need is a loaf of bread, and they will work hard while you get the opportunity to challenge yourself using all the different settings available on your camera. It’s a fantastic way to learn about your camera and its capabilities that you might not be aware of.
A wanna be seagull…
May All Beings Be Happy and Peaceful…
The fiery sunset
May All Beings Be Happy and Peaceful...
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