Morning Performance

by Carol

Having a 17 week old puppy is having a baby in the house again. A "sitter" (walker) comes at noon, outings are scheduled, and the kitchen is gated. The electrical outlets are covered, and nothing is left on the floor for even a second! Closet doors are closed and (obedience) school starts June 1st.. And sleeping in is on hold for a while. But there are unexpected joys to be found besides the adorableness of a puppy.

Among them is a renewed appreciation for early morning. I rise every weekday at 5:45, and have for years, but those weekday mornings are full of the time constraints that get me out the door and to work on time with matching socks, and food for noon. I always appreciate the light on the drive to work, but I don't have time to bathe in it and my mind is pre-occupied with the day's schedule. Since my kids left the house, I have slept in a bit on weekends (all the way to 8:30!!).  But now, I am wrapped in a sweatshirt, out on my lawn, walking my Lily by 6 AM. She is not old enough to leave the property yet, so I am getting reacquainted with early morning on my little homestead.

The east side of my house is the "business side." It's narrow and holds the propane gauge, the electrical connections, the hoses. The rest of my 1.9 acres spreads out to the west and behind. But Lily and I now walk the whole property, looking for as much variation as we can find, and watching the sunlight move slowly in from east to west has become a delightful way to wake up.

Fresh out of bed and just out the door,  it is a bit chilly. The grass is damp. The trees are grey. The deer feeding in my field are almost in the dark. But then, a glow develops behind my neighbor's barn.

Its low and pink. Soon, little tendrils of light are illuminating a single weed here and there. Then the rolling hills of my neighbor's perfectly fed lawn develop shadows and pools of golden light.

 The 100 year old house across the street suddenly has light on the front door that is worthy of a Wyeth painting.

The blossoms of my pear and apple trees begin to glow.

The green leaves and the birch stand begin to ignite.

And finally the light reaches  my emerging daffodils, low to the ground.

All this to the soundtrack of the morning birds. It's quite a stunning show - coming soon, to a yard near you. And there is a glorious repeat performance every day. And its free to all!

I recommend you attend a performance soon.

"Life is too short," she panicked, "I want more." He nodded slowly, "Wake up earlier."

                                                                                                              Dr. SunWolf

Convergence and a Crossroad

by Kim

"Above all, I crave to seize the whole essence, in the confines 

of one single photograph, of some situation that was in the

process of unrolling itself before my eyes."

- Henri Cartier-Bresson

Henri Cartier-Bresson was a street photographer. And although this is not about street photography, it is still about the essence we can capture in a single photograph in the moments that move through us if we allow them. 

It is about being able to see and fully experience the beauty beneath the exterior of life . . . because even beneath the surface of the grayest of days, both physically and metaphorically, there is something that shimmers, like gold.

For me, photography has always been a kind of spiritual practice. I've always felt that the photograph is secondary to my experience.

But there are some days that the convergence of my heart with the mindfulness of the present does not always become reality and I find myself at a crossroad of sorts.

Just being in the "right spot"isn't enough if I have disconnect between my head and my heart.

And honestly, there are days that I go out with my camera and have every intention of  "finding something" to bring home on my memory card. Those are the days that I find myself the most frustrated.

Because I've forgotten that expectations lead to disappointments, and that the process or practice of putting my camera to my eye is much more about a path of discovery, of myself and the world around me.

And then there are days like this one, where there were no preconceived ideas about what the sunrise should look like. Where I could feel the essence of the morning in a single photograph, and moments lingered like eternity.

"To us, the difference between the photographer as an individual eye and the photographer

as an objective recorder seems fundamental, the difference often regarded, mistakenly, as

separating photography as art from photography as document. But both are logical extensions

of what photography means; note-taking on, potentially, everything in the world, from every

possible angle."  - Susan Sontag

Pretty in Pink

by Kim

"Pink is a beautiful color, because it is one of the colors that the sun

makes at twilight and in the dawns."

- C. JoyBell C.

Fairy Magic

by Katie

I took my "Momma Adventure" this week on Monday, instead of on Wednesday seeing that the weather was going to be much warmer Monday than Wednesday.  With the time change, it was just before sunrise when I arrived at Lake Sequoyah, 10 minutes east of Fayetteville and one of my favorite spots to lose myself. The only way I can describe the beauty of the world waking up Monday morning is with a quote that I found copied down on a bit of scrap paper on my daughter's desk.

"And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don't believe in magic will never find it."  ~ ~ ~ Roald Dahl

May you find a little bit of magic in the most unlikely of places this weekend. 

I See Joy Dancing

by Kim

. . . in my coffee cup.

I kind of wish that I had taken this photo with a festive Christmas mug. But, it was Thanksgiving week and I had yet to bring down my holiday mugs off the top shelf. And to be honest, I wasn't thinking about this photo for a blog post. I was simply reacting to a moment. A simple moment of joy watching steam dance from my cup. And yes, I  am that easily entertained! After all, I've seen circus acts and ballet performances in that steam.

Today, I thought I would share a few of my recent moments of joy.

One day a couple of weeks ago I was able to get back to a favorite trail after it was closed all summer. There is still quite a bit of construction and part of it is still closed off, but as the season has changed since I was last there, I was finding joy in the fallen leaves and the smell of pine needles on a humid morning.

It's no secret that I have a love affair with all things nature. This was an incredibly joyful moment for me as I raised this Tersa Sphinx Moth from a caterpillar and after waiting for weeks and weeks it finally emerged from it's cocoon. After it's wings had plenty of time to dry I took it outside, and after several minutes of warming it's flight muscles it successfully took off into the wild blue yonder. These moths are very strong and fast flyers, with 50 wings beats per second. They can sometimes be mistaken for hummingbirds as they can hover while drinking nectar like that of a hummer. This particular one is nocturnal and right about dusk comes out to feed on my purple trailing lantana. Their host plant is pentas and boy do they have a hearty appetite.

And there is still all kinds of joy blooming in my garden in the form of roses . . .even with the couple of frosts we have had.

Joy is one of those things we think escapes us when we don't have it. Because often we think it's something we can seek. That if we look behind the right door it will just be there waiting. But something I have learned is that we hold our happiness hostage when we use the words if, only, or when. And for me I don't want to miss the happiness that happens along the journey because it's surely not guaranteed to be waiting at a destination.

I've learned the hard way that happiness is accepting where I am and when I observe what is in front of me, I can see joy dancing.

"Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, won or consumed.
Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love,
grace and gratitude."  - Denis Waitley

What about you, what have you learned about finding joy? We love when you share your thoughts here in the comments or on our Facebook page. And don't forget to share your photos of what brings you joy in our flickr group.

Focus On You - Morning Routine

By Carol H.

This image entitled "Threshold" by Jolanda Boehout brought the biggest smile to my face. I love that she invited us into her home and into her life by sharing one of her morning routines, letting the boy out to romp in the garden. His face is just full of anticipation. I can see Jolanda's house slippers, telling me that this sweet boy is not about to wait for her to get dressed before he can go out to play. Just love that door mat also. Jolanda has been a Flickr member since September of 2010, currently with 2,300 in her feed. Please be sure to check out all of her other wonderful images HERE.

At that brings us to the end of September's "mornings" theme. Many thanks to all of you who participated in the theme. October is just around the corner with the new theme "Fall". Perfect timing! Can't wait to see what your Fall looks like.


PS - Don't forget about the FOL 'Thank You' giveaway! Click HERE to view the lovely prize we have for you with details for entering. Good luck!

Our "Thank You" Giveaway

by Terri

Thistle in the Morning Light

First of all, I want to tell all of you who have been contributing your “morning” photos how much I have been enjoying them! It’s just wonderful to see what morning looks like at your house. Secondly, I have a little video to share with you. I recently saw this and loved it, so I wanted to share it with all of you. Here goes: 

This needs to come with a disclaimer: “Don’t try this at home!”

You’ve probably noticed that there has been a lot of admiration going around lately among all the FOL sisters, and it’s true that we do admire and support each other.  But we want to let you know how much we admire and appreciate you, our readers. We love getting your comments and seeing your photos posted in the Flickr pool and every once in a while we like to let you know how much. So in honor of all of our special readers, we are going to have a giveaway!

The prize is a 12x18 poster of your choice of either of the two posters shown below -- “Colors of the Barrio” which is of the barrio doors in Tucson, AZ or “Desert in Bloom” which is a selection of cactus flowers. These have been created by one of our contributors (exactly who shall remain a mystery!)  Once you have been informed that you are the winner, e-mail your mailing address to me and the poster will be sent to you.  It will be mailed securely in a heavy duty mailing tube so as to arrive safely at your door.

To enter the giveaway:

1.     Please leave one comment on any of our daily posts or post a photo in the Flickr pool each day between now and September 28th. You will receive one entry for every comment or Flickr post.

2.     When you post to Flickr, make sure to mark your photos “FOL giveaway” to receive credit. If you blog about the giveaway on your own blog, you will receive two entries! Make sure to include a link to your blog in your comment here so we can give you credit toward the giveaway.

3.     No collaborator comments or photos will be entered into the drawing.

4.     The winner will be selected by an outside party and will be notified in our October 7, 2013 post, so be sure to check back then to see if you won! Please email me with your shipping address and choice of prize by October 13. The email address will be in the October 7^th post.

That’s all there is to it! Thank you for this opportunity to tell you how much we value your being along on this adventure with us. You are what make it all  worthwhile!

Focus On You - "Mornings" Inside & Out

By Carol H.

Absolutely stunning “morning” images posted to the Flickr site this week. There were two images in particular, both by the same photographer, Leanne S., that I just fell in love with. Since I couldn’t decide which one to feature here I decided to include them both!

This first image by Leanne is entitled “Wake” and it really took me back to when my son was a young boy. Trying to get him up in the morning was no small chore let me tell you! I love Leanne’s point of view and the fact that she chose to process this as a black & white lends a timeless quality to it. I’m sure this image will be a treasured one in the family album.

This second image really took my breath away. Leanne’s shallow depth of field brings attention to the frost on the leaf and bit of red revealed where parts of the leaf has turned at the edge. And the bokeh, my goodness, this whole leaf is just shimmering.

Leanne has been a Flickr member since May 2011 with 1,087 photos currently in her feed. Her collection of images have an intimate quality about them that puts me right there. Check out her Flickr site HERE.

We have a little over a week left for our September “mornings” theme. Would you give us a glimpse into your morning? Post on the Focusing On Life Flickr sites, remember we have two, one devoted to phoneography. You may also post to Instagram with the hashtag #focusingonlife.

“Make sure you stop back on Monday when we will be announcing our new giveaway.

We will be giving you all the information on how to enter so you won’t want to miss it!”