Lens-Artists Challenge #234 – Messages

My friend Donna at Wind Kisses is debuting this week as one of the presenters of the Lens-Artists Challenge, one whose thoughtful, lyrical words complement her lovely photos. “Messages” is the challenge she’s chosen, offering us a plethora of possibilities.

Sometimes messages are simply words, words that can be humorous as in these signs I saw recently.

In the natural world, a bright color can be a message that says: “Danger. Stay away,” the same message of the apple in “Snow White”, surface beauty hiding something deadly.

The cliffside at El Morro National Monument, New Mexico is filled with over 2,000 signatures, dates, messages, and petroglyphs carved by ancestral Puebloans, Spanish, and American travelers, allmessages from the past. I visited on a chilly fall day, almost the only person to immerse myself in the carved autographs of the past. It was magical, both historically and in the physical beauty of the park.

If the sight of the blue skies fills you with joy, if a blade of grass springing up in the fields has power to move you, if the simple things of nature have a message that you understand, rejoice, for your soul is alive. ~Eleonora Duse

The passage of dawn to dusk reminds us to make good use of our time but also to enjoy the beauty along the way. This beauty is one that animates part of my life, a part that brings joy, wonder, a deep thankfulness for God’s goodness and creation.

Messages are often personal. Do these footprints say we’re not alone, that everyone needs someone beside him/her, or something else altogether? The answer is an emphatic “YES.” 🙂

Life can get overwhelming, wearing us down to the bone. Is that the message? Nah! I don’t think so. I think the message is just relax and laugh!

Every child comes with the message that God is not yet discouraged of man. ~Rabindranath Tagore

What’s the message here? Pure and simple: lovin’ my grandson!

Skyline

One Word Sunday…skyline

Cellpic Sunday 1.15.23

Monday walk in the neighborhood

It’s often clear in our part of Arizona but when there are some clouds, be ready for some spectacular morning color as on this morning last week. Sunrise doesn’t come until about 7:30 am these days so I don’t have to rush out to catch dawn and sunrise. Most mornings I have my devotions, Bible readings, and Norwegian lesson done before going out and I’m still out before the sun, just the way I like it.

Unusually we had an entire day of rain not long ago and, as our soil doesn’t absorb water very quickly, we were left with lots of sitting water. Made for some good reflections.

Presenting still life on the sidewalk. 🙂 The leaf had such a deep, rich color I couldn’t resist.

Naturally drop shots aren’t the norm either so I enjoyed seeing so many drops on this cactus pad.

We’re getting autumn colors now.

Orange color here might just come from…oranges. These are in someone’s yard but the neighborhood streets are lined with citrus trees and fruit for the taking. I just wish more of the trees were lemon trees.

Jo’s Monday Walk 1.9.23

From the road…day 1

4 AM was the time I’d set to leave but as I woke up earlier than my alarm, I left the house at about 3:30 AM. The good part about leaving at that time and in the dark is that there are very few people on the highway. The two bad things about leaving in the dark are you miss all the really beautiful scenery in the first part of the drive and you really have to pay attention to the road to be sure no elk, deer, or other wild animals come charging out into the road. So I’d been the road for 2 1/2 hours when the sun began peeking over the horizon.

I ran into an issue with a detour that immediately added half an hour to my trip, a trip where because of time zones, I lost two hours on the first day. Arizona doesn’t do daylight savings time so when I got into New Mexico it was an hour later, then another hour later when I passed into Texas. But an unexpected issue made itself blazingly obvious when I turned east—the rising sun was directly in the middle of the road just over the horizon. I could barely see. I Jerry-rigged an additional sun visor by putting a CD envelope (not a case) in the bottom of the mirror on the sun visor so I could just see the road but not have the sun directly in my eyes. This is a little of how it looked without that. Bad photo but taken with great care which is the important thing.

When things improved, this is what I saw.

However, the detour that I was unhappy about, turned out to be the high point of the entire day. I drove through a part of New Mexico that was beautiful. I plan to visit it on the way back.

Out of the window…

And then there was snow!

And another from the van.

Despite the early start, attack by the sun, and detour, I arrived on good shape in Amarillo, Texas where I checked in to The Big Texan motel. Well, I didn’t actually have to check in. I was sent a room number and the code this morning and email so I just went to my room and went in. After a bit of a break, I walked over to their restaurant.

But all that’s another story. That’s it from the road today. Tomorrow I’m on my way to Rolla, Missouri. It’s a shorter day so I don’t have to leave so early. But as I wake up early, we’ll see what happens. As Scarlet O’Hara famously said, “Tomorrow is another day.”

Some mornings it’s worth getting up!

Six-Word Saturday 9.10.22

Weekend Sky 9.10.22

LAPC #213: Here Comes the Sun

“Here Comes the Sun” conjures up dawn and sunrise, my favorite time to be out walking and taking photos, so thanks to Amy for the theme, although it did make it hard to choose. 🙂 So I have to interrupt the retrospective of my Wyoming vacation to go for the sunshine.

This shot was taken on my way down the mountain in Wyoming as I headed home in 2017, the day of the eclipse. As you can see, it began in a stunning way, really more beautiful than the eclipse itself.

At the Preserve here in Arizona…

Sunshine inside the house…

In the morning in Illinois…

As backlighting…

Wordless Wednesday…the morning I left

Wordless Wednesday…morning

Good morning

Another weekend in the review mirror, this one filled with Easter joy. I hope you enjoyed your weekend whether you celebrated the resurrection or not. Taking a morning walk is my favorite way to start the day or the week. The highlight of our week will be traveling to California this coming weekend to meet our new grandson and first grandchild. I also have a dentist appointment later in the week. I always like getting my teeth cleaned because they feel so good afterwards and I rarely have any other issues. Do you dread the dentist or not mind? What are you looking forward to this week?

Silent Sunday…Arizona sunrise

Life in Colour: kaleidoscope