I wish my beloved Golden Eye Stray would come back in and play well with the Pride but it is not to be. She has a very independent spirit and stubborn streak as well. I check to see if she is well often and worry when she is not where I think she should be. Yesterday she went with me on my quick walkabout to get some ice-storm pics around are place. After getting back to the house I took these on our porch. Even though I think she is cold I can see her Love and warm heart melts snow.
We had a minor ice-storm, read the lights stayed on we are safe and warm, come through late yesterday evening. I tried to capture its eerie beauty last night with my Olympus SP-350. Armed with an LED flashlight and sans a tri-pod to steady my shivering hands the results were less than stellar but I had a great time trying! So I got up and headed out before the ice started to melt this morning and took a few quick shots. Since the sun is smarter than me and stayed in bed the lighting is not great but I hope you enjoy Winter’s version of Embraced.
As I was perusing my-way-back files for a worthy capture for the day I came across this one. I took it with my Olympus SP-350 in early Autumn. You remember back when the sun was making daily appearances, quite unlike this late Fall fun known as the gray days of Fall around here. And the pollinators were drinking in the last of natures harvest before it beds down till Spring. So I share with you an early Autumn find!
From the onset I want all to know I did NOT venture into the fray known as Black Friday. I also must state here I am somewhat baffled how Black Friday has taking over the last half of Thanksgiving. Now for those visiting my place for the first time, I do not usually get into such matters here but what I saw last night and almost yearly on the news has compelled me to step onto my soap box. Hard to do for one who has short legs but here we go!
I will start with last night’s revelation: I will never be able to enjoy the ride through my town feeling like a traveler returning to his peaceful town after a long journey.The Bride and I used to enjoy the trip down the main drag of our town on are way home after the family Thanksgiving gathering. There was just a few gas stations open and the traffic was minimal and moving at a leisurely pace. That change last night and I felt like we were driving home on a normal business evening in our town. It felt just like another day. I do not like it one bit but at least I can learn from it.
What lesson have I learned? The first is really a re-learning of an old lesson and that is that good things come to those who wait. I was reminded of that this morning when our new-to-the-outside cat Butterfly was hunting in the side yard. As I watched her I remembered the five moles and three mice she has presented to us this Autumn. If she did not exercise patience she, and we, would not have benefited from natures wonderment. I am sure the moles and the mice would disagree with that last statement.
The second lesson I learned also came from that encounter: What really matters can be found in the ordinary. It is remarkably in the unremarkable. It is right before us and we can miss it looking past the now. People have died on Black Friday’s past and people have done ugly things to one another over things that have no real value! Stop looking for the next great thing because it is right here, right now.
I saw the Angel below in the Thrift shop I work at I thought it was crying. I felt it was a great metaphor for the uselessness to our community, family and friendships that this thing Black Friday has become. I now step off my soap box and join The Bride in enjoying the warmth of our home and the company of The Boy and our cats.
I must confess I am a bit taken back by something I see from time to time at yard sales and the like: Family photos inside frames, lockets and such that are for sale. Maybe it is just me that finds that a bit odd but maybe it is a way for memories to live on.
Daffodil Hill Photography 