What is Real?

With each pump of my legs I got closer and closer to my goal... to touch the sky while swinging on the old swing set in my grandma's yard.

Many a summer's day in my childhood was spent at grandma's. There are several things today that remind me about what was real during that time. The smell of wild mint, the cat tails blowing in the rain, the sound of the train coming, the beauty of lilacs, vanilla ice cream cones, and the thrill of a child in a swing.

Those things were real and have left everlasting memories in my mind.

Today things that are real are not that simple. Today's reality is about studying philosophy, ideology, and theories in education. What is real right now is that these words are making my mind ACHE!

I have been reading page after page of information on all three. My mind is spinning. I need to be able to connect each to one another as well as point out their differences. It isn't happening.

These things are so abstract, and I do not do well with abstract.

I want to grasp something real right now. I want to escape for a moment to the time in my life when what was real was the smell of wild mint, eating an ice cream cone with grandpa, and reaching for the sky while sitting on the swing.


What is Real?, originally uploaded by little.tree.company.

Hakiu Wednesday

So a friend of mine creates Haikus and every Wednesday she posts one over on her blog.
She has invited friends to play along, so today I did. Here is my haiku for the theme she chose for Haiku Wednesday: Exercise!

bend, twist, stretch and kick
lift those weights way over your head
run a mile or two




You can read my friend's haiku and others that share theirs on her blog here:

HAIKU WEDNESDAY!

She gave me magic wishing fries...

"Here mom", she said as she handed me a homemade envelope filled with strips of paper.

"What's this?" I asked.

"Magic wishing fries" she replied with assurance.

"You take one out each day that you miss me and make a wish. After you make your wish you put the fries in the back" she stated as she showed me how to do it. "When they are all gone you start over!"

Wow! What a creative power of imagination this six year old girl has. She also has an amazing power to love and be loved, as do all of my children.

I am blessed with an amazing family. We have a crazy household when it is filled with the 6 of us.

The summers are spent with all four children in our home and the days are filled with laughter and smiles as we go about creating memories.

When August comes around, part of each of us leaves when the two little ones head north for the winter. An emptiness fills our hearts and our home as they are missed the very moment they step out our front door.

I am so grateful for the memories of the summer that are alive in our hearts, our minds and our collection of pictures.

And I am oh, so happy for my "magic wishing fries".


20100806-IMG_2992 copy, originally uploaded by little.tree.company.

The Weird Worm Story...

I have had a plinky account for a while now but haven't really used it. Today while going through my email I came across a message from plinky. Upon reading it I thought one of the prompts sounded fun...write a 200 word story as fast as you can. So what follows is my story. It is based off of the pet worm I had when I was 5. Yes, I had a pet worm and his name was Fred...What, didn't everyone have a pet worm at the age of 5?

Picture from flickr...

73 - o little boys

The worm lay sunning himself on the sidewalk. Fred is his name. He was totally lost in the moment when she showed up.



She picked him up and placed him in a bucket of mud, poking at him until he was submerged. She left him there for a few moments before removing him and placing him in a bucket of water.



Man, Fred was so tired of this routine. Every time he got comfortable in the sun she came along and did the bucket of mud, bucket of water thing. She would talk to him as she did it. She referred to the bucket of mud as his play ground.



Fred didn't think it was a play ground. He hated mud! Sure, worms and mud are suppose to go together, but not for this worm. Fred hated to get dirty. And even more than getting dirty, he hated water.



Sure you are thinking, what kind of worm is this...a suicidal worm or something. Don't worms need mud and water to survive. And why would a worm sun himself on the side walk? What about the birds and dying from being dried out? This worm is weird!



Yes, all of those things are true. But hey, this is s short story that I am writing as fast as I can...so if you want it to make sense then you better give me time. Now go back to whatever you were doing and enjoy reality!

As Yoda says “There is no try, just do.”...

I love reading photo blogs, especially those that are informational, such as Photofocus.
Today there is a wonderful post on using available light. The opening paragraph puts forth the message that to improve your photography you need to practice.

Scott Bourne suggests that you "Shoot each week so you get to the point where you don’t have to think about how to operate your camera…You just use it to create images." I love that last part..you just create images. I love creating images. I love it when I create the image I had in mind. One of my goals with my photography is to nail the shot in the camera and leave photoshop out of my workflow. And how do I go about doing this, I practice...Practice makes perfect! I am working on perfecting my photography...my style!

Scott closes the first paragraph with the Yoda quote..."There is no try, just do." This quote makes me think of something that Jasmine Star stated in the creativeLive workshop she is currently doing. I can't give a direct quote, but to sum it up, she said you have to fight for what you want....move toward what you want...vocalize it. Go after what you want....so in connecting it to Yoda's words...don't just try to go after it...GO AFTER IT! To connect that to my personal goal of nailing the shot in the camera...I can't just try to do it...by reading or wishing...I have to do it...how do I do it? I practice, practice and practice. Take note of what I did to make the shot that is IT! Do different and be different.

With that, I leave you with a one of my all time favorite photos...


The Joy of Laughter!, originally uploaded by little.tree.company.