when it all feels too big, too much … just focus on the moment #mantra #mymantrathesedays #whitenoise #addingtothewhitenoise
Kitchen Window
so many memories reside here
"What is ephemeral" Alex? ... for the win...
Time
where are we? .... and where are we going...?
losing a pet
what are we saying goodbye to?
those rude moments of irritation when he sneezes a nose full of snot on your pants?
those times when he gets too much in your space and not understanding when to find other entertainment?
those times when he pisses on the bed? … … or the couch… or the rug?
what are we saying goodbye to? …
the litter box that always needs cleaning?
the incessant whining when dinner isn’t on his timetable?
what are we saying goodbye to?
we’re saying goodbye to the eyes that look at you with adoration and love
with total and complete love…
and trust
and we hope we did ok
#petlove #sayinggoodbye #cats #pets #griefcomesinallsizes
5th grade - memories
when do we become the older version of ourselves …
1967 …
5th grade
I remember a reel to reel movie about climate change… I remember no details really - but I remember the space I was in when I first realized that humans were impacting the health of the planet… that we were gonna have to turn things around and think bigger picture …
I remember thinking that’s too big … no way… we’re not going there… THAT’S TOO SCARY … t h a t … i s … t o o …. s c a r y … crazy..
and there were soothing things said afterwards.. things that soothed the scary parts..
we were lulled into a sense of complacency… and I remember thinking …
~ oh thank goodness … that was just scary stuff ….
But ‘they’ were taking care of it… i don’t need to do anything about it - ~they’ve got it under control… it’s really not a thing…
I remember thinking this in 5th grade … sitting there -3rd row 2nd from my left.
I remember it because it was scary and I was paying attention. - I remember the space and the light as it came thru the window on my left - thru the blinds - I’m looking at the screen and thinking - that’s scary!
It was too much… way too much for that 10 year old to grasp
5th grade
I had the teacher no one wanted to get … at least not if you were a half-assed lazy, easily distracted prone to day-dreaming kind of kid…
she was scary and there were rumors…
5th grade
she taught for a long time and she had a reputation.
she scared a lot of us … some are still close friends of mine and we share the same ptsd stories …
the dame was scary…
5th grade
the Year I first got a glimmer of what I could do if I worked hard and made the effort … even a half assed effort…
I was so scared of that woman .. you worked hard so she’d be nice
She wasn’t very nice to the ones that could - but wouldn’t.
1967
It was the year I first heard about climate change…
It was my first year of self awareness.
It was the only year I ever gave flowers to my teacher at the end of the year
….
funny what memories can do
#they #whothefuckisthey #theyisus #teachersthatmatter
Sometimes - we have to have the doubt scared out of us before we see the light.
(The photo was taken in 2009 at sunset after storm off the coast of Harker’s Island, NC and has nothing to do with the post but posts are boring without pretty pictures.)
what's in a portrait...
i’m asking ..
for posterity
for posterity.
Read MoreI wish I could paint, sculpt, write, sing, play, act ....
But I can't
.... so i take pictures
I wish I could be ok with uncomfortable
But I'm not
.... so I live 1/2 a life...
ants on a planet
can any one of us make any difference?
LadyBug / #Coccinellidae
#Coccinellidae
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coccinellidae
http://mentalfloss.com/article/80471/14-darling-facts-about-ladybugs
Boys of Summer
I can tell you my love for you will still be strong after the Boys of Summer have gone." ~Don Henley.
Strawberry Moon
Wilmington North Carolina over the Intracoastal Waterway.
Strawberry Moon on 6.9.2017 @ 8:49PM
f/2.8 ISO 320 1/10
50mm f /1.4 Sigma Art lens on a Nikon df
Handheld using a railing for stability.
.... Dirty has its charm.
I've had a relationship with Durham, NC since I was a baby because I had a set of grandparents that lived in Durham.
As life would have it for me - I later ended up living (and I still do) in their same house.
I moved to Durham as a single (divorcing) mother of 3. Into the same house and 'big city' that I visited as a child. ( Durham was a 'city' to us - because where we lived and where I grew up was decidedly not ... a city.)
In the not too distant past (and even still a little today) - Durham has had a 'local reputation'. A reputation that was at one time and in part - maybe deserved - but definitely not to the extent that was shared in the local news that flowed within some of the sister communities - in the bordering counties especially.
I've loved this sweet Southern city for all of my life and I've felt very lucky to be able to call it home most of my 'adult' (whatever that is) life. I moved to Durham from one of our neighboring communities...so I was familiar with the reputation. I managed my early fears of living here by just cancelling my newspaper subscription. Obviously - this was pre-internet - and newspapers were our major source of information on anything beyond our doorstep... so, I just rid my 'daily newsfeed' of the negative press...
However, I still had friends and a former family member or two that took it upon themselves to keep me informed of the reputation.
I always loved Durham. It was my home and me being me - I took the opposite stance and with great conviction I began touting its charms to anyone that would listen. And - one of its biggest charms was that one had to have an open mind to see them ....
... an open mind
I love this place and it is validating to see others now realize the unique charms of Durham.
Flash forward 25 years to 2017...
Yes, I'll admit - it is sort of exciting to watch it grow (almost overnight it feels like), and become a destination...for unique people and diverse ideas. We're a 'destination' that others seek out. .... be it for just a visit or for a new full time home...
I also have a niggling fear these days...
That Durham will lose too much of its 'dirtiness' ... a dirtiness that helps an open mind stay open.
I fear that it will lose the very thing that made it special and unique.
I hope we don't lose the soul of its charm in the name of growth and the almighty $$.
I hope the 'we' of Durham recognizes the value of grittiness and dirt in the process of creativity.
I hope the 'we' of Durham always remembers the value of diversity and character.
And that the 'we' of Durham nurtures and encourages and protects the creative souls within our borders.
I hope we always have an open mind.
#openmind
#keepitalittlebitdirtyDurham #dirtydurham #keepitdirtydurham #durhamnc #durham #durhamathleticpark #libertycafe #dap #baseball
Rodin at the NCMA
what's it all about alfie?
life
what is it
all about.
Swan song...
Being born in a duck yard does not matter, if only you are hatched from a swan's egg.
~Hans Christian Andersen
#babyswan #sylvanbirds #swansong #duck
Tis the season for silver and gold..
Silver and gold...and a bit of red and green.
Winter Beach
#ilm #winterbeach #wrightsvillebeach #wrightsvillenc #WB
It isn't all gloom and doom..
I started to add to a post on FB - and decided I'd rather rant in a different channel..
- Climate change
- Politics
- Cultures colliding
- Accounting for the acts and attitudes of our forefathers.
- Acclimating to a 1st world problem of information overload
- Observing restraint
- Expressing ourselves however we might
- Opening our minds to other ideas, mores and standards
- Expanding our experiences; even if we stay in the comfort of our homes
- Staying sane
It is scary.... Would you say it is scarier now than it used to be?
Are we exponentially headed to a final outcome of self destruction?
Am I just falling prey to the doom and gloom condiment in the current political season?
And this evening - I sit in my air conditioned house, on my computer - thinking of the people that have lost their homes, and so much more - this week - in the floods in Louisiana.
A weather 'event' that wasn't expected - it was just too much dang rain in too short a period.
Our shorelines are rising folks..
This isn't a political statement.
It is a fact.
Move out of the way or buy flood insurance.
Most of the folks that flooded in this flood - had no insurance - because they WERE NOT IN A FLOOD ZONE.
If you live in the coastal plain - you better be paying attention.
It will affect all of us .... but it will affect those that live in the coastal areas the most dramatically.
Move or buy flood insurance.
Or raise that house on stilts.
2016 is the warmest year on record
There is climate change - there's no escaping it - there's no denying it..
Mother Nature is speaking - and you just don't ignore mother-nature.
REF: http://www.alternet.org/environment/media-downplaying-louisiana-floods
#floods #payattention #climatechange #hotestyearonrecord