Seen :: Frost Birds
Seen:: Tiny Fisherwoman Casts Her Net
I am Lucky as a Photographer
- I am lucky because I have been involved in this young woman’s life for over 4 years.
- I am lucky because she allows me to know her — the real her.
- I am lucky to be able to point my lens in her direction almost anytime … she doesn’t mind. And she knows how to drop the mask and be herself. And she lets me see that. And record that part of her.
- I am lucky to have been able to photograph her belly three times now. And the babies. And toddlers.
- And finally I am lucky to watch healing happen in the heart a girl who was so wounded … and to see her find a partner who cherishes her, who is a good papa, who is gentle and funny and real.
Here’s a peek at some of the images my lens captured today. Check back for more. We’re still in the stage of choosing which ones we like best.
My Hometown: Looking for Light
On my photo walk this week I found myself in such glorious beauty that at times it felt transcendent. It was my birthday today. Charlie and I spent a couple of hours at Cox Lake and on the ridgeline above the lake. Trying to take in the beauty. Trying to take in the light — the incredible crisp, clear, morning light just five minutes from our house.
I could not make myself post just one photo today. Though these are not my best photos ever, still I love the quality of light in these images. So, here are a few, for your viewing pleasure. I hope these images lift your heart as the place did mine.
thank you God for most this amazing day
One of my all time favorite poems is by e.e.cummings, a poem I first read when I was 14 years old, living in Virginia. My dad introduced me to e.e.cummings. Throughout my spiritual journey, from Catholicism to Buddhism, to exploring other Christian faith communities and finally finding my spiritual home in Huichol Shamanism, e.e.cumming’s poet-mystic vision rings true to my heart.
We are all climbing to the top of the same mountain on different trails.
May all Beings be Blessed. May all Beings be Loved.
Here is the poem:
i thank You God for most this amazing
day:for the leaping greenly spirits of trees
and a blue true dream of sky;and for everything
which is natural which is infinite which is yes
(i who have died am alive again today,
and this is the sun’s birthday;this is the birth
day of life and love and wings:and of the gay
great happening illimitably earth)
how should tasting touching hearing seeing
breathing any-lifted from the no
of all nothing-human merely being
doubt unimaginable You?
(now the ears of my ears awake and
now the eyes of my eyes are opened)– e e cummings
My Hometown: Color Hunt in the Rain
Have you ever stayed indoors because it’s just too uncomfortable to go outside? Sometimes we all do that: hide from the elements — wind, rain, heat, snow, ice, sun. When I choose to stay inside and not head out into nature, I often regret it later. Yesterday was one of those days. I seriously thought about not going out in the rain, but Charlie needed his walk and I needed my nature-fix. So, I bundled up, put on a hat, grabbed the umbrella and my camera and took off with my favorite walking buddy.
Rain. Have you ever noticed when it’s raining, that in spite of overcast skies and gray air, the rain has an amazing effect on the colors all around you? I decided to turn our soggy outing into a hunt for awesome colors. This time of year in Montana, the colors of the land appear to fade but they don’t, really. Prairie grasses morph to tan, gray, brown. Wildflowers seed. Yes, aspens, larch and other trees will soon put on a color show, and the ground shrubs are still colorful, but mostly, when our eyes look out at the prairie, our brains see “gray/tan.”
But. When the rain comes, all you have to do is look a little closer and you’ll see a tapestry of brilliant colors. Here’s one, above — a community of lichens.
Click the photo to see it large — you’ll see the colors better. It’s like getting down on the ground up close to your subject. 🙂
Hollyhock Dolls: a throwback to simpler times
I remember making these dolls from hollyhock blossoms in late summer. They only last for a few hours, even less if you play with them. But they’re fun to make, and really do have lots of personality. Now is hollyhock time in Montana. Do you have hollyhocks where you live? If you do, then you’re in luck. Go find a few, get out a needle and thread and go for it.
- Pick some hollyhock blossoms. Remember to get different sizes of buds, and a few leaves (for hats.) Sort the buds by size, making sure you have at least 3 buds for each arm.
- Keep blossoms fresh while you work, by placing them in a bowl of water. You can also mist them with water using a sprayer.
- Remove the large, fuzzy stamen that sticks out of the center of each flower. Using a large needle and thread, stitch up through two or three large flowers, layering them to look like a skirt. You can make multi-color skirts with different colored flowers. Next make the head — you can use either a small blossom that hasn’t fully opened yet, or a large bud. Stitch from the bottom of the head through to the top.
- You can add a leaf on top of the head for a hat.
- Use 3 buds for each arm, a small, medium and large. I like to start at one hand, thread 3 buds together, then pierce the shoulder with the needle, and continue on the other side with 3 more buds for the opposite arm. (see photo 6)
- Your hollyhock doll will have personality and facial expressions if you use your imagination with her.
You can add legs if you want but I kinda like them without legs. The big skirts make the dolls look like Southern Belles at a Ball, or Ballerinas Dancing Across the Stage. If you want legs, do them the same as the arms.
Another way to make hollyhock dolls is to use long, stiff pine needles, or toothpicks instead of needle and thread. Using the thread allows the arms, legs, neck and waist of the doll to move and jiggle, and if you hang her she will dance in the breeze. Using pine needles or toothpicks gives you a stiffer doll that can be played with more easily. Here is a link to making hollyhock dolls with toothpicks.
Miss Hickory is a children’s book that dates back to 1948. It is about a tiny doll made of apple twigs with a hickory nut head, so is a little similar to our hollyhock dolls, only longer lasting. The story follows her adventures through the four seasons. And eventually, the story ends with the little doll asleep on a branch of an apple tree and in the spring the apple tree blossoms all around her. Below are a couple of illustrations from the book and a link to a tutorial on how to make a Miss Hickory doll.
Learning to Observe Nature with kids
