Sun beams are an amazing thing, the mood created by sun shining through the craggy branches of a tree is haunting in its beauty. Like the claws of some old creature trying to snuff out the sun but it cannot succeed in blocking out the light from the sun. To stand in the sun’s beams and just bask in the glory that is the natural world is the closest a person can be to enlightenment. When you stand in the light shining between a monsters fingers, what will you find in the sun’s revealing eyes?
This picture is at Pictured Rocks National Park in Northern Michigan. In a place of such pristine beauty, were the sandstone rock walls stand like monoliths looming over Lake Superior, there is wonder in everything. Most people would expect a picture of these cliffs, but my favorite shot when I was there, was not of the towering monoliths or the emerald green waters, but of the forest hidden behind it all. People will tell you where to find the most beautiful sights in places like this, but the real beauty is found in the unspoken places. Down the little untreaded paths were no ranger or tour guide will lead you. It is up to you to discover it and keep the little wonder a secret in your heart. Find your own beauty, mine lies in the forest. Where the trees are white as snow and the ground is red with fallen leaves and pines. This is were I find beauty, in the unsuspected place.
There is a relationship between all living things, a dependence, a connection that you have to look very closely to find. Yet at times it is so obvious you would have to be blind not to notice. A bee’s romance with the flower it seeks life from. A child’s connection to its mother as they grow old together with a bond that surpasses that of genetics. Or the look in an animals eye as it looks upon a potential predator but neither make a menacing move. It is a dance, a balance between one beings life and another’s. Can you see it, the connection, the relationships of the world around you. If you can’t now, start looking before it is too late to look at the harmony in the world around you. It is beautiful.
red hat revisited…
There are memories now
Of a long lost love
Of a passion who could have been
But never was
Resting in her eyes
You can see the place where
His kisses
Left a burned out hole
In her heart
Fragile like a robin’s egg
So nurtured so loved
But it shattered on the ground
She held her face so daintily once
But no more
Now she hangs it low
As if it is too heavy
To hold up on her own
Once she had a fire
That burned in her eyes
But now all that is left
Are the blackened coals
Left behind
Smoldering and decaying
Do you know her name
Once she was love
Once she was loved
Once she was a lover
But now she is no one
Love had carved out her heart
And left her empty inside
Now she is a shell
Of her beauty
Of her spirit
That along with love
Ever slowly died
As I said before in my earlier post, The Horrors of Butterflies, butterflies are so creepy yet so beautiful. It is this deceiving nature of the butterflies beauty that I find horrifying just how easy it is to look at a butterfly and fawn over its beauty only to realize just how truly scary looking and ugly they really are. Here are a few more photos of butterflies that illustrate not only they beauty but their ugliness as well.
Just going to throw this out there, Bootjack has the best sunsets. No competition. Every single night there is an amazing sunset just waiting outside of our window. It truly is spectacular. We have a front row seat every night of a sunset over a beautiful lake. Let me re-iterate. Every night, beautiful sunset, right outside. We are very lucky to have this spectacular natural wonder be our guest every night. We really enjoy it and I want all of you to enjoy it as well.
I mean look at the colors on the water alone. This is just a fraction of the real beauty of the sunset but the reflection of the sunset on the lake always adds a little grandeur and wonder to the entire spectacle.
Butterflies are crafty creatures. They look so beautiful and graceful but when you look at them closely they are horrifying. Butterflies must be one of the scariest looking animals up close. Like this one here that I found in the Navajo National Monument in Arizona feeding on a Paintbrush flower. I was trying really hard to get a photo of him and was so jazzed when I got these but when I looked at them up close I realized they look like monsters. No wonder Mothra in Godzilla was so scary, it is the same sort of thing. Nature is a very deceiving thing some of the cutest or prettiest things are really scary. I don’t think I can ever look at butterflies the same again.
There is something unspeakable beautiful about this water lily. I took this at the Mission San Antonio near King City and it was so gorgeous I had to share it with all of you. The idea of a water lily reminds me very much of that of the lotus flower. This beautiful majestic flower blooming amidst mud, dirt, and grime but yet it retains a radiant beauty that no amount of dirt can damper. Enjoy this, it stands for all of you who do not give up in the face of hardship and shine through no matter the circumstance.
I love living in Santa Cruz, the people, the culture, the lifestyles. Everything about Santa Cruz is different. I love it because I enjoy people, I don’t have to go far to find a character, someone interesting to talk to, people who have lived life and want to share. There is so much potential here and that is what I love. Art lingers beneath the surface of everything. This is home.
Here is the site I got to see everyday when I was in Yellowstone. This picture can’t truly describe how beautiful this place really is. I must say it is extremely different than Santa Cruz and this is one of the hardest parts of being back home.
I keep looking outside expecting to see snow and gorgeous mountains but instead I see rain and lots of trees. I am not complaining, it is just such a shock because it is so entirely different. It really reminds me just how lucky I am to get to travel like this because I can experience all the different terrains and lifestyles of the world around me. That is why I believe it is essential to travel because people have to get out of their normal atmosphere and see the world in all of it’s different lights.