539. closet cowgirl

just for show

all the pretty horses

in the closet

 

(This is not my closet. I just like this picture and wanted to show it.  I confess I like clothes though I wouldn’t call me a clotheshorse, someone always wanting to be fashionably dressed in the latest fashion. Though I have known a few snappy dressers, even some men. 

It’s more that I enjoy just looking at clothes. Simply seeing all the different colors and all the different textures, and the tactile feel of fabrics—cotton and silk and linen and wool—like all the pretty horses. That’s a book title that I’ve always liked. I don’t know why….maybe I’m just a closet clotheshorse!)

538. shrine

five stones

two little bones 

and a hat

(Hidden away inside the hollowed-out trunk of an old tree— five small stones, two tiny old bones, and an acorn hat. Some monuments are big and bold—they push you back and away for a better view. Others are small, so small they beckon you come close and listen, “…can hear what I have to say?”  There is a story to everything if you only take time to listen.)

537. changing scenery

no woods, no open fields

crowded skies and blocked off streets—

change of scenery

(A trip into the city on Sunday. I used to live in the city. I’m glad that I did then and that now I don’t….feeling grateful.)

536. he’s a winner!

 

zoom in

close….closer….closer still

take a good look

*

my name is

willey….after will smith— 

the greatest!

(Willey is so much fun. He loves to be on stage just like his namesake, Will Smith. In 2009 when Willey came along, I was ‘in love with Will Smith,’ so I named him Willey.  Last night we both were rooting for Will Smith to win the Oscar for Best Actor—for the movie, King Richard—and he did. Yay!)

535. a piece of cake

i’ll have to do it,

give it back some day

no matter what

*

but for now, 

i’ll grow flowers in spring

dance and sing 

*

and let me eat cake!

 

(My life is mine. I made it, and it is mine to do with how I choose. One day I’ll have to give it back—it’s certain. Until then, let me live it and savor it—day by day, bite by bite.)

This painting by Wayne Thiebaud is taken from a retrospective of his work now on display through April 10 at the Brandywine River Museum in Chadds Ford, PA.

534. just one of those days

it’s saturday 

but it sure seems like sunday….

a fox trots by

 

(All day I’ve been thinking it’s Sunday, it just feels like Sunday, yet I know it’s not. I guess it’s just one of those days. I saw a fox today.)

533. the snapper

two silos

like sister and brother

thinking of home

 

(Some photographers deliberately wait for the perfect shot, others very often simply snap, snap, snap. I am the snapper. When I go outside I am always looking, and when some thing causes me to pause and consider, right away I pull out my phone and start taking pictures. It’s only later at home as I begin looking again at earlier photos, zooming in and all around, do I see things that I hadn’t known were there: like two silos, a red winged blackbird, or the number 12.

Just goes to show you, you don’t have to go far and wide for something good; good things can show up right where you are, wherever you go….just keep looking! )

532. yellow brick road

this way, this way

the leaves are whispering—

leading me on

(The wind blows and everything changes. We are all travelers here on Earth, and we can never know for certain where life is leading us on. You know what they say:  “It’s not the destination that matters, it’s the journey.” So maybe the important thing is to walk mindfully along your path, day by day, and appreciate the people, places, and things that life brings your way.)

 

531. life is story

poems

stories, histories, biographies

prayers of all kinds

*

like books

piled one on top of another—

trading stories

 (Life is always seeking balance.)

530. wheel of fortune

an aerial view

shows the best seats around—

just ask the ladybug 

 

(Round and round she goes, where she’ll stop nobody knows. What goes around comes around, sooner or later. Life is like a Wheel of Karma. There’s bad karma and there’s good karma, too. We’re always creating karma. Every choice we make creates karma: what we say,  what we do, where we go, who we spend time with, and how we are living. It’s all a matter of choice. Just ask the ladybug.🐞)

529. taking a breather

yakety-yak 

turning the other cheek

not talking back

 (Making peace not war—the soft overcomes the hard.)

528. life is in the details

rotted out building

no shirts, no suits, no bags

two bicycles

(Roaming around old city Philadelphia, taking the time for a closer look at the details, to see what isn’t there and what is. Things look different close up.)

It’s said that life is in the details. “The details of our lives are how we are of service to ourselves, to the people who love us, and to our hopes….” If you have the time, read more in the link below. Heads up: just ignore the inappropriate ads. 

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/the-truth-is-in-the-detai_b_772711/amp

527. the north wind blows

no longer green

no longer fluttering….

letting go, letting go

(Spring, summer, autumn, winter, and spring….the north wind blows….things come and things go….nothing is always so, only change. What rises up will descend, then phoenix-like rise up again. Waiting for the rain.)

526. splendor

look up:

lighting up the nighttime sky

shower of stars

(Without the darkness, we could never see the light.)

 

525. love is everywhere….

love, like flowers 

blossoms then blooms—make sure you

water the flowers

(Happy Saint Patty‘s Day to all!)

 

524. on top of the world

like she owns the place

just sitting on top of the world—

red tailed hawk

(Like a giant, perched out there on the highest limb of a smaller tree. She was magnificent. Taking a wide, leisurely view of the surrounding territory, this female hawk sat perched for a long time. I say ‘female’ because of the raptor’s size. 

Earlier I watched her soar slowly down and perch on a wooden handrail as two people were walking in her direction. They stopped six or eight feet in front of her. They didn’t move and neither did she. Eventually, the man took out his camera. Not at all shy, the hawk just sat there for the longest time, you might say, like she was posing for a photograph!)

 

523. flowers or weeds?

in the alleyway

what kind of flowers are these?

i wonder

(Everything changes. From treasure to trash, from trash to treasure. One person’s treasure is another person’s trash.  Don’t forget to water the flowers.)

 

522. pandas for peace

in the bamboo grove

raising up the banners—

pandas for peace

(Panda bear family sitting together, holding banners strung with tiny white paper cranes, surrounded by bamboo leaves. Panda bears and paper cranes are recognized as symbols of peace. 

This picture is made entirely of folded paper. I was inspired to make this years ago. We need it’s message more than ever now.)

 

521. hey!

hey!

it’s daylight saving time

RAH! rah!

(It may be later than you think. But it’s never too late to begin something new! And don’t forget to change your clocks.)

 

520. brown is beautiful

ghost of a tulip

in a world of brown color

still glorious

(Tulip Poplars are members of the Magnolia Family. They are huge, averaging 70 to 90 feet in height and 40 feet around. These flowering trees bloom year after year in May and June in glorious shades of cream, pale yellow and orange. They live and can bloom 200 to 250 years, sometimes longer.)

519. solidarity

flower power

for truth, optimism, peace:

sunflowers

 

(Sunflowers are now worldwide symbols of solidarity with the people and land of Ukraine. I saw these sunflowers two days ago at Produce Junction in Glenside; that’s a local produce and flower store. 

“A little known fact about sunflowers is that they are symbols of nuclear disarmament. When the Soviet Union broke apart in 1991, the new nation of Ukraine held the third largest arsenal of nuclear weapons. In 1996, Ukraine committed to total nuclear disarmament. To honor the occasion, representatives from the United States, Ukraine, and Russia planted sunflowers in the locations where there had previously been nuclear missile silos.”

Click on the link below to read why they planted sunflowers as well as additional information about sunflowers https://www.uniguide.com/sunflower-meaning-symbolism/

518. the morning after

last night’s dinner 

too much of a good thing—

feeling stuffed

 

(Too much of a good thing can be wonderful until it’s not! 😵‍💫🤮🥺  Even Willey, my cat, eats too-much-too-fast, gobbles it up and then throws it up every time! Oh, well.😽)

517. 1-2-3-7

live your life

count all your blessings

forget your age

 

(….and never ever stop being whimsical🙃)

516. love is peaceful

don’t delay 

love’s in need of love today

send yours right away

Stevie Wonder says it all in Love’s In Need.  Click on the link for his song:
 https://genius.com/Stevie-wonder-loves-in-need-of-love-today-lyrics

515. what’s it all about?

what are these?

where’d they come from, where will they go?

pretty as a dream

 

(Life is full of beauty and mystery….harmony and chaos….sunshine and shadows….laughter and heartache.)

514. morning muse

 

round and round

with a spin of the wheel—

do-si-do 

 

(I wonder what those chairs are thinking….Are they practicing their most favorable pose? Or vying to be the best seat in town? Or are they getting ready for square-dancing or the next game of musical chairs? I could go on and on but I think I’ll stop here.😘)

513. the ghost and i

in the moment

capturing the moment

the two of us

(There’s always a good picture waiting in the woods! 👻)

512: priceless

like Jackson Pollock

throwing paints around the canvas—

priceless

(Abstract Art is seen as: shape, color, form, mark. Action Painting is the process of painting, wondering what will happen if less focus is placed on the image being created and more focus on the actions that created the painting. Jackson Pollock is one of the most significant action painters of the 20th century. Mother Nature is the Master Painter.)

Pollock:

 

511. smile, you’re on camera!

sit down 

make yourself at home

smile

(Two out of three isn’t bad. It’s good. No one, no matter how strong or smart, can do it all every time.

There’s a cool animals in art exhibit—Don’t Feed the Art—at the Woodmere Museum in Chestnut Hill.)

 

510. Lucy, the doctor

“the doctor is in

get psychiatric help—

only a nickel”

(Out of sorts? Are you going round-and-round, feeling scattered, garbled, disconnected? Lucy says: Just let it all go: open up….spill your guts….pay your nickel!  And don’t forget to get a little help from your friends.)

509. morning prayers

temple of light:

heads bowed in contemplation

hands in prayer 

*

a thousand arms 

and tiny fingers holding up 

the sky

*

save our world

(Prayer is everywhere. Remember to pray, and pray from your heart. Prayer matters.)