a thousand words

A sunny day accompanied by a scattered layer of clouds.

The male Ringneck Pheasant has visited our pond by the patio this morning. His behaviour suggests he is looking for something. Perhaps we should consider a mail order bride for him.

The sun is shining over head.

"What is invisible creates what is visible." And, "Nothing has meaning except for the meaning we give it." - T Harv Eker

Working on business-type stuff in the morning into the early afternoon.

Then moving out of doors to clean out, clean up the pump in the pond just off our patio, tractor terrorizing of flora and doubtless concerning small local fauna, at least temporarily. A rumored visitor to the area the past few days was heard off and on in the woods behind our home throughout the afternoon. Late in the day, he was spotted up behind our barn. We made offerings of corn, to encourage him to linger. Time will tell.

When we first moved here in 1982, pheasants were quite common. They all but disappeared, no doubt from real estate development resulting in the loss of many acres of suitable habitat, chemicals used on agricultural crops in the area and predation. We hope he finds a date, gets to mate and maintains a residence in the area. In all likelihood, he was raised by an area hunt club, released last year and was fortunate enough to be somewhere else than where members were hunting.

This evening the Cinnamon Girl treated me to a wonderful aural buffet

This mystery date took us to Wilson College in Chambersburg for an evening performance with John McCutcheon. If you have yet to hear John McCutcheon's music, don't delay, make your way, posthaste to his web site, dig in and explore. His

Serendipity in action, example # 2,328 - We arrived just at the beginning of the first song in the first set. After an intermission, as the performance was about to resume, simultaneously a man and I recognized each other. Cap'n Tom was my first flight instructor many years ago when I was working on my pilot's license. We had not crossed paths for many years. He was there with his family and introduced them to the Cinnamon Girl and me. It was good to connect again and meet his loved ones. Tomorrow, he has a flight to bring the wife of a well-known political VIP, from North Carolina back to her home in the Washington, DC area.

Afternoon sun is shining.

A day of working on and in the business.

My heart swells and the Tide Inside rises when my thoughts turn to loved ones living and dead. Curiously enough, I do not experience the same reaction when my thoughts turn to stink bugs.

A longer walk this evening stretched the time for musings of a more philosophical bent, with the chance to also consider possible aesthetic directions of my work this in the coming season.

Wary, watchful mode

One version of a self-portrait, on the fly - well, riding the shanks mare, at any rate.

A less literal version

Almost home, again

The sun is shining - it brings a warmth to my skin which feels like Spring.

It also brings memories of other times, years ago, sitting with others, enduring and being endured, because I was able to refrain from bearing down on myself mercilessly for things which I needn't have. I managed to sit still, to remain silent. It was the gentle and accepting nature of the occasions which I am recalling. The sun this morning - its warmth gives me hope it and I may be shining beyond and past darker days. Perhaps from time to time, we are all a bit too hard on ourselves and not committed enough to doing our best to sort it out and move beyond judging ourselves too harshly.

Hope Springs Eternal

Meeting with a fine, young family at their cozy home nestled in the woods in the mountains of western Maryland today. Beautiful vistas and deer running across a field below their homestead underscored the peaceful, quiet nature surrounding their abode.

Deer bounding across the lower field and into the woods in the afternoon sun was a welcome visual respite from a repetitive mundane necessary task being performed here, at the time, at digitimage whirled hq.

These woodland inhabitants will soon have much more cover as the leaves on trees, bushes and grass begin to burst forth and grow with the warming sun and lovely spring weather.

A walk into dusk.

A cool day, beneath a shining sun

Administrativia with my accountant, education via webinar, production, stuff and a walk into the sunset with grocery roundup to follow.

Easter Sunday

The sun is shining.

Deer, deer and more deer a-bounding through the woods and across the field today.

Some pressing obligations bending my will to bend the rules and work through some of them today.

Cleaning a bit of house for preparing a meal with family

Good company and deliciousity brought about by the Cinnamon Girl who paused, for a moment, in her culinary preparations to grant me the opportunity to portray her in Easter ensemble.

A grey day.

stuff, business stuff, under the hood, behind the scenes kind of stuff most of the day

Most of my "moments" in between the "stuff" witness thoughts flooding into the space between of familial, personal and business concerns. I strive to remind myself to prime my head as it hits the pillow at days end to process, sort out and seek what is needed.

Rolling stones with the Cinnamon Girl, we selected, gathered and placed a new set of steps in the hillside garden behind our house as mid-afternoon gave way to evening. Also initiated - clearing a path to the creek through the woods. Both of these will offer more variety and options for portraits created here this season. I'm talking about quality.

It's Spring in the Northern Hemisphere! And it's, naturally enough, Autumn down-under.

Sunshine, bright white clouds flying by and a brisk wind blowing free today in the Cumberland Valley of western Maryland.

A day of stuff, punctuated by a conversation with the son of the farmer who until 2007 had made hay on our fields for years. Last summer he flew from this world. A walk in the middle of the afternoon with the Cinnamon Girl was another punctuation mark from work and was refreshing - with the breeze reminding one March is still more the lion than the lamb today. Crocuses are blossoming.