hello / friends

L - Nikon / T -iphone

Sorry I have been so absent. I hope you will forgive me.

(I really like this photo Taylor sent me. I love the light; the way her new dog seems to be making friends with her cat; and seeing the portrait she did this summer in the background)

Happy May Day!

solo post - L , Nikon

Sing a song of spring on the first day of May.

"Let's twitter and tweet

Like the birdies in May

Get into the mood

And be merry today

Forget all your troubles and warble away

Do, re, mi, fa, so, la, ti, do

Oh!"

- Bambi soundtrack

I hope your day was beautiful and bright.

purple jelly beans / pink pom poms

L - iphone

"Make keen use of your five senses and become a sensualist." - 54 precious keys to happiness

I was keenly aware of my five senses today as I sat outside and ate my lunch. I looked around at the colorful world around me - yellow tulips, pink pompom cherry blossoms, white and purple pansies, the green green grass and the beautiful blue sky - colors matching the sweet and chewy jelly beans I had as a snack. A bird sang and I couldn't place it's song. A cool breeze was blowing, that mixed with the warm sunshine, brought a tingle to my spine . It gusted at times whipping up a mist from the waterfalls that cooled my skin and blew around in swirling delight the soft pink petals of the cherry tree that landed in piles like pink snow. It was a delightful day to be outside.

What excited your senses today?

blue skies / red tops

solo post - L, Nikon

...a red head in a black feather top and a black feather bird on a red top

a little bunny / a little bird

L- Nikon / T - Nikon

Isn't this interesting? I took this photo last night for our post today and Taylor sent me one this afternoon - no conversation about shooting similar content. I had just asked her if she wanted to participate in the sixty-four colors group and for her to send me a photo of the crayon color robin egg blue. But look what happened instead. Both of our images have a mirror reflecting into our bedroom and both images have a tiny little spring symbol - the bunny and the little bird. I love that this happened. I really like her image a lot. I like the reflection and the sunlight hitting her yellow sofa. If she had sent it yesterday instead of the daffodils I would have seen a synchronicity - yet different.

Her teacup with my tea bag, the blue in hers with the blue in the wallpaper, the bird on her cup with the bird in the wallpaper, the creams, the yellows. This one almost excites me more.

Can I just say, I love how this happens, and happens so frequently. I notice it in other diptych groups too. Isn't it interesting how you can almost always find a connection with two images. When I first started blogging it was the girls at 3191 that inspired me. I was always blown away with how their images related in some way even without conversation. I wanted to see if Taylor and I could create a similar blog.

I'm sad that our blog here has been sort of slack but when the synchronicity happens like today it excites me so much - makes me want to keep at it even if we post less often.

Which diptych do you like better?

up high / down low

solo post - L

I just read, today, about other bloggers participating in Hippy Urban Girl's December Views - blogging photos only for the month of December. No need for words. I like this idea. Not having to come up with words will make it so much easier on me. The "words" part is not my strong suit anyway. So here is my first December views. I look forward to seeing yours.

loneliness / solitude

solo post - L, Nikon

“Language... has created the word "loneliness" to express the pain of being alone. And it has created the word "solitude" to express the glory of being alone.” - Paul Tillich

I go in and out of both - pain and glory. I sort of hate to admit that (makes me seem weak), but this year is harder than last year for some reason. Has anyone else with college age children experienced this same feeling - that sophomore year is somewhat harder even than the freshman year. (I guess to relate completely you have to be a single mother of an only child.) The newness has worn off and it's so very real, now, that I am indeed alone. It's time to stop sitting on that wire, looking over the edge in fear, and just take flight.

SnOw cold / SnOw happy

The weather people kept saying it would snow but I just wasn't believing it - it had been raining really hard and steady all night and all morning and was well above freezing. But just as they predicted it began snowing around noon and snowed so thick and pretty for about 4 hours or so. I've been wanting snow all winter long - March really came in with a bang. I didn't really get any good photos and this one that I got of the cardinal all puffed up trying to stay warm was completely by chance. I was talking on the phone to T and looked out the window and saw this beautiful cardinal - he was really voicing his complaint, or confusion, about the weather. This one shot made my day. There's not much prettier than a bright red cardinal in the snow. / waking up to a call from my dad saying that it was snowing in atlanta was not the best alarm clock. athens was still soggy and dreary from the mere rain the night before. my roommate and i trekked to the dining hall and battled sleet as we left. on the way home mom also called me telling me of their good fortune (way to rub it in!). but about thirty minutes later it started snowing outside good ol' morris! it's been steadily snowing ever since. my computer faces the window towards the street and it's been amazing to see the transformation of a scene we see every day. my friend chris decided to pay a visit and pelted my window with snowballs, beckoning me to let him in downstairs. three intense snow fights, two cups of tea, and a snowman later.. it's still snowing! maybe they'll cancel school, haha.

update: classes canceled tomorrow. yes!

a day of painting

solo post - L Nikon D40x 50mm / 200mm
I started painting first thing this morning. I looked out the window and noticed 2 robins all puffed up like it was freezing cold outside but it wasn't so cold. They sort of looked like babies but they couldn't possibly be could they? The photo is taken through the window with my 200m so the quality isn't so great but isn't that color wonderful? It was just the color I had on my palette. I didn't make any adjustments to these - when I saw them side by side in iphoto i knew they had to go together for my post today.
I painted all day long until I had to quit and go to my metalsmithing class. Class was great tonight. I learned how to solder and continued working on my little metal cylinder box. Plus I finally got to polish my copper bracelets in the tumbler and they so shiny and nice.

cat / bird

Kodi loves to look outside Ts window in the morning - there's a tree just outside the window that has berries on it and the birds love it. She'll do anything to get a better view of the activity out there - including trying to climb the curtains. bad kitty. / our first project in drawing II is a collaborative one. the name of the assignment is "multiple headed hungry monster." we went to the library the second day of class to get inspiration and then we were put into groups the next class day. i'm in a group with two other people and we have to each create a monster head that eats something specific and then we all do the body and somehow show in the stomach what our monster has consumed. mine is a girl with feathers for hair and a bird's nest on her head and a berry necklace (to attract birds to her). so she eats birds and uses their feathers for her hair. i did it in pen and ink. this is just a portion of the her insides - the branches form her ribs. i hope it turns out like i envision it - should be pretty cool if it does.

patience / hoping

“Beneath the crisp and wintry carpet hid A million buds but stay their blossoming And trustful birds have built their nests amid The shuddering boughs, and only wait to sing Till one soft shower from the south shall bid And hither tempt the pilgrim steps of Spring.” -Robert Bridges

This little bird (and more over here), sitting in her nest, beak opened in song, makes me happy just to look at her. I keep feeling like spring is just around the corner. Patience. /dorm life is great and everything - i love living in really close proximity to my good friends - but having a house would be fantastic! i have an opportunity to look at a house with three of my close girl friends and i am beyond excited - our own furnishings, our own rooms, our own bathrooms! we might even get a front porch. we'll see how it goes, wish us luck [:

far from home / left the nest

This was a different sort of Thanksgiving. It was one of the few that I can ever remember not being with my parents and on top of that I wasn't with my daughter either. I guess things are changing. And it's not all bad, just different. This photo was taken during my vacation to Maryland this past week and I was alone when I went on this little photo walk. Is this bird lonely and looking for warmth in this bush or about to spread her wings and fly about in this beautiful park? I had planned to post this photo at some point but when T. sent me her drawing of the empty nest I had to pair the two together today. They belong together for sure. She has been gathering her drawings from the semester to present for her portfolio and she had not shown me this one. / this was a still life set up in my drawing class - it fits our theme doesn't it mom? i may have "left the nest" but home is never far away and unlike birds, i will return. it was nice being at home for several days this past week and i'll be home again soon after finals.

sunbeam / birds on a wire

I really have no words for today. It's was a good day of getting stuff done around the house and yard. I didn't get a photo from her today so I chose a random photo from her flickr site and not until I placed it with mine that I took this morning did I see the crazy similarities - even down to the angle of the rays coming into the angle of the wire. Another pleasant surprise. / there's a blackout in Athens. haha go dawgs!
"Just as there comes a warm sunbeam into every cottage window, so comes a love - born of God's care for every need." - Nathaniel Hawthorne

little bird / little fish

The hint of fall in the air gave me the motivation to do a much needed makeover in her bathroom - hope she'll like it / i feel like a small fish in a big pond