Moments : Affluent

haiku friday & one single impression

You can't put a price,
on knowledge that comes with age.
More precious than gold.




Thank you for the very thoughtful comments on my previous post,
I really appreciate each and every one of them.
I hope you all have a terrific weekend!
And hope you like the fall color :)

Golden Insight

Haiku Friday



Lovely morning light
casts an incandescent glow
I am filled with warmth



I really enjoy having a bathroom window to peer outside
when the morning light is at it's best.
This particular morning was like no other.
The morning light filtered through the trees
captivating every bone, and molecule in my body.
I rushed outside to record the splendor,
and watched it fade as the sun continued to rise.
I wish that's how I could start everyday......


How do you like to start your mornings? Comment in haiku form if you'd like :)

If you're interested, there's another shot over on my {366} blog. Link

Make Everyday Earth Day

I always have been, and am pretty sure I will always be a sucker for trees. A quick search for "trees" in my Flickr photostream brought up a number of imagines which were centered around trees or just had trees in the photo.



I am always compelled to shoot a tree or two. In any season or time of year they are always lovely, with or without leaves, tall, short, aspen or pine......you can learn from them. And they could teach you a great deal given the chance.



I think of their roots embedded into the ground, and it reminds me to anchor myself when I'm feeling unbalanced. I see how resilient they are, and it reminds me that I too have the power and will to survive and succeed against the odds.



Although they may be aesthetically pleasing, they are also ecologically important and provide a great deal to the environment in which we all live. From the air we breathe to the shade upon with we seek shelter, they are there, unfailingly and without asking for anything in return.



Donating to a worthy cause on Earth Day was the very least that I could do. I thank you all so very much for enthusiastically participating to help rebuild the Brazilian Rainforest through the efforts of The Nature Conservancy. The "Plant a Billion Trees" campaign is far from reaching their goal.



When I first put up the "Where's your Green" post, they had 237,000 trees, now six days later they are up to 263,588! So, they're getting there slowly but surely............My total donation was $40.00 which equates to 40 trees; I had 18 request total to "Plant a Tree for Me!" and some who simply left a comment with the word tree in it, which I counted any way!



These photos are of all sorts of different trees, some here, some there.......from North Carolina, to Florida, and even Nevada.......a little of everywhere! None of which ever made it to the blog, which works out great since now I have something to share with you :o)

Thank you all again for keeping me inspired......it means so very much to me.

Bees & Confessions

It is not how busy you are, but why you are busy - the bee is praised, the mosquito is swatted.

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

I've had a lot of things going on lately. And I'm not hoping for them to settle down, because I'm busy for all the right reasons, which is why the above quote is so fitting. I've got some catching up to do on {366} Photographic Journal, especially since I'm starting month three now. Take a look if you haven't been there in a while, because I have posted some new photos recently (link on sidebar).

Today I turned in the printed and matted versions of the photos selected to be in the gallery, and I took some photos, of the photos, to share. I'll get those up tomorrow.

The above photo is from a walk I took last Thursday at the park near my house after work. It's not really a park, there's a field and a track, but I guess that constitutes a park according to the Town of Boone. For my purposes it suits me just fine.

On Friday after Acupuncture, I decided to take a quick once around on the track over there at the old Cove Creek School before getting in my car to go home. I didn't have a warm enough jacket to do anymore than that, next time I'll be better prepared. Anyways, after the walk I was heading back over to the car and in doing so passed by the park area. The one at Cove Creek is a real park because they have the play area for kids, you know, the plastic/metal jungle gym type things. I was feeling pretty good after the treatment and walk, so I bounced over to the jungle gym, and thought, "Gee, it's been a looooong time since I've been down a slide"............I climbed to the top in 1.5 steps, it's a lot easier when you're not 2 foot! Anyways, I picked the one I thought to be the tallest curly-q slide of the three.........the tunnels were smaller than I remember?!?!?!......I couldn't really take a step, so I had to kind of drag myself through.......thankfully no one was around to see any of this......at least not that I was aware of anyway.......I finally made it through the tunnel and onto the platform, then feet first sped like a rocket down the chosen slide.......WHOOSH........I really picked up some speed within those few feet of plastic!!........high on the 'ode to be a kid again' feeling, I quickly rushed back up to test out the other slide.........WHOOSH, again.......I couldn't believe how much fun it was, and how giggly it made me. I also couldn't believe that for all these years I've been depriving myself of the sweet and innocent joy of taking a ride down a slide........

I have a confession to make:
Today after hanging out downtown, having lunch, and going to the library..........I did a drive-by........i was jonesing.......jonesing for that deliriously intoxicated feeling I got from gliding down a tube of plastic.......I didn't get my fix though.....their slides were about as long as my legs (which aren't very long) and I didn't think they would humor me as much......

*I highly recommend that the next time your out and about with the kiddies or by yourself, just try it, it's surprisingly exhilarating!

Snow Days Feel Like Saturdays

I only went out for a walk and finally concluded to stay out till sundown, for going out, I found, was really going in.

~John Muir



Yesterday was an adventure! When we went to bed on Tuesday night, it was cold, but no sign of snow. By the time we woke up in the morning the ground was blanketed with snow and a thin layer of ice. Cody and I got to stay home since freezing rain was involved making the overall conditions unfavorable for operating a vehicle. We were happy to sit home, and play with the kittens, who by the way woke up us bright and early around 5am attacking our feet as we rustled them around under the covers. Those little buggers were way to alert, it was cute. We decided later in the afternoon to go for a walk on the Greenway Trail near the house to get some snow photos. The photo above was actually taken last weekend, I only wished the sky was that bright and blue yesterday! Outfitted with our hats, jackets, and snow boots we headed out, hiking in the snow is a lot more tiring than you would think. By the time we had walked halfway, I was tired, and didn't really want to walk home just yet. Cody had the idea to go to the Applcart covered bus stop and see when the next one was due. We had to wait about 30 min or so, in the meantime we played Scrabble on Cody's cell phone. The bus came, this was my first time ever really taking public transportation so it was interesting. We got off at Earthfare starved, so we went to their deli area and grabbed a sandwich and chips, ate, then asked the girl about the next bus, according to her it was going to be like 45 minutes! It was dark, I was ready to go home, but I didn't get upset, I rolled with the punches, haha. We ran over to the main area where the buses park and wait in between routes, and luckily the one we needed to be on hadn't left yet!!! Thankfully there were some really helpful folks on the bus who assisted us with the stops and where we would be best getting off at in relation to our house. We had to walk a little ways back to the house, but it was okay, I was just happy we were finally heading that way, it was as Cody kept reminding me "An Adventure!".

Path to Traipse

Sometimes the path you're on is not as important as the direction you're heading.
~Kevin Smith




*We had a nice and quiet weekend; but got a lot of things done around the house. Our roommate moved out today so some adjustments are in the making. I'm feeling motivated to make this place finally feel like our own. Last week we did some major work in the living room, hanging & rearranging stuff on the walls, it feels so different walking into a living room that is neat and tidy as well as somewhat decorated. It's sort of a hodgepodge style of decorating, although that's what you get when meshing two peoples things together. We make it work..........and if it doesn't, um it stays in the box..............haha just joking Code! Maybe soon I'll post some more photos of the house?!

Harmoniously Connected

Rivers are roads which move, and which carry us whither we desire to go.
~Blaise Pascal

(Click on photo to see in Flickr)



*This wasn't exactly the highlight of the spot we went to, which was Elk River Falls. This was where we ventured after Crab Orchard Falls this past Sunday. I am not too happy with the photos of the falls itself, but this one really popped out at me. I really like the cohesion of all elements involved here, it radiates a sort of calm and peaceful atmosphere to me. I remember the soothing crash of the falls directly behind us, and how it got colder once the sun started slipping away from the day. Which may also be another reason why I'm not happy with the rest of the shots, low light, no tripod - recipe for disaster! haha, we will go back though, this I am sure of. What I'm not quite sure of is what we are going to get into this weekend?!?! So many choices.............I suppose we'll make the best of it.






Modified: 1:47 am

I know I said I didn't like any of the pictures of the actual falls, but I was thinking that it was pretty unfair not to share this with you just because I am being discriminatory with my photos. It was about a 50 foot waterfall that was gushing due to the most recent melting of ice along the river. In the foreground of this photo you can see an island of ice, what you can't see is how fast this chunk was spinning around in circles because of the currents. This was another waterfall we found in the North Carolina Waterfall hiking and photography guide I got for Christmas. I can't wait to check more of these off my growing list. Well, contradictory to the original post, I wasn't going to share a waterfall picture but decided that, I had to. I know you'll appreciate seeing it...


(Click on photo to see in Flickr)



*Let me know what you think, comments are always welcomed!!

Worth Waking Up For..........

We should be taught not to wait for inspiration to start a thing. Action always generates inspiration. Inspiration seldom generates action.

~Frank Tibolt

I didn't think twice this morning when Cody told me that the sky was soooo orange. Even though it was 7:30 and my weekend to sleep in, I hopped up, put on a jacket and hat, slipped on 'Cody's' snow boots and headed out the door!
FYI - I started a new project at the beginning of 2008. The project demands that I take a photograph to represent each day of the year. In 2008 there are 366 days since it is a leap year. I have started a separate blog dedicated to this series of photos. This project is more for myself than anyone else, although it's not as if I am looking to keep it secret for any specific reason so please check it out if you are so inclined. Feedback is always greatly appreciated!
Not only will I be prone to take more photos as a result of this undertaking, but I am also hoping that it will promote creativity at the same time. So far I have taken the project seriously and have yet to falter due to laziness. I have found that I get cranky when I don't take photos for an extended period of time. So far I have exceeded my expectations of merely taking one photo a day............


See the NEW BLOG here:
{366} Photographic Journal

Pure White Path

The future lies before you, like paths of pure white snow. Be careful how you tread it, for every step will show.

~Author Unknown

*Compared to yesterday, today was gorgeous but frigid. I took a short stroll this afternoon mainly to escape the office. I am realizing that this is something that needs to happen more often. I felt somewhat refreshed when I got back, which enabled me to get some extra tasks done. The rest of the day went by a whole lot faster since it was broken up. It's been so long since I had taken the time to leave the office for lunch much less go for a walk and take some pictures, it was great fun!

Haze of Prosaic Days

*Arrangements have been made and once Cody gets home and packed we are off, again?! I know that we just returned from Atlanta on Wednesday but I am dying to do something 'fun'. We've been talking about this since last year so we are well over due. We are going to be staying the weekend in Asheville, which is only about 2 hours away, a breeze compared to 5 (Atlanta) or 8 (Jacksonville). I found a decently priced hotel, not too cheap, so we don't have to worry about bringing our own sheets!? I'm really excited, it's been a while since we've been anywhere as the tourist that I so love to be, mostly just traveling for the holidays. If all goes according to plan we will be meeting my Mom and Rick down there so that we can all go together. The tickets to Biltmore Estate are running upwards to $59.00 at the gate right now, with a measly $4 off if you order yours online. Thankfully, there's a deal through AAA and I was able to get our tickets for just $34!!! Whata deal, eh? So yeah the Biltmore Estate is where we are headed on Saturday, I can't wait!!
I'm in the process of getting motivated right now since there are some things I need to get done before we head out. Today looks much like the photo featured foggy, & blah which doesn't help in matters of motivation........12 is my dead line to get moving whether I like it or not! I better get off here if I am to get anything done.

Orange Blaze.................

Achieving the things that are important to me can sometimes be a bit overwhelming. I have been in this mode where ideas and projects are abundant. For me it is hard to pour everything I have into something that I have yet to determine what the outcome may be. Being scared of the unknown is something that has held me back quite a bit in my life, but I have done my best to shed the habit of not having enough faith in all that I am and all that I have to give. As time goes by I let go a little more and I worry a little less. I always want things to happen a lot faster than they usually do and as a result my patience wears thin. On the other hand I know these things take time and I understand our paths are not always ones of least resistance, and where I am today is not where I thought I would be had you asked me 4 years ago. This goes to show exactly how much and how often we deviate from our paths. That brings up another point, are we deviating from our paths or is that precisely where we are meant to be? I suppose I agree with that statement a little more than the previous one. I have always been a firm believer that everything happens for a reason, and it's that adage I have referred to on many occasions to get me through some very trying times. Even if at the moment I was telling myself "Everything happens for a reason" and I didn't necessarily trust it at the time I still knew deep down that it is what was true. Now I am at a crossroad, ready to pursue my next path as I desperately try to decide which way to go so that I may realize these dreams that seem so far out of reach. As I am unsure of what each may bring I will simply do my best to keep my dreams alive...................