Swirling Eddies - Rachel

Sometimes when life is in disarray, and the unexpected continues to pummeling you from both sides, it is important to remember that there is beauty to be found in the swirling eddies and a still and beautiful pond waiting to give you respite, just around the bend of the river.

Morning, Glorious Morning - Rachel

I just loved the way the sunlight was radiating from the center of this Morning Glory... how appropos a name! What a glorious bloom!

Butterfly Love - Rachel

Water Web

This was just too neat to pass up. The kids and I were up in Shasta goofing around and we found this neat little area with a running creek. This spider web had no spider that we could see, but the web looked really cool with the water running under it

Roar! - Rachel

We spent today at one of my favorite places, Adventure Playground, where the kids build, paint, create and have fun. I loved this find... looking into the maw of the ferocious beast and finding his lunch.

Brown Stalks - Rachel

There is simply something that appeals to me in this brown stalk. It reminds me a bit of a firework burst. What do you think?

Dare I Eat... -Rachel

Okay, so in "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" it was a peach... these pears kept calling to me and oh, but for a single bite. Reluctantly I followed the rules and did not eat of this forbidden fruit... perhaps next time.

Bench Marks~

Definition:
a standard by which something can be measured or judged,
a surveyor's mark on a permanent object of predetermined position and elevation used as a reference point.

Empire State - Amy

Soft Pastels

This is the reflection of the Empire State Building from a building near Bryant Park. 

Noticing - Rachel

Has there ever been a time when something which you had never paid any significant attention to suddenly became relevant? Have you then had the experience of noticing it in abudance thereafter? This sage is my "noticed" object for the year: I first noticed it growing in the planters near my parking lot at work. It was an interesting form, and it really spoke to me. Now, I have been working at my job for 12 years, and for the past 6 of those years I have walked past this plant whenever I have traveled car-office-car at work, but it only peaked my notice in April of this year. Since that time I have purchased a plant and NOW I see them everywhere. Here I've gotten up close and personal with my friend the sage.

As a side note, a VERY dear friend of mine has just moved to Ohio, just outside Cleveland. Had you asked me 5 weeks ago to list everything I knew about Ohio I wouldn't have been able to fill a 3x5 card with facts (hmmm, their baseball team is the Indians, football is the Browns, Cleveland, Toledo, WKRP in Cincinnati - OUT), now that it's relevant Ohio, and more specifically Cleveland, shows up everywhere (tv, bumperstickers, ice cream postings on Facebook). Ohio has been made relevant and now I am noticing.

An interesting aside - at least to me - this is a Cleveland Sage, native to California. See, there they are again.

Seasons of the Windows - Rachel

When we visited Filoli in April we found this lovely window - I for one couldn't resist it with its elegant tulips filling its frame. I really like the image - the colors and shapes, that snaking vine. I also happen to know that if you look back to mid-April in this blog you will find Lori Singer's photo of this window, but taken from the interior of the room, a great capture. So upon our return this month I sought to photograph this window again. Now, midsummer, the graceful tulips have been replaced by impatiens, and upon further inspection (placing both photos in my view) I see that I have gotten the spring window's sibling, not simply its summer incarnation. Still, it's a nice window... I'll have to visit it again and see who graces it in fall.

Behold, Summer - Rachel

I adore summer with it's long, bright, lazy days and happy children. Marigolds, the bright orange of the blazing summer sun, warm me; I bask. Cool blue of the pool, it

beckons me to dive in, revitialize and refresh. I wish I could live the summer life all year.