{Wordless Wednesday: Sunshine Sprouting from Soil}

Willcox, Arizona

{Wordless Wednesday: One of My Favorite Spots}

Lola Coffee Bar . Phoenix . Arizona

{Wordless Wednesday: The Pleasure of Your Company}

Chandler, AZ

p.s. Thanks for the nudge.

{Row Your Boat ... Life is but a Dream}

Do you ever do something, and then afterwards, you

notice you can breath a little easier? It was so clearly

the right thing -- what you needed at that moment --

and it leaves you feeling an instant sense of peace?

That was my experience after snapping these photos

at Tempe Town Lake on Saturday morning. I arrived

at 6:50am, about twenty minutes before the family

I was there to photograph. The light was gorgeous,

the water serene.

There was a lot of activity around the area, but it was

all being done quietly and with a kind of calm intention.

People were walking, running, fishing, doing yoga, or

setting off for a small kayaking competition. Just doing

their thing, content to enjoy Mother Nature's gifts of

sunrise and reprieve from the heat.

It gave me a chance to play with my camera for a minutes, and it felt amazing to snap a

few that were just for me -- just for fun. I didn't realize how long it had been since I

casually stumbled on something beautiful and attempted to capture it with my lens.

Way too long. Those few minutes were among the happiest of my entire weekend.

And it was actually a fantastic weekend, but those moments felt energizing, calming,

and satisfying in a way that went unmatched over the next 48 hours.

It was a reminder for me that I need to take time to observe nature, practice my hobby

and get out and enjoy my community. Those are things that leave me feeling a sense of

balance and connectedness that I don't get during the hustle and bustle of every day.

And I need to do those things -- not just within the context of work -- but for myself,

on my own.

{A Few Minutes Together at the Golden Hour}

You have to savor the good moments, you know? Appreciate time together. Foster

passions. Observe nature. Create opportunities. Change your scenery.

David noticed a wheat field on one of his runs back in May. He thought the evening sun

made it glow beautifully and that it might make a good photo op for me. We ended up

going down there together with our cameras to play with the light.

This was six weeks ago, but I was looking at the photos recently and felt inspired to

share them. They remind me of where we were in that moment -- it was a monumentally strange day for us, but this was a nice and needed pause in it.

Here are my captures ...

And these are his ...

One of my intentions for the rest of this month is to focus my energy on doing this very

sort of thing -- taking time to do little things like this that leave me feeling grounded,

connected, creative, strong, calm, accomplished, and happy. It doesn't matter if they're spontaneous or planned, as I take advantage of the opportunities to do them.

Life is what you make of it!

{My Latest Obsession & a Giveaway}

I've been making simple photo cards using some of my snapshots.



Lots and lots of them.



There's a pretty good variety in all.

It's been fun.

I made a few bundles for gifting.

One of them is top secret since I haven't sent it to it's intended just yet.

The other two went to David's mom and stepmom for Mother's Day.

Sandy received a set made of some of my favorite Arizona photographs.

The ones I made for Mary used photos I took at her cottage last summer.

I'm keeping most of the rest for myself. (I'm a big card writer.)

You didn't think I'd leave you out though, did you?

Of course I didn't. :)

I can't mail each of you a personalized note of thanks for being a reader.

But I can do little giveaways like this as a thank you for your support of my blog.

One lucky person will win a bundle with ten of my photo cards.



To enter, leave a comment on this post telling me how you feel when you get a card in

the mail from a friend or about who you're keeping in touch with. Do you have a pan pal, exchange snail mail, still believe in the United States Postal Service? Or maybe letter

writing is on your proverbial to do list. I want to hear about it. Comments will be open

until Sunday, May 15th 16th at 9AM Arizona time. Please be sure to check back on

Monday and/or leave a way for me to get a hold of you in case you win. Good luck!

NOTE: I originally posted this on Thursday but Blogger was having some technical

issues that prevented commenting and even bumped this post back into my drafts

folder. So, I'm extended the contest by one day. Sorry for any inconvenience.

{Wordless Wednesday: Flutter, Butterflies}

Phoenix, Arizona

{A Concert in the Park with Patti}

There's something magical about sunset, about music and about time with friends.

I was recently lucky enough to combine all three when Patti and I went to see Steps Junk

Funk perform in the park. The outdoor concert was from the Sonoran Sunset Series at

Veterans Oasis Park in Chandler. You may remember I saw an Irish band there in March.

Admittedly, this was by far my least favorite of the three shows I saw there since

February, but it was still fun. The concept was cool. It combined some modern dance

(I say that loosely) with something like Stomp, street percussion style sound. They

lost two of their four members, apparently. I wanted to believe that was the problem,

but I think they needed, like, 38 more people to make it work really well.

On the other hand, every child there was totally mesmerized. They didn't flock to the

grass and dance with reckless abandon like they did for Irish folk music the month

before. But they were all in a trance, as if they were sitting in the back seat of their

parents' car, watching "The Wiggles" on DVD. The performing couple clearly had a

lot of passion for what they were doing, and it wasn't lost on the kidlets.

It was still really nice to be entertained outside on a beautiful evening in the company

of a good friend. I had a great time. I love that the City of Chandler arranges these

shows for us and encourages families to get outside and enjoy live music together.

While we were there, I took a few photos for Patti. She's always doing things for other

people, and it felt good to do something nice for her.

This was the last concert for their spring round. (That scheduling detail is a reminder

that it's about to get really hot here. Booo!) But they'll be back with more music in

the fall, beginning in September. I plan to go to as many of the shows as possible. It's

just too great too pass up free, live music in the park during the golden hour. Maybe

I'll see you there next time!