mari-gold

autumn

the air is warm 

but the first faint crispness of autumn

hits your senses

awakens the eyes, the nose, the ears

keenly you look forward 

to the change of season

and a break 

from summer's last stagnant heat

life is good -cath

find me on twitter @jonesbabie

sky gazing

Every night I drive into my yard after work, step out of my car and look at the sky.  I am a cloud watcher, a sky gazer.  And one of the most beautiful views in the world is in my own front yard.  The sun sets to the right of my house, and there is a clear view of the nearby woods, silhouetted against the setting sun.

Tonight, as I often do, I spent a few moments just watching the sky.  I live in the country, so there were no noises, and it was eerily silent.  Even the dogs weren't barking their usual greeting from the back yard.

And so I stood, and looked.  I get a bit melancholy this time of year, and I was a bit sad as I looked at the sky.  But as I stood, and marveled at the beauty of the clouds and colors, I felt my spirits begin to lift.  Suddenly I feel as weighed down by mortality, and an inner peace began to take over. I pulled my iPhone out of my pocket, and shot a photo of the sunset, almost as an afterthought.

As I stood and continued to look, breathing in the crisp coldness of the autumn air, I realized that I wasn't me, I was part of a bigger whole.  A small microcosm of something so perfect, and that everything was as it should be.

Slowly I turned and walked into the house, feeling renewed.  Centered.

...life is very good. ~cath
find me @jonesbabie on Twitter

john and the butterfly

I was at home today.  Unusual for me during the week except I had been to the clinic yesterday with the crud.  The doctor kindly decided I needed to be back on my feet fast.  (Wait, I'd already been on my feet all week!)  So he had the nurse give me a shot and I got three prescriptions.  There were two problems with this.  The first problem was the shot contained a steroid.  Steroids and I don't deal well with each other.  The second problem was that I didn't find out there was a steroid in it until it was going in my hip.

The end result was I had no sleep last night.  Felt worse today, and called in.  Then slept and did paperwork at home all day.  A crummy way to spend the day.  John was up, and Steve was keeping an eye on him.  His mom is sick and she had gone to see the doctor today.  (Not sure if this whole originated with me or John, who had a runny nose last weekend and had been dispensing fish kisses to everyone.)

John came up and beat on the door.  He'd been outside helping his Gramps fix the lawnmower, and was covered in dust.  I looked out the door and saw butterflies all over my flowers.  John saw them too, with a two year old's amazement.  Sick or not sick, I saw a photo op, and grabbed Big Girl and started shooting.

This is what I got, almost unretouched.  Just some minor light changes, a vignette edge added, and some extraneous details cropped out of some of the photos.  I think these are the best raw photos I have probably ever taken.

Maybe I ought to only take photos when I am sick.

...life is good. ~cath
find me @jonesbabie on Twitter

fall arrives to my corner of the world

Fall has quietly arrived, one leaf and one degree of coolness at a time. Tonight, the temperatures took a drastic dip. I shot a few photos of what I saw in my yard this evening and wanted to share them. The air is crisp, the leaves crunchy underfoot. I think of shortened days, apples, cinnamon, sun filtering through baring branches onto my face.

And Halloween!

...life is good. ~cath
find me @jonesbabie on Twitter