Happy New Year ~ The Beagle Steals the Show

Hello!!!

Happy 2016!

I have returned from my

unintended 6 month vacation from blogging!

So, I started my return by heading out into the

snowy, prairie wind

to take a nature photo

for the little Facebook challenge I am doing.

I got down on the ground to get a good view of the snow blowing in the wind.

And this is what happened:

Yes, he thought it was time to play.

And then I remembered that I came out here for 

"nature photos".

So, back to that.

Here is our road to our home

that my husband and son

just drove through not 30 minutes

prior to this photo.

Isn't this lovely?

Kinda makes you want to move to the prairie?

Maybe not?

Keeps out the "riff-raff".

That's what we say around here.

Not to be outshined

by sparkling snow,

Toby the beagle decides

to take

a Beagle Bath:

Now. 

A clean beagle.

Today also happens to be my husband's birthday

and I was just thinking this morning that we didn't have

a recent photo together in the past year.

So here comes the photo op . . . 

announced by the beagle:

Here comes my son and my husband. 

So here's our latest photo together...

Happy Birthday, Jim! 

Happy New Year 2016!

Live in full color.

Live in full color.

To me, it's the same message as living wholehearted or living all-in.

It is how I most want to live.

However, in life there are seasons

of

standing on the edge,

of

living half-hearted,

of

going through the motions,

of

grief for all manner of losses.

Sometimes it is in these seasons,

that I find a deeper faith,

more rock-solid truth,

my core values,

how I want to live,

and

how I don't want to live.

There are seasons and color pallets of rest:

grays, muted beige, white, neutrals... 

like the gray-toned flowers collaged onto this piece.

.

We need some of those seasons.

And some of them we just have to go through

whether we need them or not,

and certainly don't want them.

And then,

there are seasons

of feasting

on

indulgent

color.

Of submerging yourself in the deep end of the pool.

Of letting the heat and the wind and just whip your hair.

Of breathing in deep the scents of summer flowers.

Of taking big gulps of iced cherry limeade.

Yes.

Those seasons are good too.

This art celebrates

those all-in,

living in full color,

rejoicing and doing good seasons.

Here's the photo from Pinterest

that inspired this art.

I'm not certain of the original source of the photo,

but it certainly stirred my heart.

There are a few songs that come to mind with this idea:

The Motions by Matthew West

On Fire by Switchfoot

French Kissing Life by Kenny Chesney

All In by Toby Mac

Look 'em up!

They always remind me to consider how I'm living.

If I'm being true to who I am and what I believe...or not.

They remind me that I do have choices.

That I have to take risks

and 

do things that make my knees knock

and 

maybe parts of me will break

but

its better than

wondering if I should have 

followed

callings

that

are

whispering

in my

heart. 

Somehow, someway,

this art evokes that idea of wholehearted living

within me.

Reminds me to enjoy life.

To ask myself what I need

to

enjoy

life.

Rejoice.

Do good.

Live wholehearted.

Live in full color.

Art Works in Progress

Here's a little peek

into my "studio space"

a.k.a. "kitchen".

{eeek! i'm excited about what i'm making!}

These are some works in progress.

Lately I am loving new mediums in my art:

wire

sketching with charcoal

and

Golden's crackle paste.

My next event 

where you can see me and my artwork 

is in Rapid City, South Dakota 

here:

Everything is Brighter After the Rain

We had 2.75 inches of rain yesterday and last night.

Beautiful!

Every thing

is

clean.

Bright.

Colorful.

I knew if I walked today,

I'd be rewarded with something

special.

I was.

A blue bird.

Birds are eloquent expressions

of life and vitality

and watching them makes you

more

alive.

~ Roger Tory Peterson

Happy Birding.

"Mom! Come outside and listen! It sounds beautiful out this morning!" 

were the words of my youngest before school this week.

She was so right.  

It sounded absolutely beautiful.

The sun was shining. Snow was melting and the birds were so happy

that their happiness spilled over onto us with their singing.

Do you know what made me happiest?

That she heard it.

That my girl's ears were open enough to notice and to fully completely delight in the sounds

so much that she wanted me to hear it too.

Oh, my friends, that is why I share my pictures and stories 

about birds,

about heart-shaped rocks,

about sunsets,

about dewdrops on blades of grass,

about sunshine on barbed wire fences

about my faith.

Because I want you

to see it and hear it too.

I want you to see 

the sacred,

the beautiful,

the holy,

the breathtaking

in everyday

ordinary

life.

It is May.

May is the month of migration and also of nest building.

It is the month that I anticipate the arrival of my favorite blue birds:

the Lazuli Bunting and the more rare Indigo Bunting.

So you will see me sharing my pictures on facebook, Instagram, and right here,

as I get so crazy happy about these birds.

I hope that some of that happy spills over into your life too!

Fill your feeders with sunflower seeds and suet

and bring them into your yard and watch your kids get excited about them too!

I'd love to see and hear about the birds you see too!

Happy Birding!

"If you get bored with birds, you get bored with life."

Roger Tory Peterson

Spring. Oh My Heart.

Meadowlarks are singing.

Morning sunshine makes everything golden.

There is a faint hint of green whispering its presence from the ground.

Mama cows look with suspicion upon me walking 

even though I'm on the other side of the creek and the fence.

My heart swells.

Oh. My. Heart.

It is full.  It aches with fullness.

Spring.

Tomorrow is the first day on the calendar.

But there are no hard lines to seasons.

They blur together as one fades into the next.

The sounds of the birds

at each season change

create a longing in my heart.

I wrote of it after hearing the first meadowlarks' songs

earlier this week.

Meadowlarks

I hear you

Even though I do not see you yet

You stir in me

a longing

for innocence

for fascination

for belief in wonderful magical things

for deep unfailing love

for sunshine warming the cold corners of my heart

for eight years old.

Surely

you sing of heavenly lands

You sing of the place

my soul longs for

You sing

of 

coming home

Gather my pieces all together here, Lord,

in

the song

of the

meadowlarks.