Tag Archives: energy

{strawberry full moon}

15 Jun

obviously i have a little theme going here, lately… 😉

all things strawberry!!!

upon waking {accidentally super early} this morning, i went down to the park and captured a few fotos of the beautiful full {strawberry} moon. while there, i made friends with a few ducks, and even finally got to see some baby ducklings for the first time this season!

please enjoy these lovely fotos!


i just love that gradient sky! good morning {and good night} moon! ❤

see the blue herring?!

i just love a pier on a summer morning…

mama and baby ducks… they followed me around for a bit… it was so cute!

baby ducklings splashing around…

aaahhhhhh, morning golden hour! the best!


how was your morning? have a great day!

{stargazer stages}

3 Mar

stargazer lilies are one of my favourite flowers! they are not only stunning to look at, but the scent is simply intoxicating!

i appreciate the intricate details within every flower blossom of the stargazer lily. i love to watch each one go through every stage as it blooms and opens. it makes me think of the phases and stages we as human beings go through in life. it’s like a flower blossoming… our journey may start by feeling closed off to the space around us… unsure of ourselves or “hiding” from the world… then in a divine way, we slowly start to open up and reveal our true inner beauty… and ideally as we grow and blossom, the world accepts and appreciates that beauty and all that we uniquely are, and we are ultimately embraced in all of our glory.

but just like a flower, it doesn’t really matter if anyone notices or appreciates or embraces. the essence of a flowers purpose is to simply be. it is beautiful with or without the recognition it deserves. and if we are lucky enough to be in the presence of such beauty, it serves us well to pause, notice, admire, appreciate, and absorb all that which IS.

and we are given that opportunity every single day.

 

{total solar eclipse}

22 Aug

i drove down to columbia, south carolina to watch the total solar eclipse yesterday… and i’m so glad i made the trek! admittedly, i did not do as much preparing as i would’ve normally done… particularly because it kind of came together last minute. originally i had wanted to go to greenville, sc – which is where i was born {and supposedly where the highest totality and visibility would be}, but it all worked out rather nicely and i’m thankful to have been where i was… especially because it was also my mama’s birthday yesterday.

i didn’t have time to make a pinhole camera, which i really wanted to do, but of course i had a camera. if you follow me on instagram, i hope you saw the story… it was fun to create.

it was important to me not to get too caught up in taking fotos, because i truly wanted to enjoy the moment {two minutes, 36 seconds to be exact} 🙂

i shot these images with a 50mm lense… which, of course, isn’t ideal for something so far away… but i kind of liked showing the sky and having the tiny sun and moon fill up a tiny amount of space. i didn’t have a special filter, so i simply put my eclipse glasses over my lense. i thought about using my zoom lense, but like i said, i was more concerned with being there to truly witness the moment… it’s a hard balance sometimes, as someone who loves to take pictures… but i have been challenging myself to “capture the moment with my mind,” from time to time. this was one of those moments.

i took a few pictures of the crowd as well, but i wasn’t super thrilled with most of them. i think i was just too caught up in the experience to really take very many fotos… and i’m okay with that.

it was a truly incredible event and the sky was perfectly clear for the duration of {almost} totality. the crowd was wonderful, the vibe was awesome, the beer was delicious {i drank a special ‘black ipa’ aptly named, “blackout”.} i feel very fortunate to have been where i was during the eclipse. we reached totality around 2:30 p.m. in columbia, south carolina. the temperature dropped, the moon inched in front of the sun, making it as dark as night… the crowd went wild, people screamed and hugged and kissed… it’s kind of hard to truly describe how marvelous it was to see it all happen. the energy felt very intense to me… and as someone who has always admired and been in awe of the stars, it was a lot to take in… something for the history books, indeed.

i’m still buzzing from it all ❤

       

{beautiful lilies}

21 Aug

in today’s hectic and fast-paced world, i believe it is very important to remember to stop and smell the flowers… as often as you can. breath them in deep!

particularly if they are stargazer lilies – they are so intoxicating!

today is my mama’s birthday, and always think of her when i see lilies… so these are for her 🙂



happy birthday, judi!

 

{mercury retrogrades tonight!}

12 Aug

time to slow it down…

{foto friday : a fantastic foggy morning}

3 Feb

there’s just something about the fog that i seem to easily become enamored by… the quietness behind it, the mysterious energy it brings, the coolness in the air that it creates…

a few weeks ago, i woke up early and took a stroll around a nearby lake to snap some fotos of the ambiance from the morning fog. i stood still in awe, and drank up all the delicious energy i felt while enjoying the peaceful and inspiring views.

i hope you all enjoy these images and feel the same sense of peace i experienced during these moments.


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{solstice “prosperi-tea”}

22 Jun

hey gang, happy summer!

i hope you are enjoying the season, wherever you may be reading this.

here in colorado, it has been very hot… like in the high 90s and even 100 degrees! yesterday, to officially kick off summer, i walked to my local pool for a dip. it was the perfect way to welcome in the new season!

another fun thing i did to celebrate summer and the solstice, was make this beautiful solstice summer tea… or as i named it, “prosperi-tea” … cuz i’m cute and nerdy like that. plus, it sounded super magical.

the idea came from an online source that suggested putting various herbs and flowers in a pitcher and sitting it out in the sun during the day of solstice. here’s what i put in mine :

fresh lettuce leaves, pea shoots, roses, lilies, strawberries, succulent, snapdragon, various flower petals, mint, and tons of sage.

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all of the ingredients came from my local community garden… the pea shoots and lettuce came from my plot! 😀

here is the finished product :

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someone said to me, “it looks like perfume!” which made me giggle. in a way, it IS like perfume in that it is made from beautiful summer flowers! 🙂

this lovely “prosperi-tea” was so easy to make and it was delicious, too! it was light and soft and refreshing. i also love the colour it developed! i put a lot of love into this tea as well, which i believe makes a big difference! 😉 ❤

—–

what did you do to ring in summer?

 

{“you can learn a lot of things from the flowers…”}

27 Jun

… “especially in the month of june…”

{alice in wonderland}

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my roommate brought these gorgeous flowers home from work recently and i gasped with glee when i laid eyes on them… then i immediately grabbed my camera, of course! actually, i waited until about 6:00 the next morning, then took them out on the balcony and sipped my iced americano while snapping images of these amazing beauties. i just love mornings… and i LOVE morning light… especially this time of year!

such pretty tulips, orchids, peonies, and greenery!

i am inspired by LIFE. not necessarily by the world, and the way we live, but by LIFE itself. these flowers are alive, just as we are. i was inspired by the stillness of these flowers, the stillness of nature… how nature just IS. the sole purpose of these flowers is to simply be. if anything, they just long for us to look at them, to bring awareness to them. and i believe when we “stop and smell the roses”, we can connect with them, with nature, in such a way that can offer stillness and peace to our own lives. after-all, i do believe we are just as much a part of nature as nature itself.

i love what eckhart tolle says about nature :

“Even a stone, and more easily a flower or a bird, could show you the way back to God, to the Source, to yourself. When you look at it or hold it & let it be without imposing a word of mental label on it, a sense of awe, of wonder, arises within you. Its essence silently communicates itself to you and reflects your own essence back to you.”

eckhart’s words resonated with me and i’ve carried them in my heart over the years. when i felt the glee i did upon seeing these flowers, i was reminded of that quote… and i thought i would post some pics of these gorgeous flowers along with some of my favourite quotes regarding stillness, spirituality, or love.

i hope you enjoy and i hope this brings some stillness to the mind and a warmth to the heart.

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“the earth laughs in flowers.” ~ ralph waldo emerson

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“the intuitive mind is a sacred gift, the rational mind is a faithful servant. we have created a society that honours the servant and has forgotten the gift.~ albert einstein

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“we need to find God, and he cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence. see how nature – trees, flowers, grass – grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence… we need silence to be able to touch souls.” ~ mother teresa

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“there is a voice that doesn’t use words… listen!” ~ rumi

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“if we could see the miracle of a single flower clearly, our whole life would change.” ~ buddha

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“after women, flowers are the most lovely thing God has given the world.” ~ christian dior 

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“the best teachers are those who show you where to look but don’t tell you what to see.”                                      ~ alexandra k. trenfor

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“yesterday i was clever, so i tried to change the world… today i am wise, so i am changing myself.” – rumi

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“and when you gaze long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you.” – fredrich nietzsche 

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“be kind whenever possible. it is always possible.” – dalai lama

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enjoy the weekend! ❤

 

 

{foto friday : those noisy neighbours, again!}

11 Apr

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i love waking up and seeing this…

sometimes i feel like i have more conversations with wildlife lately than i do with humans. i’m not complaining; i talk to anything that has life or energy – so, i pretty much talk to everything 😉

this family of elk live in my ‘hood and they have recently been grazing the grasses by where i walk home every day… sometimes i see them, sometimes i just see their poop.

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but i do believe they are starting to recognize me!

sometimes they just stare back at me… i inch closer, snap another foto, and they just stare.  i do believe they know who i am now, and they know who my camera is, as well. the little fawns i’ve been seeing are just heart-melting, too!

let’s all take time this weekend to unplug – connect with your true source, with nature. hug a tree, smell the roses, look for bumble bees, stare at the clouds.  get lost in the beauty that is around all around you… ❤

 

{animal messengers : the centipede}

5 Apr

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i found this little guy {or gal? … are they asexual?!} in my tiny house the other day… and i think it’s so cool i was able to kind of capture the little legs!!!

i may have been a little freaked out at first, but that’s what you get when you live in the mountains – you have to learn to share your space with all of nature, as you are on her turf.  when i looked up what this creature “represented” {according to some}, i read terms like psychic revelations, ability to survive stress, and this : “it is a wonder that something so small can humble even the largest and most threatening of creatures and people.” which clearly made me feel so good and comforted – cuz i am small, myself – but only physically 😉

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i happily scooped him up onto a piece of paper and released him outside… but not before snapping a couple quick fotos.  little bugger is FAST, too!  i could only fire off two shots before he creeped down into a crevasse and scurried away…

apparently some centipedes are poisonous?!  {yikes!} but not here in colorado, from what i’ve been told and read. i am thankful for my little gift of a centipede messenger.  at the time i didn’t think much of it, but after reading about the energy this creature carries, i feel super blessed to have had it cross my path…

 

{treehugger}

16 Mar

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go do it… NOW!  i promise it will help dissolve anything that is ailing you at the moment…

HAPPY SUNDAY! 😀

{happy full moon!}

19 Dec

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i never get tired of its beauty…

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{harry & carrie – the spider and ladybug : bringing messages of protection, renewal, and gentle strength}

16 Nov

i have lots of animal energy surrounding me… i mean, we all do… we just have to pay attention and keep our hearts open.  i believe it’s one of the ways the universe speaks to us – through animal energy.  i’m one to notice patterns, almost obsessively, and therefore i can usually recognize when there is a message trying to reach me.

i saw dragonflies quite often during my meditations when i lived in denver. dragonfly’s message is about transformation and seeing through life’s illusions… which was so fitting for what i was experiencing at the time.

lately i’ve been seeing lots of spiders.  i’ve always had spiders around me… which used to totally freak me out.  *quiver* who likes spiders?! anyway – over the years i kept seeing them and i found myself actually photographing them quite a bit.  i’m fascinated by their intricate webs and their stillness. and spider’s message is one of creativity – to weave our own web of destiny… and to be patient during the process 🙂

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harry the spider

harrythespider-2  Continue reading

{“painting with light”, while celebrating the autumn equinox}

24 Sep

nothin’ like a little fire-dancin’ to appreciate summer and welcome autumn… light-painting is COOL!!! 😀

{most of these images were taken with a 10-second exposure… fun stuff!}

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spiral!

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hearts and crescents.

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infinity. Continue reading

{adult tea parties : way better than when you were a kid!}

3 Sep

just be aware : this post is very foto-heavy! 🙂

hope you had a nice holiday weekend!  welcome september!!

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so, i had a little tea party with some girlfriends last week… and it was just so charming…

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my favourite quote from the day was from my friend mary who said, “i didn’t even know that could happen!”  i also overheard my friend noel say, “this is WAY better than when you were a kid!”

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it truly was a magical day! and my camera was there to document the entire event.  the guest of honour?!  my mom :

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judi.

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a few months ago, while unpacking some storage stuff, i found this beautiful china set – almost completely intact.  as it turns out, it was my mama’s.  i had been keeping it stored with her stuff ever since she passed away.  now 20 years later, i decided to dust if off, sparkle it up, and honour her life by having a party for her on her birthday – august 21st.

she would’ve been 60 years old!

Continue reading

{may 9 & 10 – annular solar eclipse}

9 May
Fun
TOTALLY FEELIN’ IT!

{thirsty thursday} — vitamix juice w/ grapefruit, spinach, and apples

28 Feb

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super healthy drink with fiber, vitamin c, iron, calcium, antioxidants, and loads of other goodness!

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– frozen mixed berries

– whole apple {honeycrisp is my pick, seeds and stems included}

– baby spinach

– grapefruit

– grape juice

– orange juice

– almond milk

and i always add in a little protein powder and ground flax seeds.

then let the amazing vitamix do its thing – amaze.