Photo A Week: Water

September 15, 2018.Reading time 1 minute.

Water, I confess, holds me in its spell – I would follow it across the land from the Oregon coast, and ocean swell to the Arizona rivers, oh so grand: Set me by a waterfall and I will swoon, mesmerized by such awesome power, even deafened by its thunderous boom, I could watch the motion […]

Ah, Irony

September 14, 2018.Reading time less than 1 minute.

Jazz, from Steps and Pauses sent me this sign, taken in Uncertain, Texas, a place she says is worthy of a visit: I would think they have a rather large following. I spotted this sign, and well…I think the ironies speak for themselves: The black squirrel (featured) thought he had cleverly outrun his assailant – a raging […]

Stoic Hunter?

September 13, 2018.Reading time less than 1 minute.

Who is more stoic than the Great Blue, stealthily enduring rocks and rapids to catch the day’s meal? Appearances, however, have been known to deceive… seems this bird is no emotional void, no paragon of strength, but a closet thespian – caught him, mid rehearsal – aspiring to a phantom role – of the opera variety. (Written […]

CFFC: Red

September 12, 2018.Reading time less than 1 minute.

What tugs on heartstrings more than a child’s tiny red shoe? Maybe a regal resting post accented in such a rich hue. Red, when applied to architecture creates a classic facade – such class Some instances, such as blushing, or rash, render this fiery colour a pain in the ___ (Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge is […]

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge: Fences

September 11, 2018.Reading time 1 minute.

Fences? My first reaction was that I avoid fences in my photography, and now that we’ve moved into a neighbourhood without them, I will not be able to participate. Then, I revisited old photographs, and what do you know? Fences! The featured image is a garden gate at the Butchart Botanical Gardens in Victoria, B.C. The […]

V.J.’s Weekly Challenge #15: Irony

September 10, 2018.Reading time 1 minute.

Is it just me, or is there irony in the idea of a museum of tolerance – as if the concept itself, now defunct, has been mummified for perusal? Life is full of ironies, and sometimes it takes an objective view to find them. As a kid, I found it ironic that my father would […]

Finishing Foundations

September 9, 2018.Reading time 3 minutes.

I turned to God when my foundation was shaking, only to find that God was shaking my foundation. – unknown I’ve carried this quotation with me since my early thirties, a time when the bottom fell out of my life and I fell into a deep abyss of depression and mental breakdown (or breakthrough, as […]

What Do You See? Wings!

September 6, 2018.Reading time 1 minute.

I used to think that the relentless ache between my shoulder blades was from missing wings. We are meant to be angels on earth, I believed. And then, I forgot, so caught up in the details of life, consumed with ambition, and then facing the daily struggle of chronic illness. Until I saw this image. […]

Building a Foundation (with help from wikihow.com)

September 5, 2018.Reading time 2 minutes.

Choose the type of foundation to build. I want a foundation strong enough to carry me through hard times, yet flexible and able to adapt in the moment. Something sustaining, and solid, but not rigid. Set your footings 2 feet across. Two feet on the ground, firmly planted, well balanced, not alone, but interdependent, both partaking […]

V.J.’s Weekly Challenge #14: Foundation

September 3, 2018.Reading time 1 minute.

“What about my marriage?” a naive, much younger me once asked a psychic. “The foundation is firm,” the woman responded hesitantly, “but not without cracks.” Cracks? It was more like gaping holes. Easy to see now, in retrospect, but at the time, I was convinced we were rock solid. The suggestion of anything less insulted […]

Is This War?

“War is hell. You can’t photograph a flying bullet, but you can capture genuine fear.”– unknown The bomb has droppedcontrol slips from our grasp We pray for a parachutefor someone to pull the cord numbers escalate,lives plummet We offer encouragementisolated voices faltering moment of impact imminentthe implosion inevitable impact reverberatesresponsibility moot. ( Image my own.)

Promises

Imagine

If we could lift understandingto indigenous teachingsexpand our loveto earth, sky, and seaMake personal gain tabooand Ancients a weigh point If we could witness the mountainsslow floating across the skyand touch the dolphin’s soulanxiously swimmingwhere tuna are netted Would we cower at our insignificanceor move forward, learning to acceptthat all of life is deeply woveninto […]