Taking another step forward

Baby steps - that's how we learn how to walk.. and how to live! Learning where we belong in this world can sometimes be a treacherous trail, much like a hike up a steep mountain. Unfortunately, sometimes the rocks slide out from under our feet, or we slip on a slick rock, and we land flat on our behinds. It is at that point that we have to decide whether to sit there until we get a hand up, or pick ourselves up and move on. I have been slipping and sliding quite a bit lately, but when I walk, I have been afraid to step out. Baby steps were a safe way to avoid disappointment and failure. I have spent a lot of the last four days - short vacation from the money job - trying to decide if I had grown enough to walk alone. I have spent the day with a man and woman who were ready to commit their lives to each other on a mountain in front of friends and family - and God! I know he was there, because he held my hand through a lot of it.

I have been witness to a man and a woman just getting started their life together. I was just in the right place at the right time..sometimes photography is a little bit of luck!

Children are such a gift! I was given a gift by my daughter Sarah two years ago..a wonderful mini of her mother, some of her Aunt Meg, and most of her very own self. She loves the neurotic yorkie, is a master of her mother's Ipad, and can get her way with a smile or a tear. She has been my favorite subject, both posed and candid, and I have caught her in most of her milestones.

Through all of these wonderful people, I haven't forgotten that I love a walk in the woods or along the water's edge more than anything. How nice it will be to photograph my next customers in one of my favorite nature spots! I'm ready to go, and to grow. We never stop growing, unless we lose our dreams.. I've taken baby steps to get to that point, but now I'm ready to run! My family and my friends that have encouraged this step are the wind beneath my wings..I hope I don't disappoint you. I love you all!

Sunday in February - waiting for spring

This morning as the thermometer dipped into the high teens, I went outside to walk the dogs..I prefer owning dogs only in the spring and summer, but unfortunaltely I have to keep them in fall and winter in order to maintain a relationship with them. The sun had risen above Lone Mountain, and the wind was blowing pretty strong in the pines behind the house. There were birds trying to fly against the wind. Their efforts were thwarted as they turned around and rerouted their courses. Even though we have only had two days of winter this month, I decided that was more than I want.

Don't get me wrong, Tennessee is a nice place to live. I've been here a long time, and probably will be here a little while longer. Questions of relocation through my head, not only because I love to travel, but because when we have winter, it is too cold for me. 70 degrees on Monday, and 20 on Saturday..if you don't like the weather in Tennessee , just wait until tomorrow. We have a summer that is too hot for most (not me, I love the heat!) and a winter that is cold and blustery (usually) but produces no snow (usually). Still our winter is a bleak, dreary bunch of days that we spend wishing for flowers and green.

To be a photographer in a bleak world you have to seek out the details. God has given us these details if we only pay attention.

Then he has provided the southeast corner of Tennessee many lakes and rivers. The opportunities to photograph become much better on a cool winter morning, with a fog rising from the water.

Now as the sun is setting and the frigid temperatures are returning, I'm reminded of the brightness of the winter sun..in it is a promise of spring and summer..the shadows are long and the air is cold, but the clear blue skies give you the most beautiful sunsets..

this is what God's day of rest is to me..a day to revive my spirituality and my beliefs.