Life is Like a Puzzle

Tree Silhouettes

Tree Silhouettes © 2013 Bo Mackison

“Spring passes and one remembers one’s innocence.
Summer passes and one remembers one’s exuberance.
Autumn passes and one remembers one’s reverence.
Winter passes and one remembers one’s perseverance.”
~ Yoko Ono

On my month-long break from the Southwest, I returned to Wisconsin’s winter, and discovered this year’s snow season felt more brutal than in the past. The nearly two feet of snow that fell during the earlier part of my visit has had no opportunity to melt. The snow is as deep as the day it fell, though it has been swept aside from walks and roads to make it more manageable for travel.

Even so, my outdoor explorations were limited to walks around the neighborhood and a few sojourns by car. There is no such thing — for me — as a wander in a forest or a tramp through a field or prairie if I have to plow through depths of snow with each step I take.

And so the photos have been few. They all fall into a single category – trees in snowy winter. I do love the trees in winter, the branches exposed, the skeletal trunks and limbs showing the soul of the tree. Even the conifers have a minimalist feel to them.

This morning’s sunrise  – I’m watching it as I write – will be my last in wintry Wisconsin for quite a while. It’s a pale sunrise this morning, as if the cold has frozen the rays into a cool white light.

The snow is a beautiful sight from my windows, but I miss being in the middle of nature, in the midst of the weather and the breezes, tramping on the land.

There is much I miss when I am away from Wisconsin and living in the Tucson area. There is much I miss when I am away from Arizona and living in Wisconsin.  Life is rather like a puzzle — you fit the tiny pieces in as you find them, not sure of the big picture. Each day is a new puzzle piece, and they all fit together to make one huge whopping, incredible, messy life.

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Bo Mackison is a photographer and owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC. Tomorrow is a transition day – travel, comings and goings, many opportunities ahead. Keeping my eyes open in anticipation.

Christmas Traditions

Nativity with Vignette © 2012 Bo Mackison

Nativity with Vignette © 2012 Bo Mackison

When I was a small child, barely old enough to stay awake through Midnight Christmas services, I was allowed to place the baby Jesus in the crèche upon our return home from church. One magical night, as we left the church, laughing and wishing our neighbors a Merry Christmas, large, soft snowflakes began to fall.

This was nearly a miracle in the central Illinois town of my childhood – there were many more brown/green Christmases than white Christmases, and I always celebrated with a little more enthusiasm when Christmas outside looked as I expected – all white and wintry.

I went to an amazing lecture from a woman in Tucson, author and cultural historian Patricia Preciado Martin, who spoke on the Christmas traditions of the Mexican-American people. She related many stories, from years long ago,  when Christmas was not celebrated in the stores or with a pile of wrapped presents. It was celebrated with ritual and family traditions, as Patricia beautifully told.

She brought many of the Christmas items that decorate her own home during the Christmas Season, including this Naciemento,  hand-built and sculpted by a well-known Mexican potter. Quite lovely, very meaningful to Patricia’s family.

Tomorrow, for those who celebrate Christmas, may you celebrate with wonderful traditions. Merry Christmas.

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Bo Mackison is a photographer and the owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC. She will be spending tomorrow with family. Wonder if anyone will accompany her for a snowy Christmas walk through the nearby woodlands?

Ice Cream Parlor

Ice Cream Parlor

Ice Cream Parlor ©2012 Bo Mackison

The first time I ever visited this ice cream parlor, I was newly married and Sherpa was giving me a highlight tour of Oak Park, Illinois. We were ready to leave the crowds of Lincoln Park for a little yard and a lot more quiet and our very own garage space, and Oak Park was one of our choices.

On my very first visit all those years ago, we both ordered apple pie with cinnamon ice cream. Oh, deliciousness! Once we moved to the area, we treated ourselves to pie ala mode at the beginning of every month. (My pay day.) No matter how stringent our student budget was, it couldn’t make us give up our monthly ice cream fix — though we’d have preferred a daily dose!

Recently we drove through Oak Park to see how the quarter of a house we had rented for a year was faring. It looked great. Then we drove past the ice cream parlor. It was no longer a restaurant, just a narrow shop with ice cream goodies on one side and a few tables and chairs on the other. It was nice to see the wall of old ribbons Petersen’s Ice Cream had won at over many years of State Fair participation. And the ice cream was as yummy as ever. No apple pie, though!

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Bo Mackison is a photographer and the owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC.

Walking with the Trees

Bare Branches

Bare Branches ©2012 Bo Mackison

“Today I have grown taller from walking with the trees.”
–   Karle Wilson Baker

I think if I ever decided to limit myself to only a few subjects to photograph, I would choose first the tree.

When I photograph a tree, I capture the structure of the tree, and its beauty, its strength. But it seems the tree portraits become self-portraits in a sense, as they often capture my mood and state of being, too.

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Bo Mackison is a photographer and the owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC. During this month of endings and beginnings, of many journeys and quite a bit of upheaval, I will be posting iPhonography.

Fruits of November

Orange Fruit, Crabapple Tree

Fruits of Autumn ©2012 Bo Mackison

Crab apple blossoms are a favorite, but the fruit of the crabapple is largely ignored. Even the winter birds wait until little else is available before choosing crabapples for their breakfast.

But these bright orange crab apples, framed in a purple-saturated sky – I love this combination of colors, and I love the composition of branches and fruits, solid and yet airy.

Space for breathing deeply, roots for grounding deeply.

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Bo Mackison is a photographer and the owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC. In this month of many ending and as many beginnings, many journeys and many hours spent on the road, I will be posting a daily iPhone photo processed with the Snapseed application.