Awakening – A Desert Wisdom Card

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Awaken to the Day © 2014 Bo Mackison

Today a new sun rises for me; everything lives, everything is animated, everything seems to speak to me of my passion, everything invites me to cherish it. ~ Anne “Ninon” de L’Enclos

Sunlight peeks through the glimmering clouds.

The quails are scurrying from one pile of desert brush to the next, intent on crossing the arroyo unseen. Their camouflage antics are erratic, hesitant, but successful. The hummingbirds whirr about the spiky penstemon, drawing sweet nectar from the deep pink throats of the flowers. A cottontail, still like a garden ornament, hides under cover of the prickly pear. A roadrunner dances along the edge of the rocky arroyo edge, dipping his tail, flitting along.

All are alert. The world awakens as I watch the dawn break into day.

“We all woke up this morning and we had with it the amazing return of our conscious mind. We recovered minds with a complete sense of self and a complete sense of our own existence — yet we hardly ever pause to consider this wonder.”
~ Antonio R. Damasio, Self Comes to Mind: Constructing the Conscious Brain.

Each morning we awaken to a new day, with routine experiences and unexpected opportunities.

How can I prepare so that I wake refreshed and ready to experience each moment of this precious, never-before-experienced day? How will I go through my day alert to the possibilities, aware of the gifts and offerings that are constantly present?

Am I awake to the gentle nudges, fleeting ideas, serendipitous encounters?

“Once the soul awakens, the search begins and you can never go back. From then on, you are inflamed with a special longing that will never again let you linger in the lowlands of complacency and partial fulfillment. The eternal makes you urgent. You are loath to let compromise or the threat of danger hold you back from striving toward the summit of fulfillment.”
~ John O’Donohue, Anam Cara: A Book of Celtic Wisdom

What makes you feel awake and alive?

What energizes you? What happenings and experiences feel expansive and joyful? How might you incorporate bits of joy into your daily activities?

“Wander around wonder for awhile and awaken wisdom within.”
~ Soul Dancer

Wander. Wonder. Awaken.

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Today I introduce the second series of the Desert Wisdom Cards, now in the production stage.  Here is a preview of the AWAKENING card. The words on the new series of cards are letter pressed, the 16 photographs for the second set are chosen and being readied for printing. Still to come are paper cutting, assembly, packaging, and creating a new folio for this series. I’ll announce availability (soon) on my blog and in my newsletter.

 

 

Carolina Coast

Kure Beach Sunrise, November 8, 2013

Kure Beach Sunrise © 2013 Bo Mackison

“. . . I creep out into the Night or the Morning and see what majestic and what tender beauties daily wrap me in their bosom, how near to me is every transcendent secret of Nature’s love and religion. . .”  ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

I am visiting the Carolina Coast.

I’m staying in a lovely place, only a block from the Atlantic Ocean. Yesterday, I awoke to a shifting sky, and slipped across the street as dawn was nearing. It was cold and dark.

I stood in silent awe as the waves crashed upon the sands and retreated, relentlessly, infinitely.

A thin line in the dark sky shone red, then orange, and then the clouds fringed with scarlet light. The sun slid above the cloud line; the sea shimmered in tremulous gold.

Ah, ocean, I stand and watch, grounded in the shifting sands.

Sun, Rise

Wisconsin Sunrise

Sunrise © 2012 Bo Mackison

There was never a night that could defeat the sunrise. ~ Bern Williams

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Bo Mackison is a photographer and the owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC.  Visit her Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/seededearthstudio

Pink Queen Anne’s Lace – August’s Photo-Heart Connection

Pink Queen Anne's Lace

Pink Queen Anne’s Lace ©2012 Bo Mackison

In the right light,
at the right time,
everything is extraordinary.
~ Aaron Rice

When asked the question “What kind of photographs do you take?” I usually respond with the same answer.

“Mostly macro-botanicals,” I reply.

When I get a questioning look, I explain further. “Close-ups of flowers and plants.”

And macro-botanical photographs are what I mostly exhibit at Art Festivals. As patrons enter my show booth, they tell me they feel as if they are entering a huge flower garden. There are that many large macro-photographs of flowers hanging on the walls.

I spend lots of time photographing flowers, too. Each week I spend three or four days visiting and taking photographs in the botanical and horticultural gardens near my home. When I travel, I search for the locations of the nearest gardens and I try to schedule time for a visit. Yes, I photograph macro-botanicals!

So you would think when it is time for me to choose a Photo-Heart Connection photograph at the beginning of each month, I would naturally pick a macro-botanical. Not so. Today I realized that this is the first time in 2012 that I have picked a flower photo.

So. Why did I choose this photograph of Queen Anne’s Lace? I loved the colors. It is unusual to see Queen Anne’s Lace this color — they are usually white with perhaps a touch of pink. But this small stand of QAL was bright pink. And I loved how the rising sun shone on this roadside weed and turned it into a glowing, dew-drenched beauty. And I loved that I took this photo while I was on a long weekend with my husband in one of our favorite places in Wisconsin – Door County, a peninsula that juts out into the waters of Lake Michigan.

Three good reasons. Color. Light. Memories. Perfect for August’s photo-heart connection.

 

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Bo Mackison is a photographer and owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC. During the first week of each month, she re-visits photographs she’s taken the previous month, searching for that month’s photo-heart-connection photo. Bo is always quite thrilled when that special photograph finds her.

Boardwalk to the Beach

Beach Boardwalk

Beach Boardwalk © 2012 Bo Mackison

An early morning walk is a blessing for the whole day. ~ Henry David Thoreau

What a thrill to watch as the sun rises over Lake Michigan. And then another thrill – equally as amazing – when I turn away from the sun, and see the sunlight’s effect on everything within my view.

This photo was taken just north of Bailey’s Harbor, a small village in Door County, Wisconsin. The boardwalk is lined with snow fence for the summer as a beach grass re-introduction project is kept protected from the many feet of the beach visitors. The snow fence, a rather mobile fencing structure, always provides wonderful opportunities for photography. I am especially thrilled with the zig zag lines on the wobbly fence as the day’s sun lifts from the eastern horizon, and swathes the worn fence in deep golden tones.

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Bo Mackison is a photographer and the owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC. Bo is now home, and looking through the many photographs she took on her weekend trip to one of Wisconsin’s finest Vacationlands, Door County.