Walk and Wonder

Peonies in Pastels

go here Peonies in Pastels © 2012 Bo Mackison

follow link Seeing form with the whole body and mind,
Hearing sound with the whole body and mind
One understands intimately.
~ Eihel Dogen

https://www.pslra.org/2cw1o8yk2 I walked the perimeter of a nearby pond this morning. I have been walking it weekdays for the last few weeks, and it is my intention to continue walking the pond path until the snow flies and the way is no longer negotiable.

https://www.frolic-through-life.com/2025/01/tq0vy538prq I continue to be surprised by all the activity that takes place near the pond. The American Lotus are gradually emerging from the water, first as mere bits of green, now many are flat pads floating on the surface.

watch An egret and a blue heron – I suspect both are males – eye each other from a safe distance. I have not seen any large nests except for the geese, so I surmise those mama birds may be on the other nearby lake.

https://tvnordestevip.com/x87twyeqpj The male red-wing blackbirds are also out in force, alert and watching the passers-by for their mates and nests are in the above trees. These blackbirds are the main reason I always walk with a wide-brimmed hat for protection. After experiencing the males swoop at my head on several occasions serving me with warnings to “move on,” I keep my head covered. I do not enjoy their startling game of “scare the humans.”

source site Today I had to make a detour through the woods as a papa goose was giving his seven babies some play time on the path, and since he eyed me wildly and threatened me with his wide-opened beak, I gave in and turned around. I was in no mood to take on an aggressive father.

Cheapest Valium Online Buy Then while passing through the trees, I saw a snapping turtle, maybe two feet long including tail, digging at the side of the trail. She was preparing to lay her eggs, and had dug a hole four or five inches deep. Since I purposely do not bring a camera on my early morning walk, I have no photographs, only the memories I stored in my mind, and a few sketches I penciled in my journal when I returned home.

https://www.rmporrua.com/jw20b7r I am experimenting with the camera free walk. I have well learned the habit of close observation in the last five years of carrying a camera almost everywhere, but there are times when it seems the need for a photograph interrupts a train of thought I would like to follow, or a time of quiet I am enjoying. I will try it for a month, and then choose whether to carry my camera again or continue with a camera-free hour first thing in the morning.

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source site Bo Mackison is a photographer and owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC. She is spending the rest of the day in her studio, matting and framing photographs for her first summer art fair — this weekend.

https://www.infotonicsmedia.com/about/want-to-buy-valium-in-uk.php (57th Street Art Fair in Hyde Park, Chicago – June 2 and 3. More info to follow)

Looking through the Window Glass

Parq Central View

Buy Diazepam Reviews Parq Central View © 2012 Bo Mackison

https://www.amyglaze.com/2bowg7uc Your task is not to seek love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it. ~ Rumi

Tramadol Sale Online A handsome, hand-crafted door. Century old leaded glass with beveled edges. The view of the park across the street is framed so perfectly in the arched panes. I think the abstract view through the slightly imperfect glass panes is lovely – wavering colors melding from one hue to another, the cool palette of colors – blues, greens, purples.

Valium Sales Online But no matter how lovely the door’s wood nor the hand-crafted window panes’ specks of flaws, nor the meticulous workmanship to combine raw materials into a work of practical art, I still want to open the door and explore the outdoors. I want to cross the street and walk in the park, be a part of the park – bare-footed in the grass, looking up at the sky through the over-arching leafy branches. Feel the grass tickling the soles of my feet, the wind brushing against my face, let my hands touch the bark patterns – rough, smooth, bumpy.

follow url The view through the glass is lovely. But sometimes even barriers are deceivingly beautiful or unhelpful. Knowing when to remove the barrier and explore further is the true test.

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https://www.boasdeibiza.com/boat/valium-online-prescription.php Bo Mackison is a photographer and owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC.

Memorial Day Tribute

Memorial Day Tribute at Courthouse

https://www.mssbizsolutions.com/wfx7yz59 Memorial Day Tribute at Old Courthouse © 2012 Bo Mackison

follow site  Patriotism consists not in waving the flag, but in striving that our country shall be righteous as well as strong. ~ James Bryce

enter site Memorial Day 2012.

see url Sherpa and I had a fair amount of driving time scheduled for this holiday weekend. Wisconsin to Iowa to Missouri to Illinois, and then across Illinois from the farthest city on the western border of Illinois, through the heart of the state,  a swing to Milwaukee before finally heading home to Madison – where we collapsed in a heap of tired bones and weary minds.

https://osteopatiaamparoandres.com/08eee3ce We accomplished a huge number of things, including several family events that were celebratory. And as is now my habit while traveling and collecting large numbers of miles on the odometer, I kept my big camera in the back seat, snug in its camera bag, and photographed whatever caught my eye with my iPhone.

We took a detour off the interstate, mid-Illinois, after half a day of swerving through holiday traffic, and followed the scenic road along the Illinois River from Dixon (childhood home of Ronald Reagan) to Rockford. As we passed through Dixon, we noticed a display of flags on the old Courthouse lawn. Needing to stretch anyway, we got out and walked around the Courthouse Square.

There was a temporary tribute for Memorial Day entitled “Lest We Forget” and I took a few photos. Each cross or star represented a soldier killed in war from the Dixon area.

Dixon Illinois - Huge Oak on Courthouse Lawn

Dixon Illinois - Huge Oak on Courthouse Lawn © 2012 Bo Mackison

As we walked back to the car, I noticed a truly gigantic oak on the southern side of the Courthouse. I am not experienced enough to give a guess at the age of this tree, but I could not reach my arms around it and touch my fingers together.

I wondered how old this tree was, and how it looked at different periods of history.

Would it have been a young sapling during the Civil War? Probably, as the courthouse was built in the 1850s. Surely it was tall and provided a comforting shade during the hot summers throughout World War I, and has continued to do so these many years.

I saluted this giant oak as I left the square, witness to over a century and a half of history.

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

Learning to Be Astonished

Old Lace Peony

Old Lace Peony © 2012 Bo Mackison

Am I no longer young, and still not half perfect? Let me
keep my mind on what matters,
which is my work,

which is mostly standing still and learning to be
astonished.

from Messenger by Mary Oliver

How lovely is the above message from Mary Oliver’s poem.

Sometimes I read a poem, and it seems as if it is a message from beyond, or from the universe, or from a secret conduit from poet’s mind to my mind.

This happened today when I read Messenger.

Yes, I am feeling no longer the least bit young, and not even “half perfect.” Not that I wish to be perfect, for that does not sound like much of a life adventure, but I might prefer to be a bit further on the path than I am. I frown a bit.

Then come her words “let me keep my mind on what matters, which is my work.” The worry lines appear on my brow and I start cataloging the many to-do’s on my unwritten list entitled get link What I Should/Must Get Done ASAP. I fret about work and time and commitments and responsibilities and my purpose for being one of the seven million plus  human inhabitants on this earth.

Then I stop, startled, and take a deep breath, no, several deep breaths. And I close my eyes for a few moments, mentally pushing away worry, though unsuccessfully for it will not be pushed aside.

I read the next few words of the poem . . . “my work, which is mostly standing still and learning to be astonished.”

Ah, so I smile a bit and relax a bit and let Mary Oliver’s words push away the worry with much more success.

Yes, I have plenty of time to work on the art of being astonished.

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Bo Mackison is a photographer and owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC. Sometimes she puts down her camera and reads pages and pages of poetry.

Contemplate the Beauty

Orange Poppy

Orange Poppy © 2012 Bo Mackison

Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts. ~ Rachel Carson

I am heading into a stretch of days that will be a test of my endurance. As I was looking through my notebooks of quotes, looking for a quotation to pair with this cheerful poppy, I came across the above quote by Rachel Carson.

Contemplate the beauty of the earth. There will be found reserves of strength that will endure.

Contemplate the beauty of the earth.

Contemplate the beauty.

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