Snowflakes

Blizzard 2012

Snow Trees © 2012 Bo Mackison

The snow falls, each flake in its appropriate place. ~ Zen Saying

I mostly stayed indoors while the snowstorm swirled about, while each snowflake fell in its appropriate place. I had a second day of rest and quiet, while outside, workers put forth their best efforts to push all those snowflakes into human-convenient places.

None of the snowflakes cared about flight schedules or airport closings, nor about plans for holiday travel and seasonal gatherings. The snowflakes each fell in their appropriate places. I watched millions of flakes float from the sky, then clump together until the earth was deeply covered.

This morning the sun rose, shining brightly on all those appropriately placed snowflakes. They shimmered, sparkled, I was an audience of one, watching a light-dance upon the white. Quite the performance, in my backyard.

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Bo Mackison is a photographer and the owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC. She no longer is watching the weather reports nor the flight delay lists. She is watching the snowflakes shimmer in their appropriate places.

Backyard Blizzard

Blizzard 2012

Backyard Blizzard © 2012 Bo Mackison

Madison hasn’t had much snow these past two months, but we appear to be making it up in hasty fashion. A winter’s storm/blizzard/thundersnow is in full blast and I am appreciative of the beautiful white coating on the natural world.We’ve got eight inches on the ground, maybe another eight inches more to fall.

I am appreciative of the moisture from the heavens that is now upon the earth, soon to melt into the earth and increase our low water table.

I am appreciative of my warm home, a furnace that is kicking on and off with regularity, the bowl of beef barley soup I just ate for lunch, warm clothes, warm and cozy everything.

Blizzard 2012

Snow Laden Pine Trees © 2012 Bo Mackison

I am appreciative that the airlines have cancelled all the flights from New York City to my part of the Midwest due to extremely bad weather and flight conditions, and that the safety of all passengers and crew completely outweighs the fact that my two daughters are in New York City as I write. One had a flight to Madison today, the other has a flight tomorrow morning. The planned Christmas with all of my children is now unlikely.

Still, the snow is lovely to behold. Blustery, but beautiful. And we are all safe and healthy.

I’m thinking that I haven’t created a snow angel in several decades, and maybe today is the day to resurrect that fun, somewhat cold, experience. Hmm…

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Bo Mackison is a photographer and the owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC. She is spending the holidays in Madison, and watching the weather reports in Tucson and New York City.

 

Twisted Trees – The Desert Mesquite

Twisted Tree Grove

Tree Grove ©2012 Bo Mackison

“The tree which moves some to tears of joy is in the eyes of others only a green thing that stands in the way.  Some see Nature all ridicule and deformity, and some scarce see Nature at all.  But to the eyes of the man of imagination, Nature is Imagination itself.” ~ William Blake, 1799

Mesquite trees are an Arizona symbol – tough, adapted to desert living with a root system that grows deep into the earth. A tap-root can extend as far as 150 feet into the ground in search of moisture.

They bring flowers to the desert, first in spring and then again after the monsoons, and provide nectar for bees which then produce a sweet mesquite honey. The seeds are ground into flour in many desert cultures, a practice that has lasted for centuries, and continues to this day.

The mesquite improves the soil in which it grows, as it is a nitrogen stabilizer. A natural fertilizer.

The grove of trees in the above photograph grows next to the mission church at Tumacacori National Historic Park.

They may not be tall and stately like the California Redwood, nor provide a spectacular display of autumnal color like the Eastern and Midwest hardwoods, but there is a fascination with the gnarled, sharply angled branches extending from the mesquite’s thick trunk.

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

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

Stretching our Spirits

Sitting in the Blues ©2012 Bo Mackison

Stay here – “sitting in the blues.” Allow emotion to turn everything into a statue, give fear and anxiety permission to darken the view.

Obstacles ©2012 Bo Mackison

Obstacles ©2012 Bo Mackison

Or…study the obstacles in the way. Consider strengths and skills. Make the decision to move forward, knowing that a stumble or a fall precedes standing again and moving forward.

River Passage ©2012 Bo Mackison

Passages © 2012 Bo Mackison

There are helpers on this journey. Find a flowing river with colorful guides to show the way.  Or a bridge to provide safe passage from here to there.

The Brightest World ©2012 Bo Mackison

There will be rough places to navigate, but the brightest wonders are sometimes found nearest the rustiest spots. Keep walking the path. The hardest of challenges grow our souls, stretch our spirits. Determined, we will find our way.

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Photos taken at Olbrich Botanical Gardens in Madison, Wisconsin.

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