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.

 

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

December Sunrise

Sunrise in December

The Sun Rises ©2012 Bo Mackison

“You don’t need somebody to interpret for you what a beautiful sunrise it is.” ~ Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh

Owen Park Gate at Sunrise

Owen Park Fence at Sunrise

What is the good of your stars and trees, your sunrise and the wind, if they do not enter into our daily lives?
E. M. Forster

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Bo Mackison is a photographer and the owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC. Winter clouds, snow and the sunrise – a combination worth getting up early to capture.

Thanksgiving Thoughts

Give Us This Day

Give Us This Day ©2009 Bo Mackison

Gratitude is the inward feeling of kindness received. Thankfulness is the natural impulse to express that feeling. Thanksgiving is the following of that impulse. ~ Henry Van Dyke

No matter the circumstances, there is always much for which to be thankful:

For the new dawn breaking in the eastern skies;

For the trees standing in silhouette, its stark beauty of a tree readied for the winter as it follows nature’s rhythm’s in preparation for new life;

For the earth in readiness for winter;

For my body in health, with the ability to stand and walk, to speak and sing, to think and write, to see and hear, to create, to take me where I need to go, to provide not only me, but for my family, my friends;

For those that love me and those that do not, I am thankful for the connections, the support, the lessons that I learn;

For all that I need and for much that I want.

I am thankful.

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Bo Mackison is a photographer and the owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC.  Bo also gives thanks for the Brownie Holiday Camera she received when she was 8 years old, a gift that was the genesis of a lifelong passion.