Tonight I am grateful for the random thoughts that are coursing through my mind right now. I decided that I would take a lighter approach to the blog this evening. I got tired of seeing myself write about how tired I am. I am tired; but my tiredness has gotten tiresome, even to me. So enough of that and enough of seriousness tonight. This evening I was standing looking out my kitchen window letting random thoughts course through my mind…(hmmm, a theme here perhaps). I was munching on tricolor tortilla chips and wondering if the sandwich I had for dinner along with the chips would be enough. I added a bowl of honey nut Os and a couple of handfuls of cherries. It was then that I decided that tonight’s blog would highlight some of my more whimsical photographic moments. The cherries were what set off the idea. I took the photo of the bowl of cherries last summer during cherry season in California. (I have actually been grateful for cherries in past blogs…a bit embarrassing, but true!)
Life is like, well...
One of the things I appreciate about digital photography is that you can take hundreds of pictures without feeling guilty about wasting film. I’d always wanted to experiment and take fabulous photos but never thought I was good enough to want to waste money developing film of pictures of obscure things and/or those that came out blurry to the point that you couldn’t tell what you were looking at. With digital photos I could take pictures of all kind of interesting and wacky things and if I didn’t like them, could simply delete them. Unfortunately, I’ve tended to treat some of my digital pictures the same way as I did my print photos–I keep pictures no matter how bad they might have turned out or how many versions of the same subject; the only difference is that I keep my print photos in a big box and I store my digital photos on my computers.
And so here for your viewing pleasure are a few of my more whimsical photos.
Trespassing Turkeys
Regular readers of this blog, particularly those who read during most of 2011 will know how much I was vastly entertained by the presence of huge flocks of wild turkeys that frequented the back parking lot behind my condo in California. During some really difficult days during which I struggled with loss and grief, the turkeys provided comic relief in the midst of the drama. I often managed to capture them in some highly amusing poses. In moving back east I regained my beloved northern cardinals but left behind my now equally loved wild turkeys.
The Return of the Red BIrd
And speaking of the beloved red birds, I was ecstatic to attract several cardinals–males and females to the bird feeder this past winter. I also enjoyed visits by nuthatches, tufted titmice (or is it titmouses?), and an assortment of finches, sparrows and other small birds. Of course I also attracted one of the local squirrels who entertained both me and Honor with its acrobatic attempts to get at the birdseed. He was never successful, but it wasn’t for lack of trying.
My backyard wildlife kept me entertained during my first fall and winter here in the East. When I first moved to my house back in October and looked out my kitchen window at the tree with a rather large hole in the side, I knew that some kind of critter had to be residing therein. I couldn’t have predicted the menage a trois that lived in the hole until I saw the three of them with my own eyes, all peering out of the hole at what I do not know. I loved the fact that two of them were grey and the third was black. I’m not sure why I found that amusing, but I did. Months later in the spring, I saw a trio of baby squirrels–all gray–frolicking and playing in and around the hole. Between the birdfeeder in the winter and the hole in the tree during the fall and spring, I was thoroughly entertained.
My Three Friends
I’ve taken a lot of photos over the past few years–a number of them have found their way into this blog. Some of them are of the beautiful areas around Cesar Chavez Park off the San Francisco Bay, some of sunsets and super moons, and many of wacky wildlife in and around the various places I’ve lived. I am grateful both for the experiences–the sights and sounds of the world around me–and for the means (by way of a good camera or my smartphone) to capture them.
Tonight’s blog is perhaps not one of my more serious treatments on the subject of gratitude, but hey, sometimes one needs to lighten up. I’ve found great joy in taking photos and have seen the delight that people experience when I share them.
Brother, Daughter, Sister
Finally, I want to add a representation of one of the most important sub-themes of this blog. When I write about the things that I am most grateful for, the most frequently mentioned blessing in my life is that of my family. I’ve written a lot about my siblings, children, and parents over the past two years. They remain the most important blessings in my life, the thing for which I am the most grateful. Even as my heart is still tender from the loss of my Aunt last Sunday, I am deeply grateful for who she was and who each person in my family is in my life. They are God’s greatest gift to me and I am grateful to have them in my life. I didn’t share a picture of my four-legged roommate, but she too remains a source of joy, unconditional love, and, of course, gratitude. And I am grateful to each reader for whom I continue to write. Thank you for being here and sharing this journey with me.
