Fall Glory

Fall, is now upon us here in the Pacific Northwest. I love the fall, almost as much as the summer. While I very much prefer sunny, hot days, playing in the sprinkler and backyard barbeques, salmon and corn-on-the-cob, lemonade and homemade ice cream, I am looking forward to fall and all its glory. It's time now for the chilly weather, frosty mornings (this morning brought us a cool foggy whiteness), and breezes that move your hair softly across your face and carries the fragrances of neighborhood fireplaces, homemade pies, cold weather stews and soups. I love the cornfields, pumpkin patches, golden and orange leaves. Even the Farmers Market in the fall has a new and fresh atmosphere compared to that of the summer.

As a photographer I delight in the fall colors. While fall is indicative of the dying of plants and foilage, the transformation toward their death in order that new life can come again in the spring, I like to capture that last final bud on a plant, the last survivor hanging on until the end. I have a photo of a single lone rose bud covered in snow. It is one of my favorites.

I have several fall photos I like - of a bright red tree shimmering proudly in the sunlight, a zillion yellow and orange leaves in a photo shot straight up under the branches taken from the base of the neighbor's tree, a blanket of fall colors cast over a forest of trees as they, one by one, make their transformation, and the clouds, oh how I love the changing of the clouds.

I hope you all enjoy your fall. Stay warm and cozy. Cuddle up with loved ones and may your homes be filled with the wonders of fall.

Yes, I am still here!

It has been a busy summer and I haven't had time to write on the blog. This fall will be just as busy but hopefully I will find some time.

I have been caught up in so many thoughts about death and I can't shake it from my poor brain! I have an artist friend who is dying and found out a few months ago that she has cancer and they will not be able to help her. She is an amazing woman and is facing it so beautifully I am in awe. She is a butterfly going into a cacoon and will emerge on the other side (where our REAL life will be) in full glorious winged beauty. She has been given the opportunity to tell her family and friends, give gifts, conversation, and wisdom. I thank God for that, for her, and think that she has, in many ways, been blessed to have been given this gift for her dying.

I have come to a point in my life where I am hearing about deaths of friends I have had for many, many years. It is ringing in my ears and I cannot hush it! You know that place, where you have reached an age and your friends have reached an age, where life starts to be completed. Where illness consumes, where stress and tiredness takes a huge toll, and where there is nothing left to do except the goodbyes. I know for sure I am not ready to go. I wonder what God has chosen for my exit. I hope I can be as strong about it as my friend, but I just don't know how I will react/act. I must stand in faith, in trust, in God.

I have a funeral to attend this afternoon. A scrapbooking friend lost her husband suddenly. He was only 44. My heart goes out to her! Some of the friends I have had for years when I lived in California have passed on. I have lost Ken, Larry, and Karen recently. I now accept the fact that I cannot talk with them, laugh with them, or say goodbye. I have to console myself with the hope that I will "see them on the other side".

What gets me through, is the knowledge that all things are in God's Hands. He is in control of ALL things. I want to live by His Plan, totally, completely, and be His child. He is my Father. He is my Rock. In Him will I rest and be secure, and be safe. He created this life, as we know it here on earth, to give us time to learn and grow and love. It is 'after' this life that we truly find our life. It is going to be AWESOME!