Here Comes the Sun

So many exciting happenings are underway for me here in Northeast Ohio. At the top of that list is that I participated in my very first craft show last weekend!

For some time now I have been creating "frameable greeting cards" from the photos I take. (See here: www.photocardart.com). I have been showing the cards to friends and family for feedback but I had never brought them to the general public. Going from a repressed and stunted photographer/artist to one who shows her vision to the outside world has been a long journey to say the least. One that has taken years (if not a 40-year lifetime) to unfold.

But I am beginning to feel that the light at the end of my tunnel is the sun coming up. I am following its light and warmth and I am trusting that a creative identity is something right for me. And it all started with flowers so this gorgeous gerbera daisy feels right to represent my shining sun...

Sweet Presence

This delicate autumn budling is only a few millimeters in size. Really, she's *that* small. But nevertheless, she rises every gradually darkening fall day and faces the adventure of change that is ahead of her with all the presence and willingness she can contain.

Trustingly, she sweetly says, "Yes" to the day and, "Yes" to the coming changes, and even, "Yes" to the imminent cold temperatures of winter she knows are not meant for her.

The little budling knows only that she is here *now* and, without worrying about the coming chill, she simply and willingly says, "Yes."

Hiding Out

This little acorn was tucked so far under the wilting grass, weeds and retiring meadow flowers that I almost missed her. What a shame that would have been!

The little nut looks to me like she is biding her time until she can become snow-covered and so nestle herself in the ground to start hibernating and gestating for the coming spring when she will emerge as a baby tree.

She looks to me as if she is trying to disappear -- not so that she isn't seen, but so that no squirrels capture her before she reaches her truest moment. She knows that her special destiny in time is not yet here and she knows that, "laying low" is a strategy she can use to help her survive until then.

She is retreating from the spotlight now so that she can gather her forces and prepare for her most authentic entrance of all...

Autumn Bounty

Autumn is at its beginning edge here in northern Ohio. It's a season I don't usually enjoy because I don't like the colder temperatures and in addition, summer *always* feels too short to me. I typically feel a dread when fall comes since it portends the soon-to-follow wintertime and the cold temperatures and gray days have always been my enemy.

But in my journey to develop more acceptance of my life I am working to see the autumn glass as half-full. That means seeing the sights of autumn through eyes that say, "Yes" instead of, "No."

With that thought in mind I ventured into the countryside this past week and stopped at some local markets which were overflowing with, what this year I made the active choice to see as, autumn's bounty.

I must say, it was beautiful...