Tassels in the Sun

 

in winter

golden tassels shine

like the sun

[photo from my front yard]

January 11, 2002

just jules

WINGS and SELF CARE

 October 26, 2021

One of the ways I practice self-care is I take pictures. What? yes, it is self-care. Taking my camera with me helps me see the beauty, reminds me to look at what is right there around me. I take too many photos but I don't care. Taking the photos makes me so happy, it is worth every one of them. It just fills me with gratitude to see the beauty in the world.

In July we were staying in a cabin on an island in a lake with our kids and grands for a week. One morning, my husband and I were out in the kayaks and we found these turkey vultures perched in the upper branches of the island apparently drying their wings. I was stunned by the honor to see it. What fun to have my camera with me so I could capture it and then today finally get around to sharing it with you. What beautiful creatures turkey vultures are! and oh how they can soar! 

Wings are for flying and for soaring. And our wings need care. I wonder if I do what is necessary to keep my wings ready to fly, not real ones of course but the wings of my heart and soul. What self care might be needed to make sure I am ready for flight? What daily routines might create a better environment for me to soar? 

Perhaps, just taking the photograph is a good start? Perhaps.

I invite you to let yourself enjoy the beauty that you see and then let that lift your heart to soaring. Or to do something else that lifts your heart. Let's fly!

Let's enjoy the moment while we can!

praying for more self-care and wings! Love, Jules  

Rocks, Trees, Water and a Camera Chick

July, 30, 2019

Yesterday my husband and I got back from a 5-day camping trip at Devil's Lake State Park in Wisconsin. We figured it was our ninth trip there. We got started the year before one of our sons got married to scope out the wedding venue. The next year they got married on South Shore with their toes in the sand. We've been returning to camp there with our daughter-in-law's family ever since. It's hard to improve on it for a great camping experience. A beautiful little clean lake with tons of swimming space, two incredible bluffs with huge Baraboo quartzite tumbling bolder fields below and enough hiking and climbing to keep everyone happy.

I am out of shape, somewhat overweight and have a cranky ankle and a recent flair-up of plantar fasciitis. So I wasn't sure this was going to go as well as previous trips. But the minute I started setting up camp, the forest started whispering my name. And the second I stepped foot on the trail, I knew I would follow those whispers wherever they lead me. I recently acquired an off-brand fit watch for counting steps. I figure I walked about an average of eight miles each of the five days, some of it up a substantial elevation on the cliffs. But with the wind and the trees singing to me and the rocks offering to carry my weight and the water offering a healing view, how could I resist. So off goes this camera chick with all the much healthier ones for hikes and adventures. I came home sore but with a camera full of treasures. Once again, I found myself falling in love with the original artist--the Creator. Every time I look through that lens I find more color, more design, more intricacy and detail, more life and abundance then I ever thought possible.  And a few times i even caught us humans interacting with that abundance.

My cell phone had no service at this state park but I didn't miss it, although I used it for a camera part of the time. How can you miss it when you are wrapped in the wonder of the art, almost as if stepping into a painting or a book and wandering around in the beauty.

During our stay, we wandered over to Mirror Lake State Park for a nice kayak paddle with our friends, Mike and Tim. And on our way home, we stopped at two more state parks, Rocky Arbor and Mill Bluff where we discovered even more of the Wisconsin jungle and its beauty.

Here is a sample to share with you. I pray that some day you go somewhere with no phone service and get the chance to wallow in such splendor. Enjoy!

CLICK HERE TO VIEW: Rocks, Trees, and Water Photo Album