Fearless

This is my son, Sam. He is a super hero. A FEARLESS super hero! He is not worried that others in the park might think otherwise. He is not at all concerned about the fact he is not wearing super hero clothes or packing his magnetic nuclear blaster thing... He is what he is and no one can talk him out of it. You could try to convince him he can't be a super hero because he doesn't have the right equipment, official outfit, or bulging muscles - but he won't buy it! Unwavering confidence and limitless imagination. This makes him MY hero - and I want to be just like him.

Go Confidently in the Direction of Your Dreams...

When I first glance at this image, I feel the goose is moving swiftly away from something. Is that a matter of the cup being half empty or half full? I wonder about what I am moving away from in my life... away from pain of losing loved ones, doing my taxes, denial of the state of our economy (I'm in real estate, of all careers), bad habits, junk food.... or am I moving away from some good things?... like spending more time reading my Bible and in prayer, embracing the opportunity to live a more simple meaningful way of life, helping those in need, the pursuit of my dreams and love of photography... or opening my heart to love? It doesn't make sense that we would move away from good things, does it? But we do, because good things in life can also bring feelings of fear and inadequacy and they sometimes come packaged with great responsibility. Often its easier to go the other way, or stay in our safe, although mediocre, corner of the world. I'm reminded of the saying "you miss 100% of the shots you don't take". Its true. So why are we so afraid to step up to the plate and take a swing at life? Or, several swings for that matter! Why are we so hesitant to move swiftly toward all the good stuff? Cautious...

I'll bet there were some children feeding the geese on the other side of the pond, and this spruce goose wasn't wasting any time getting there! He wasn't going away from anything...he was simply moving swiftly toward something good. As Thoreau said so well... "Go confidently in the direction of your dreams! Live the live you've imagined." As we begin a new week, here's to moving confidently forward!

Symbols, Signs and Salvage

I regret not capturing an image of the recliner with the stuffed man just behind the right side of the gate..

Something about a shotgun...

And I mean it!

Two locks are always better than one!

Bad Bulls..

Wire butterfly with beads

No trespassing... I love the old box springs!

Do you think this really is the actual address?

I found this gate to some farm land on a backroad near my house. I have no idea why so much effort was put forth to confuse passers-by like myself with all the symbols, signs and salvage... but nonetheless the display definately caught my attention. I hope whoever reads this post finds these images as interesting and entertaining as I do... I'm just grateful I didn't get shot while taking them! I'm not trying to express deep meaning between the lines of this text or within these pictures - unless, that is, they evoke something for you... then I want to hear about it!

Another Good Close Look

My family is planning a trip to Florida this summer. This is a vacation long over-due for us! I was thinking about the water and white sand when this photo came to mind. Can you see it? The sand and the blue ocean with soft waves in the distance? This is actually a view of an old tractor I found along a walking trail. It was sitting off in grass with weeds grown up all around it. I'm not sure why it was left there, but I couldn't resist a closer look. So, through the tall grass I went and started snapping. Of all the photos I took, this is my favorite because it evokes something more than just the wheel of a tractor. Wouldn't that be a great way to view everything and everyone in life? Not just what we see at first glance, but from a different or closer viewpoint allowing everything else to fall away. This is only a wheel of an old tractor, but its a work of art in my eyes.