All in a Row

My camera and I have been in search of a theme the last few months.  I have a small offering of photos for you this month.  I have to wonder if I've simply become too picky about which photos I'm willing to share.  Ah well, I hope they please.
The first set were taken at the lake here in Daybreak.  I have been enjoying the walking paths around the lake.
The last photo was taken at the Mc D's on Time Square earlier this month. 
I hope to bag some nice photos in my travels to Lake Powell and  southern California soon.  
Remember to click on the photos to get a better look!
Sorry to say the service I used for my music widget is no longer available.
Love you all, Laura 

Sentinel

6 little ducks went out one day over the hill and far away...

I love little ducks.  Apparently I always have. 

 My mother once told me that I used to pray for

 'all the little duckies' in my bedtime prayers. :)

What is it about this that makes me laugh?

 They all seem to be waiting in line for something, 

but are too cool to admit it...like guys trying to get tics to a chick flick.

Front Row on Time Square.

The original was in color but it felt like it should be black and white.

Stars in My Eyes

Have you ever had a bright blissful moment when you suddenly felt or knew something with clarity that had been beyond imagining? Perhaps you’ve seen something that seemed impossible? Or received kindness or relief from pain when none seemed forthcoming? I have.

Have you ever tried to describe your experience to someone else? I have.

It’s not easy to convey the complicated feelings and thoughts, sometimes worlds and lifetimes that one experiences in the moments of the miraculous.

The picture I present is an example of one such experience. It taught me that one can’t always share the extraordinary, when in making the picture (verbally or visually) it is a pale shadow of the actual event.

I wish you had been there so we could have shared it. I hope you saw it from wherever on the planet you were that evening.

About two weeks ago, Jupiter and Venus were in conjunction in the night sky and it was a spectacular sight for several nights. This particular night they looked like two bright eyes or enormous diamonds set in the deep velvet blue night sky. This is the picture: Please click on it so you can see it full size.

Here is a closer look. It was amazing. These two planets were like beacons. It was lovely.

I know that there are some things that are not possible to share, but being very human, I try anyway.

Surrender

My camera and I have been restless. Cooped up in winter's chill and drabness, I felt empty. I wondered if I would simply have to wait for spring. But then a word crept in that changed everything: Surrender. Surrender to the season, the place and the now.

And when I did, I realized that the winter world wasn't devoid of color, but was simply wrapped in sweet subtle tones that inspire stillness, reflection and if allowed, a moment of peace.

Spring will come with her promise of sunshine, lush greenery and showy flowers to adorn earth's fair head. But for now, I've surrendered to the vision of a crystalline clear lake under the afterglow sky which faded to reveal a crown of winter stars. Sleep well, have peace.

Paddling near the ice rim

Trees, as though etched in charcoal reflect in the icy water.

Cattails silently observe the mountain in the lake.

Afterglow framed in ice.

Shepherd

Time's sleigh ride to Christmas has moved apace this season. So many packages yet to wrap and yes, fruitcake to make. Yup, fruitcake. It is one of my deep dark secrets, that I genuinely enjoy. OOh, with a little slice of medium cheddar and a tangerine. YUM. (Just blame my English ancestry, I guess!) There are also chocolate cakebites to make and caramel popcorn balls to hang on the tree. Games to play, dancing in the kitchen and the hope that there will be friends and family to share it all with.
The early part of the month was spent finishing the layout for my cookbook, Baking Outside the Box, which is now up on Amazon. Hurrah! Thanks to my daughter, Angel,I have learned a lot about photographing food and my nifty-fifty lens.
This month I have just a few pictures to share, some I took out on Pasture Road, just south of my neighborhood and a couple from southern Utah in New Harmony.
The music box this month includes "Mary Did you Know?" A song I love. With no baby to cuddle this year, my arms feel a tad empty.
May The Christmas spirit shine bright in your homes and hearts. Love, Laura




Shepherd






I love these peaks. When one is driving up out of St. George on the way to Cedar City, you pass them as you pass New Harmony. But you never see them from the freeway as it hugs the eastern hills. You have to drive west into New Harmony valley before they come into view in the east. How often do we not see or value something amazing because it's not apparent from our point of view?

Summer's Bloom, Autumn's Blush

I found as I was pouring over my photos recently that somehow, I had missed putting up my wildflower pictures from Albion Meadow this year. My apologies, I will share them. I spent a blissful day with friends and my camera. Truthfully, there weren't as many flowers as usual, because of the lateness of summer. In fact many plants that were just coming into bloom late in July, were a month late and others were not to be found at all. But the few that I have, I give to you.

For Autumn's Blush, I have a few pictures that were taken up at Albion Basin a few weeks ago, for comparison.

As an extra, I've also include a shadow subject that interested me. As a side note, sadly, I've captured no rainbows this year, despite the rain. So hopefully one will put in an appearance before winters steals the possibility or perhaps one of you will be so kind as to capture one for me?

Albion Basin late in July

Another view:

This is a fine array of Sedge. It never looks this romantic in my backyard.

Click on the picture to take a close look at this one. I think it is called Elephanthead.

I don't know what this little dainty is called. I can't identify it.

This is a Sugarbowl or also called a Hairy Clematis. This is its Sugarbowl phase. See the picture below for the 'Hairy' phase.

You'd never guess it was the same flower. Such an exotic transformation!

We step into Fall at Albion. The meadow is snuggling down under a brilliant quilt for a winter's sleep.

I found some bright pink 'late bloomers' . Do you know what they are?

'Closing Hymn'

'Shadow Art'.

It appears most early mornings in my room and I finally took a picture so I could have time to study it and satisfy my curiosity about the various shapes on the wall.

Autumn Journey

In September I spent a blissful day in Spring City, Utah. It is a charming dot on the map in San Pete County. It is filled with beautiful scenes and vistas both in town and the surrounding environs of farms and mountains. It is also filled to the brim with artists. The day we were there it was the 'Plein Air' competition and so there were many local and visiting artists outside painting. Where are my brushes? ~sigh~ It was a special day as all of the artists in town threw open their doors and allowed us to see them and their work in their native habitat.

This castle-like LDS church commanded our attention as it sprawled gracefully on it's expanse of green lawn and large trees. It was built by pioneer stone masons and is still in use today.

Church with a turret out in the countryside. Who knew?

This is the spring in Spring City, on Main st. , set with a historical marker.

This building teased us with glimpses of it through trees and behind buildings till we finally found it. Not City Hall, but the Public School building which, yes was also built by stone masons. It is being renovated.

The Horseshoe pottery shop is owned by Joseph Bennion. And one of my pre-planned stops. Joe's pottery is beautiful, sturdy and practical. I came away with a charming little green-glazed 'beehive' salt shaker. My prize for the day.

Here are a pair of artists I captured as they painted out of doors and the cowboy posed patiently with his somewhat feisty horse.

We dodged in and out of many tiny gallery-studios and met many of the town's artists.

This was my pick of the day for a subject to paint. But alas no time and no paint so...

I allowed the computer to give it a try... Though it may find it's way to a real canvas yet.

Cave of Wonders--Marooned part 2

Here are the long promised photos from my experience at Antelope Canyon near Lake Powell. Actually the mouth of the canyon is in Lake Powell and ends somewhere out in the desert in the Navajo Nation. The slot canyon we visited is about in the middle of the canyon. The 'tour bus' was an open air ride in the back of a big truck fitted with wooden benches. The slot canyon was an amazing experience well worth repeating. I took a couple of hundred pictures, so narrowing it down to these few has been very difficult. I will let the pictures speak for themselves. Enjoy!
Our tour group approaches the mouth of the slot canyon. I fancied I could see the profile of a pharaoh's head on the right side speaking to Horus, in his falcon form, on the left.

This is just inside the entrance. For the most part, the sunlight came from above, but also peaked in at odd angles along the sides.

Our guide called this the 'Wheel of Fire'

The varying textures in the stone fascinated me. Vertebrae in a backbone?

This wall of stone appeared to be a curtain waving in the breeze. Check out the pattern woven into the 'cloth' stone.

So close.

The cavern had a surreal dusk-like quality and changed from moment to moment.

Yes, this picture is the same place as the one above it and I oops and it is motion blurred. I love it. Somehow, it captured the feeling of movement one feels in the stone itself.

A captive.

A cresting wave.

Prelude.