On Doing.

(love this kind of graffiti.  Thank you, whoever you are in Sunnyside)

So, ya, sometimes blogging about life gets superseded by actually living life.

I have been:

::planning gardens, learning about permaculture

::photographing like mad. I have so much to learn, and a fire in my belly. Even when I don’t have a camera in my hand I’m constantly watching light.

::spending as much time as possible with my kids. Kids are little for such a small time, and I want to soak in every moment with them. I’m really smitten with these two.

::making soup. Seriously, the easiest winter meal possible that satisfies everybody(almost) and is super healthy. I don’t even have to think about cooking anymore.

::learning beekeeping. I know! Crazy, right?

::planning. Planning big things, and waiting for the right time. Does this part ever stop?

(found these canoes while wandering around on a break from beekeeping class)

I have NOT been:

::sewing. Hoping (planning) for more time in the future for the rhythm of the needle.

::posting photos anywhere really. Feeling like a pupa in a cocoon.

::participating online as much. To expand in the doing I am spending less time talking about doing. This will come again in time as I do really appreciate the community here.


This is the reality of right now. So much time spent at work and the rest with my kids, and other things snugged in here and there simply because they make my heart sing.

2011- The year that changed everything.

2011 will be known around here as the year that everything changed.  It all started with an email.  “A long email.  I’ve been thinking.” It was titled. 

But let me go farther back than that.  My husband and I had been looking for a new home for at least 4 or 5 years.  Yes, years.  Our little house was getting too small now that we had two kids, two dogs and a nanny squished in.  But it was extremely difficult to find something that we both liked.  He wanted space to spread out.  He’s a mechanic so ample outside parking and garage space is a minimum requirement.  He would joke that he was looking for an acereage in town.  In town because I refused to move to a real acereage – you know, the kind where you’re isolated and spend your weekends mowing your gigantic lawn and driving kids places.

And then one day I woke up.  I started thinking about what I wanted in an ideal life.  I had been so busy trying to figure out how to shoe horn my husband’s long term vision into our current life (it didn’t fit) that I’d forgotten to dream for myself.  And just for fun I let my imagination run wild and be as idealistic as possible (I am usually trying to rein in the idealism!).  And this plan started to form that fit exactly into an acereage.  In fact it blossomed into an even bigger plan – a homestead – with chickens and bees and gardens and children running and playing in the woods, and that’s what we’re working on these days.

And so the conversation began with the email titled “A long email.  I’ve been thinking.”, and my poor husband had no idea that my entire perspective had shifted.

Vacuous

Colours of Winter

I snatched a rare moment this morning to run around outside, camera in hand.  The colours this winter seem to be yellow and blue.

Fox footprints dance lightly on top of the snow crust where I saw them playing in the moonlight last night.  I was worrying about how I would get down the driveway in the morning, they were enjoying eachother's company and the night.

Winter season is so intense.  Bright snow and early dark skies, cold wind, cozy by the fire, time spent with loved ones, trying to fit it all in.  The intense yellow and opposite blue of snow and light seem to represent it all.

And yet, there is subtlety and gentleness in the between moments if we make the time to look.

Our new neighbours are a delight to get to know.

There is a new one in their midst and he's having trouble fitting in.   I remember being that kid.  I'm so glad it doesn't matter anymore.

Maggie's Horses

I had the opportunity to photograph these two beauties this summer:

I found myself saying over and over, wow, you are just so gorgeous! (to the horses) 

They are mother and son, Arabians,
who hold a dear spot in the heart of my friend Maggie.

We chose to meet an hour before sunset on the most gorgeous day of the year. 

 Though I must confess I don't know much about horses, I approached this portrait session just as I would if they were people, looking for the spirit, the personality, the beauty, the relationships, the story.  

I believe you can photograph anything that way.

And it really doesn't hurt to have the most beautiful models around!

p.s. I must thank my friend Lelainia (@tatterededge on twitter) for the advice (and blog post) on this project.

We've moved

I feel like the first couple of weeks after having a baby - when you think will I ever cook a meal again? How will I manage to do that? I keep moving in the direction of my computer to get to those photos and write a proper blog post, but I never quite make it.  You'll just have to accept my apology for the too-long absence and really bad cell phone pictures.  It's all I can do for right now.

So, yes, We've moved.  It was crazy and hectic and we're still recovering.  I can't wait to be really settled.  I'm such a homebody.  Would you look at that sunset, though, seriously.  Who wouldn't want to just park themselves in front of the window with all that going on outside. (it's much better for real.  In real life there are mountains, but I would need a real camera lens for that) Our new place is pretty amazing.  We wake up every morning and think do I really get to live here?

Case in point, on the 5th day, this little guy was born right outside our window. (It ended sadly, he never was able to stand up on his own.) Epic.

We really do have the best neigh-bours. har har. I'll post more later. 
I can't help but thinking that this is a huge step in a new direction for us and I'm so excited of what is to come.  Truly, life right now is like a summer strawberry that you just took a bite out of, dripping and sweet and so delicious.

This summer:

Having a camera phone around this summer meant catching so many small memories of everyday things. For that I am truly grateful.