Nature

Spring has sprung!

Ah, spring! This is my most favorite time of the year. I love spring with all the color, freshness, new grass, spring rain, and life renewing from winter’s drought. This past fall we planted tulips for the first time in a number of years. Tulips happen to also be our local squirrels most beloved snack so we weren’t sure we would even have any blooms simply from the scattering of bulb parts we found. Pennsylvania has also suffered from a very strange weather pattern and just when the tulips were starting to emerge, we had a snowstorm. Frantically rushing to the hardware store for mulch and then spreading it, we successfully saved at least a few of the blooms.

Dreaming of summer

It’s cold. Really cold. Like, frostbite cold. I confess, winter is NOT my favorite season and January is definitely NOT my favorite month (at least weather wise). Don’t get me wrong, I like to see snow once or twice in the winter but let it snow over a weekend where I sit inside next to a fire or wood stove with a cup of cocoa, coffee, or tea and a good book. Then, make the snow melt or at least make the streets dry with no ice.

My husband kids me no end about my “fear” of driving in the snow. I tell him I’m not afraid of driving in the snow. I don’t like driving with the other drivers driving in the snow. Having been bumped twice in my car due to unsafe driving by others, I think that sentiment is warranted. So here’s hoping the temperature rises like it’s purported to over the weekend. We’ve had our bit of snow and although the skiers out there would like more, I’ve had enough. Instead, bring on spring and summer sunshine. Here’s to dreaming of warmer weather, summer sun, and beaches.Coronado Beach

Epiphany

Epiphany, with a capital “E”, is celebrated on January 6th and is the festival commemorating Christ’s coming into the world for all people through the homage paid by the Magi.

It can also mean (when spelled with a small “e”) a sudden insight or perception into the essential meaning of something usually triggered by the ordinary. Its origin is late Middle English and comes from the Greek epipháneia meaning to appear.

Have you had any epiphanies? I know I have. Sometimes they come from watching the light shine just so on a field gleaming with frost. Sometimes they come from seeing snow on a discarded pine bough. Sometimes they come watching a small child master a new skill or seeing something new to them for the very first time. They can be awe inspiring and they can be scary too , but they always lead one deeper. Farther into understanding one’s place in the world, epiphanies provide us roadmaps and guideposts.

On this Epiphany, I wish for you a year filled with insights.

Cat Mint

Blogging 101- New ideas amidst the old

Even though I’ve had this blog for a while now, I’ve yet to complete a blogging 101 course with WordPress.com. Something has always come up in the past; either work or family situations take the focus away from completing the assignments. Well, it’s a new year and with a new year, the resolution to have a more active presence on the web. My goal is to try new things, see what works and what doesn’t, come up with a more consistent presence across platforms and essentially figure things out through a little experimentation. If you’ve followed my blog, you know it’s a bit eclectic but pretty heavily focused on images and photography. Recently I decided to focus on experimenting with the mobile platform so you might see a few posts with wponthego as a category or tag along with iphonography. Those will all come from the iPhone so let me know what you think. On the way (tomorrow, hopefully) is a set of additional lenses I’m planning on playing with. The freedom to post from wherever and whenever is amazing! By the way, I love this cat mint plant which seems to not remember it is supposed to be dormant in January. The new life bursting through even though it is freezing is a testimony to the plant’s wish to survive and thrive.

May we all have that same spirit.

Feedback is welcome and I look forward to hearing from you.

-Kat

New Year, New Life, New Beginnings

It’s that time of the year. A fresh start, a new beginning, a hopeful presence in the air. Yes, it is still the dead of winter. Yes, it is cold (damn cold, actually in some parts of the country). Yes, it is dark, dreary, and seemingly soulless. And yet, today I took a walk in the woods near my house and discovered a wealth of life and a wealth of hope in that glimpse into living in the presence. We were fortunate to have a gorgeous blue sky day; a rarity in January when it is often cold and wet. Today, however, was a magical day and a great day for new hope and new starts. On that walk I was blessed to see all manner of creatures not the least of which was this lovely buck. His father, for it had to be either his father or grandfather, was far swifter and I couldn’t get a photo of him. The older of the two had a very handsome and large rack with a magnificent ruff and was far larger but much swifter and far more clever at hiding than his younger counterpart. What a wonderful way to start the new year with a glimpse of nature’s beauty.

Stag