Good News, Not Bad

When I began writing my blog post this week I started writing about all of the depressing political news that so disheartened me this week (as in weeks past). Then I looked at what I was writing and realized that writing about the depressing news did not bring me joy. In fact it brought me down.

So…today I’m counting blessings and reporting on good news, not bad.

This morning I went to Noerenberg Gardens near Lake Minnetonka to photograph flowers and green things. Despite the fact that the light was bright and contrasty, I managed to make a few photos that I liked there, and I enjoyed walking in the park and looking out at the lake. The photos in this post are all from that short photo walk in the park.
The artist way group that I started three years ago is still going strong. We had a meeting at my house last weekend that was lovely. I so cherish the friendships of these women and seeing their art and creative journeys unfold. This week I read the first draft of a memoir one of the group members wrote. Wow! It knocked my socks off! I couldn’t put it down. To think that when this friend joined the group she wondered if she even belonged there. Now look what she’s created! So much change has happened for each member of the group. Each one is choosing how she wants to express herself creatively in her life. Each woman’s journey is all her own. I couldn’t be happier!
I’ve picked blueberries almost every day this week from the blueberry bushes we planted behind the house 4 years ago. Though there is only a handful each day I start my morning with a big “Mmmmm…” as I savor each sweet berry. Last fall I asked Jon to put chicken wire around the bushes because each winter and spring the deer and rabbits trimmed back all the new growth and if the bushes managed to bear any berries, the birds picked them before I could get any. This year, with chicken wire in place, the berry bushes are growing like wildfire and producing these delicious berries that stay put on the bushes until I pick them! Mmmmm…
The basswood trees behind our house are in bloom. The scent of their blossoms is such a sweet scent I could sit out on the deck forever enjoying it.
My black raspberry bushes are full of almost ripe raspberries. I will soon be picking a bowlful or more each day for a couple of weeks. I’m almost drooling thinking about them. When I was a child we grew black raspberries on our farm and I have fond memories of picking and eating them (and also memories of how difficult picking them was in the wild area on my grandpa’s farm). Each time I have a bowl of the berries that I’m growing I think back to the bountiful fruits we had growing up on our farm — rhubarb, strawberries, cherries, black raspberries, mulberries, currents, and apples. Combine the plentiful fruits with lots of fresh vegetables from the garden and eating was good in my childhood (one of the reasons I go to the farmer’s market almost every week to pick up the fresh home-grown vegetables that taste so good). When it was strawberry season on the farm we would sometimes eat them 3 times a day. Likewise when the black raspberries were ripening. Oh, the pies, cobblers and jams my mom used to make! And the cherry pit battles my brothers, cousins, and I fought in the orchard (though I was at a disadvantage in those battles because I didn’t really like to eat tart cherries from the tree so had only the cherry pits that were thrown at me as weapons in the battles). Sweet memories.
I had a meeting this week with a local composer who also works with Springboard for the Arts, to learn more about licensing music for use in some of the photo videos I’m creating. What a great organization Springboard is! They are a wonderful resource for any artist who is working on creating a business focused around their art.
Two of my photographs sold during the month of June from my gallery on Fine Art America. It’s exciting to see that my work is being found among all of the beautiful art on that site even though I’m not currently marketing it in any way.

What blessings and good news do you have this week?

May you walk in beauty