This morning I took a walk at Fish Lake Regional Park in Maple Grove, MN, with my camera. Bikers and walkers passed me by as I stopped here and there to look more closely and make photographs.
A woman walked by me talking animatedly on her telephone. I wondered why she bothered walking by the lake since she didn’t seem to be paying any attention to the beauty surrounding her. Perhaps she got more enjoyment out of the walk than I imagined.
I often call my walks more of a
Wandering With Camera
since I stop often and get lost in looking at everything around me.
Though the warmth and humidity today didn’t remind me of fall’s arrival, the colors and abundant berries and seeds showed me that fall is on its way.
I saw a guy riding an elliptical bike — first time that I’ve seen one.
And there was a boat towing a water skier in Fish Lake.
I zoomed in to make a photo of the skier and was surprised by what I got…
Look at the water his ski is throwing up behind him!
Joy in the ordinary and not-so-ordinary.
If you suddenly and unexpectedly feel joy, don’t hesitate. Give in to it. There are plenty of lives and whole towns destroyed or about to be. We are not wise, and not very often kind. And much can never be redeemed. Still life has some possibility left. Perhaps this is its way of fighting back, that sometimes something happened better than all the riches or power in the world. It could be anything, but very likely you notice it in the instant when love begins. Anyway, that’s often the case. Anyway, whatever it is, don’t be afraid of its plenty. Joy is not made to be a crumb. (Don’t Hesitate)”
― Swan: Poems and Prose Poems
And gratitude for being able to walk outdoors with my camera. Gratitude for sunshine and warm days in September. And even more gratitude for being alive today in this moment! I’m soaking up all the warmth in my memory to warm me on a cold winter’s day.
Are you also finding joy in the ordinary? If you’re a photographer, when was the last time you went wandering with camera? Maybe today is a good day to head out.
May you walk in beauty.
I almost forgot. Earlier this summer I let some of my lettuce plants grow in my container garden as a decoy to keep the deer from eating my green bean plants (which deer really like to eat). The lettuce grew up and up and then sent up an amazing bunch of flowers. Isn’t it beautiful? It was also a great screen to keep the deer out of my green bean plants!
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