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A Day of Rest and Ducks in the Pond

The day before yesterday I saw the first signs of water at the edge of the mostly frozen pond. Then yesterday late afternoon I saw Ducks in the Pond for the first time this spring! There wasn’t much space for them to swim in but they were dabbling and finding something to eat there at the edge of the pond. You have to look closely to see them, but there are two male mallards and one female mallard feeding in the small patch of melt water. The melt continues to slowly proceed, though I have been wishing for it to Read more…

By Marilyn, ago

Alive Now

I’ve been thinking about what it means to be Alive Now, in this moment, longing for spring to arrive, waiting, wanting, wishing, dreaming of green things growing. Can I be content despite the continuing cold nights, barely warming days, frozen lakes and ponds, white covered ground? It seems that I am often yearning for something I think I need to make my days complete, whether it is a season, an activity, a feeling, or something I think I cannot live without. The practice of mindfulness and presence helps me to see when I get caught up in such longing rather Read more…

By Marilyn, ago

The Melt

The first day of spring arrived and the ground was still covered with snow. But somehow, it feels different now, as if spring really is arriving. When I look out my bedroom window in the morning I can see that The Melt has begun. The surface of the snow looks different, as if it is receding from below. And ever so slowly the snow IS receding day by day. On the first day of spring I decided to document the melt, photographing the view from my meditation chair beside my bedroom window. Here are the photos from the first three Read more…

By Marilyn, ago

Simply Being Here

What is it that matters most in life? Is it what you do, who you are, how you are, what you create, what you know, how much stuff you have? The older I get the more I believe that what matters most is Simply Being Here, being present, open, and aware. When I began choosing to see beauty through the lens of my camera, I began to regularly experience wonder, awe, and joy. The more I looked the more beauty I saw and the more wonder, awe, and joy I experienced. Living life as an artist is a practice. You Read more…

By Marilyn, ago

A Learning/Playing Day

  It was cold outside yesterday (and again today)! So I decided to have A Learning/Playing Day in my home studio yesterday and today. Yesterday morning I made and edited photos of the flowers and cherry blossom twigs that I bought the day before at the greenhouse. As is often the case, on my second day of working with these flowers I felt like I created images that I liked much better than those I created the first day I worked with them. Photographing flowers is sort of like getting to know a person. Not everything is revealed at first Read more…

By Marilyn, ago