Bursting

Atteva Aurea

Along the floodplain

Wild coneflower blossoms,

Yellow-

With a pale green core

and all around it

thin-bodied moths,

black, orange and white -

alight and explore,

like astronauts

probing another planet.

August 26, 2022 I walked to the Mildred A Peterson Nature Preserve today after yoga. I knew from my running group that there was a trail through there into the northern edge of Saugatuck, and that it would probably be pretty peaceful on a Friday morning. I was hoping to get some pictures of dragonflies… I didn’t. BUT. I saw these beautiful yellow flowers that I thought were daisies until I looked them up and found out that they are cutleaf coneflowers, native to North America; found mostly around wetlands like this. They were covered with so many different kinds of insects that I didn’t see until I got in close to get some pictures. An entire society living right under my nose. So many colors, so many shapes – some familiar, like the bee; some alien to me; like the dragonfly-ish dark small-winged creature sitting on a petal.

08.26/2022 Bee pollinating Cutleaf Cornflower

August 26, 2022 - Not sure what this flower is.. growing in the pond.

August 27, 2022 Three deer on the edge of the bluff as i was finishing my run

August 28, 2022 I started taking pictures of yellow flowers for my sister, Rita, because she loves yellow - and flowers, but after I took a few, I understood. It’s like sunshine, even when the day is gloomy.

August 29, 2022 Not sure if anyone but me would find this touching; but the dried out, holey leaf looked so much like an old, much worn jacket hanging up to dry…and in a way, I guess it is.

August 29, 2022 Playing with perspective - a rock inside a shell with the sun setting like a cherry on top.

August 29, 2022 Wally. A toy walrus I found on a road trip through south Florida. He’s been traveling with me everywhere. I took him down to sunset to get his silhouette over the lake. Just for fun.

Breathing

August 13, 2022 A fawn waiting for its brother

Saturday morning

I went down the bluff stairs

To the lake.

It was still dark;

And I was foggy with sleep.

To the north I saw movement-

a silhouette on the beach,

then another-

then two more;

running and pausing

dipping their heads in the water

splashing and shaking it off -

a family of deer

briefly sharing a moment

with me.

August 17, 2022 A tree reaches out to the moon

8/17/2022

Busy days behind and ahead. Social days. Good days. But I need some peace in all of this. Moments to breathe. The lake in the early morning is my refuge, with the waning moon in the blue sky. This morning I decided to focus my photography on extremely simple, minimalist subjects to create in pictures what I crave in my life. Simplicity and space, beauty and quiet. So here is the moon, the sky and a leafy branch reaching out toward them both.

August 18, 2022 Cedar moss carpets the forest floor

August 18, 2022 Breathing is on my mind this week. I’m listening to Breath by James Nestor, about how we’ve lost the art of breathing well, and how it affects our health. This focusing of my attention has made me feel oddly tense; so today I walked the woods path slowly; and then down to the lake to breathe in the lake air (through the NOSE, of course - if you read the book; you will understand).

August 19, 2022 Dune grass pushing through rocks

August 19, 2022. I saw this little bit of dune grass growing out from under a black stone, perfectly framed by it. Nature’s compositions and nature’s resilience in one image. The grass is growing through a pile of rocks my association brought in to help control the erosion of the bluff. It all looked unnatural for awhile, until suddenly - it didn’t .

August 19, 2022 Saugatuck

Just a week ago there were so many sunflowers blooming here; now there are only a few. Summer is waning. And this lonely remaining blossom, not fully open, bows its head.

August 21, 2022 Corn field under overcast sky

August 21, 2022 On my Sunday long run i ran on farm roads. Quiet and solitary. Simple. Feeling every step, counting my breaths ( yes, i do) .

August 21, 2022 A roll of hay in a green field

August 21, 2022 Grasshopper on the glass door

August 21, 2022 I came home from my run and found a pretty green grasshopper on my front door; then realized his leg was broken; which was why he didn’t jump away while I was getting in close with my camera. I felt protective ; but couldn’t figure out how to help. By Monday, he was gone. I don’t know what happened. Life is so precious and uncertain.

August 21, 2022 Close up of grasshopper and reflection

August 21, 2022 Grasshopper from the side

August 22, 2022 A lost feather in the setting sun

August 22, 2022 A lost feather I stood up in the sand., vanes almost tickling the light of the setting sun.

Noticing

Rescue

a leaf,

curling and dry,

tumbled through the night storm

into an outstretched limb of spruce;

catching.

July 20, 2022

In the morning, after a night of rain, I took my “big” camera out with the macro lens attached, looking for small subjects. Whenever I do this, I am startled by how many little things I see. Here is a leaf that fell from a maple tree above the Timberbluff cottages and was caught by its stem on the limb of a blue spruce. It was chance that it caught just like that, chance that i saw it, but it felt like a message. I got you.

July 22, 2022

I looked up the story behind the name a long time ago. Queen Anne (Anne Boleyn, who was later executed by Henry VII), was apparently stitching some fine lace one day when she pricked her finger. A single drop of blood fell on the white lace, leaving a tiny purple stain. Not all the flowers you see will have this tiny little mark, but it was because of those that do that this pretty wildflower got its name. I don’t know if the story is true; but ever since I heard it; I look more closely at the blossoms.

July 24, 2022

I got caught in a rainstorm while running, and noticed (once again, because I’ve noticed before) how the drops fall in puddles and create bubbles on the surface. I stopped to try to catch one; watching them forming, floating, bursting until my timing was just right … I finally caught one. Am I caught in there too?

July 25, 2022

I often see natural compositions so perfect that they seem “meant”. This heart-shaped stone and its two little pebble companions sunken in the smooth sand were like this. It feels like the universe reaching out to be heard…love every little thing…appreciate every little beauty…

July 26, 2022

So many little things calling for my attention. The empty nest that fell in the grass. The red mushroom pushing itself through the dirt in the woods. The tiny grasshopper that jumped inside the barn just as I was about to close the door. So many little things forming, dissolving. So many little lives pushing, pulling, falling, breaking apart, jumping in, jumping out, being rescued, being smashed. How will I ever get any work done?

Rhoda Lewis

Photo Journal

Bursting

Atteva Aurea

Breathing

Noticing