Beauty through Photographs

South Carolina Charm

It has been way too long since I have had a chance to take some photographs and post to this blog. I finally have got my chance. Here is just a few photos I have taken in a neighborhood called Rolling Creek in Irmo, South Carolina. No theme and nothing special but rather the beauty of an ordinary day in this neighborhood.

Great to be back

Enjoy

Tags: Beauty, ordinary charm

Chakra Colors: Red or Root Chakra

To back into the swing of blogging which is a passion of mine I was sifting through my photographs and felt a bit lost as to what I could post. I have downloaded most of my photos into drop box which is great when you have a computer that is “iffy” on the best of days however a nightmare when you want to go through and choose photos to post in your blog. I then decided why not post pictures based on color and the chakras? That got me excited!

So for week 1 of my series we will start at the root chakra and post pictures that are relevant to the chakra’s attributes and its color.

Chakra One: Root Chakra (Red): The Right to Have: Earth

The underlying meaning of the root chakra is the right to have. This manifests as the right to have anything that helps us to survive. The right to have food, shelter, warmth, medical care, love, physical touch, a healthy environment. The root chakra also relates to our development from the second trimester to 9 months. This is a time in our lives that is focused mostly on survival and physical comfort. This is a time when we learn to feel safe and to have trust in the world. When we need to feel more grounded we turn to the first chakra and the best way to do that is to connect to Mother Earth.

Here are some of my photos that reflect this first chakra.

The right to practice my spirituality the way that feels right to me and to connect to Mother Earth

The right to live on a healthy planet full of natural beauty and the freedom to hike among that beauty.

This turkey wandered in my yard the day before Thanksgiving and I thought it perfect to represent the right to live and to survive in this world.

The right to eat….especially if its chocolate!!

The right to be a grandmother and to leave a healthy planet behind for the next generation.

The right to express my creativity and to reach for the stars.

The right to help nature along….to be the Guardian of this planet that was left in my care.

The right to freedom. To know the joy of soaring above the clouds.

The right to love and to be loved.

Our own physical body possesses a wisdom which we who inhabit the body lack. We give it orders which make no sense. ~Henry Miller

Tags: chakras, red, root

Great Horned Owl

Recently I got a rare photo opportunity to photograph a family of Great Horned Owls. What amazed me was they were perfectly at peace with me taking their pictures with only mild curiosity from one of the wee ones.

The first one I saw was the large male off brooding on a branch well away from his female counter part and the two wee ones he helped create.

The I looked up at another part of the tree and directly above me I spotted two large eyes looking down at me.

I realized it was one of the little ones. What I didn’t realize until I got a closer look was the thing he was looking from behind of was his mother

I finally began searching around the tree to see if there were anymore and sure enough there was the other young owlet.

They obviously knew I was there but seemed rather unconcerned. Except for the one next to his mother who was so curious.

I cannot tell you what a thrill and an honor to be allowed to photograph these magnificent birds. I must have taken 100 photos or more that day so this is just a small sample but I wanted to share them with anyone who was interested.

The owl represents powerful animal medicine or spirit guides. It is said that Owls are power medicine animals and represent Spirit in which case it is wise to pay attention to spirit around you. Athena, the Greek Goddess of Wisdom had an owl on her shoulder that often illuminated her “blind” side. Owls own the night even though they can see just as well during the day. They are the only bird that are completely silent during flight as their feathers are built with a unique ruffle muffling all sound. It is said if someone has owl medicine these birds will gather around you even during the day.

I don’t know what gift this power animal totem and guide is bringing me but I feel so blessed to have been allowed into their world for a little while and I am very pleased to be sharing them with all of you.

Be Well

Lisa “Sunny”

Tags: animal totems, birds, owls, spirit guides

My Beautiful Grandson Wylie

Just a few photos of the most photogenic baby and my pride and joy.

Tags: Grandmother, Mothers Day

My Indiegogo Campaign

Spreading the word on my blogs I host

My Retreat Photos

The place I was at was simply magical and majestic located in Guerneville, California amidst the towering Redwoods. I felt so blessed to be there and here are a few pictures to give you a taste of the heaven it truly was.

The Redwoods

Joseph B. Strauss

Here, sown by the Creator’s hand.
In serried ranks, the Redwoods stand:
No other clime is honored so,
No other lands their glory know.

The greatest of Earth’s living forms,
Tall conquerors that laugh at storms;
Their challenge still unanswered rings,
Through fifty centuries of kings.

The nations that with them were young,
Rich empires, with their forts far-flung,
Lie buried now-their splendor gone:
But these proud monarchs still live on.

So shall they live, when ends our days,
When our crude citadels decay;
For brief the years allotted man,
But infinite perennials’ span.

This is their temple, vaulted high,
And here, we pause with reverent eye,
With silent tongue and awestruck soul;
For here we sense life’s proper goal:

To be like these, straight, true and fine,
to make our world like theirs, a shrine;
Sink down, Oh, traveler, on your knees,
God stands before you in these trees.

Sunny Day

Tags: flowers, Peace, trees

First Hike of the Season

I am so glad it is spring. Living in Park City after living on an island off the coast of SoCal and then Moab in the desert the Greatest Snow on Earth took some getting use to. I thought I knew what cold was until I moved here. And this is nothing compared to you that live even further north. Yes I am a weeny when it comes to winter.

We tool Rainy to the reservoir here called Echo Lake and the diversity of birds was incredible so I thought I would share a few shots I took with my new camera!!

And of a seagull in flight

Great to be back!

Happy Earth Day

Namaste

Sunny Day

Tags: diversity, earth day, hike

The New Year Hopes

Uploading Pictures

Once again I am apologizing for providing nothing to everyone. Here is my problem….for days I have tried to upload pictures and I cannot. All I keep getting is an error message. I cannot even upload pictures on my other blog sites. Does anyone have an idea why? I am trying to contact wordpress now but I am afraid I am failing as a photography blog and as a host of a challenge. I have tried to write a few posts and for some reason they are not getting published.

Once I get this straightened up I will be up and running so we need to put my challenge on hold for a week or more because not only am I trying to get this ironed out but I will be in Santa Barbara from the 13th to the 19th.

I am so sorry everyone and if anyone knows what may be the problem I am all ears.

Frustrated

Lisa

My Apologies

I want to apologize for not being able to post this weeks My Home Town pictures. I will be able to tomorrow but not today. However I encourage you to post what you have. In the meantime I will post what I do have and that is pictures of my brand new grandson Wylie Dean. He is my first grandchild and he was born October 30, 2013. I have been tied up with him ever since. They went home last night (a six hour) drive and so this is the first chance I have had to get caught up because I am very much behind on absolutely everything.

Wylie was a high risk baby and because my daughter lives in a very rural area the specialists at the University of Utah’s Hospital decided to induce her here in Salt Lake City last Wednesday because a team of specialists were all going to be assembled. After nearly 12 hours of labor it was very clear Wylie was in trouble. With every contraction his heart rate would drop and it was taking longer and longer for him to recover. Meanwhile my daughters labor came to a screeching halt. They went in for an emergency c section and out came a very healthy baby boy. He was having trouble breathing for just a bit but then rallied. He had to spend the first night in observation but was moved to his mothers room the next day. I have never seen so much red hair in all my life on such a tiny person.

Here are the pictures of a very proud grandmommy.

He is a blessing and I am absolutely in love. So forgive my tardiness this week and I will have my pictures posted tomorrow. Please feel free to post yours for this week if you have them all ready.