Why Blog?

On Saturdays, I love to have breakfast out before doing my marketing.

Some years ago, when I first created a blog, it was to have a place to put my pictures and connect with other people around the world who also enjoyed sharing their photography.

These days, blogs are being abandoned everywhere and many of my blogging friends have disappeared, sometimes without a word, other times to post on Instagram and Facebook.

I miss by old blogging buddies and their blogs and the easy exchanges we all had with one another.

I suppose I need to ask myself why I blog. First and foremost, it's to have a collection of my favourite photos in the same place for a given period, usually one or two weeks. It's a journal in images.

I also like to write, but to do that I need to be in the right frame of mind, so sometimes there are mainly photos and other times there is mainly writing.  I go by how I feel in the moment.

Is it important for me that others be interested enough to want to visit my blog and maybe leave a comment? Yes, it is rewarding and I really enjoy exchanging with other bloggers and visiting their blogs or sites too.

Does it touch me that I get less visitors and less comments than I used to get a couple of years ago?

I have sometimes wondered what visitors expect to see or read. It is possible that what they find in this space is personally uninteresting to them!

Am I posting here for my own pleasure? Does it really matter if others appreciate it or not?

I do not put up images or write because it's what I think others want to see and hear - I would lose myself and my integrity if I did that. Yes, I am posting for myself, sometimes just writing things out makes me see more clearly, but I do love to get feedback from my visitors when they have the time to linger!

Above all, I need to be who I am in depth and I always speak from the heart, so what you see or read here is really me, not someone I pretend to be!

So for the time being, I will continue this space here, because above all, it's a place I like to be.

When you visit and when you leave a comment, I am happy too, but this cannot be my main motivation. It's a gift when others come in to leave a visible trace of their presence.

This is what I wanted to share today, and these thoughts have been weaving themselves in and out of my mind on the subject for a while now.

I shall be interested to hear your voice and what you feel about blogging today.

Wishing you all a wonderful day and may February bring us fresh thoughts and new beginnings from wherever we were before!

Sandra

When there is a sunrise or a sunset in my neighbourhood, I first see it reflected in the windows of the building opposite.  

This capture is a recent sunrise.

It prompted me to go out on my balcony and catch the faraway trees

and neighbourhood church steeple:

***

Between Sunrise and Sunset

The fisherman chooses the best spot to witness the sunrise

I love this moment full of suspense and waiting when the colours

start to fill the sky and create gorgeous reflections in the lake.

Here comes the sun

Spreading a golden glow everywhere.

Pulling back to see the lovely clouds in the sky.

After the sunrise, the lakeside flowers come into their own

Rejoicing all who pass them by.

Another Hibiscus

in more delicate tones

Rudbeckia

Sunshine flowers

A cloudy sunset 

The swan family makes its way home

The water's surface takes on new colours and patterns

and little boats return to port.

Happy New Year 2017!

On this first day of the New Year

I wish you Beauty

Confidence in what lies ahead

even when it's still shrouded in mystery

May there always be a light shining in the darkness, 

however small.

Remember

the sun also sets on the most difficult of days.

and a new day dawns at the break of day

which brings us all a new beginning.

Discover new paths

even when they go uphill

those are the most rewarding!

Delight in the sparkles that come our way

and take the time to linger as glorious colours and patterns

enter into our line of vision.

Let the light come into our homes and into our hearts

Remaining supple when the wind suddenly changes direction

Unexpected happenings in life allow us to really see the essential

and invite us to change our priorities and adapt.

We learn resilience.

But most of all,

just love life and it loves you right back!

***

Not only is a new year a total mystery, but it is also full of new energy

waiting to carry us forward to new adventures.

Let's live them!

Wishing you all a New Year full of peace in your hearts

and the capacity to rejoice in all the little and wonderful instances

that are given along the way.

Where shall I go today?

Wherever I go

There I am.

So says the book by Jon Kabat-Zinn

entitled

"Wherever You Go

There You Are".

I am in the soft greys and blues of the sky

and my face is turned upwards as the pink and blue pastels 

come in at the end of the day.

and stand amazed as the clouds turn fiery red

or allow the blues to intermingle

 I soar with the bird on outstretched wings

 and still ask myself since I was a child

"How high is the sky?"

Look up at the break of day

and welcome dawn with outstretched arms.

Where shall I go today?

No need to ask...

I'm already there!

Noticing the Moments

The orange-pink hues filtered their luminous colour through my blinds when I got up at my usual early hour. On opening my blinds, I was greeted by this wonderful sunrise sky.

Savouring the moment in my kitchen at coffee time. My favourite time of the day when I watch the early morning light give me a moving show of light and shadows 

and a lesson in awareness.

I opened the kitchen door and saw how a golden crown of florets had opened on my pink zinnia. What a marvel to observe such detail.

After a couple of weeks of heatwave, the thunder grumbled towards the evening

and I went for a walk with my umbrella.

I started off alongside some gardens

and loved listening to the pitter-patter of rain on the umbrella.

Noticing the reflections in the puddles

and smiling at the umbrella reflected in the wet pavement.

On one side of the sky, the crescent moon rose in the deepening purple hues

I prolonged my walk and was rewarded by this view as I came over the hill

 I could see the mountain tops, appearing blue in the disappearing light.

 Generous clouds in a luminous shade of pink rolled across the horizon.

Noticing the moments is one of the nicest things we can offer ourselves every single day.

Do you notice yours?

***

After taking a blog break, I felt the need to simplify and not overthink what I share here during the months of July and August. So I'm leaning towards something spontaneous and intuitive

and hope you will join me along the way.

Take the Time

I stretch my arms wide

to embrace a new day

a new dawn

a new year!

Against the blue of an unencumbered sky, 

a silhouetted branch shows me a journey ahead

with many choices of side paths along the way.

The choice is mine.

Many people like to choose an inspirational word for a new year.

I have noticed that short phrases speak to me better.

They take me by the hand and lead me to pastures new.

Take the time to live each moment fully

just the way it comes to me.

This is an idea which speaks to me in all areas of my life.

Taking the time to drop everything when a magical lighting

draws me out of my home.

How to resist this sky, the silhouetted trees and houses

and those suspended street lamps which say:

"Follow us, follow us and you will never lose your way!"

Just before Christmas, I joined my family in the mountains.

The wide view of the valley and the surrounding scenery 

showed me a view on a larger scale to the one I see in the city every day.

I love the lights on the roads and in the homes

which illuminate the hills as night advances.

I was up early to witness and enjoy the sunrise on the mountain tips

from the terrace of the chalet.

Back to my neighbourhood to find the beauty in my own environment

and take in the gracefulness of the tree silhouettes at sunset.

Taking the time to slow down and catch those golden rays

of the setting sun shining through glass on a small building.

The weather-vane shows me a direction, 

but I know how changeable it is - according to which way the wind blows.

I like this unpredictability

which is just like life!

So I smile and just follow the light

and know I can't go wrong!

A pure white full moon

shining brightly in the sky, a mandala

waiting for me to design the pattern of my year.

I will start in the middle and work my way outwards

choosing my colours with care.

This photo was taken on my balcony on December 25th.

But for now,

the time has come to lift up my anchor and sail.

Let the adventure begin!