Friday Shoot Out--Sounds in your Town

This particular shoot-out comes from a great blogger, Nanu at http://sciencegirltraveler.blogspot.com/.  I found this one challenging and ended up dipping into my archive.  After I read what she wrote about the blindfold idea, I wished I had done that!  Read it too late.  But I definitely will try that some day! 

From my archive, I chose some of my favorite sounds and pictures that represent them.  Of course, I love the sound of the cat meowing.  I guess that is where the phrase "the cat's meow" originated.  The gray and white one, Magnum, likes to go into the living room in the middle of the night and meow as loud as he can.  Winston sometimes mouthes a meow as if he does not have enough energy to get out the sound.  And, what is better than a purring cat! 

This favorite sound is probably shared by many people.  The sound of water is varied and amazingly beautiful.  I love the sounds of a fountain, the soft sweet song as the droplets hit the surface.  Then, the sound of waves crashing is a wonderful dichotomy in its combination of powerful and gentle rhythms.  As soon as I hear the ocean, I immediately feel more relaxed. 

This picture was taken on my patio.  There are a lot of sounds that I love represented here.  First, the sound of the birds in the morning.  Of course, dry leaves rustling.  Then, the sound of wind chimes.  Wow, after writing this post, it made me realize there are some really beautiful sounds in the world!   Thanks, Nanu, for opening my eyes to wonderful sounds!

Photo and a Poem: Haiku

Following the road
in winter's white-blue tunnel,
Quiet Peace Awakes.

If you like my poetry, check out my new poetry blog at spiritsoflenapoetry

Friday Shoot-Out Birds

This weeks assignment comes from Scriptor Senex at http://scriptorsenex.blogspot.com/.  I think it is a great idea!  Everyone has birds in their town (hopefully) and birds are fun to photograph.  When looking through my archives, I was surprised at how many shots of birds I have actually taken.  I think one reason why birds are so fun to photograph is they have so many visual variations which are interesting.  They come in so many different shapes and sizes providing a variety of silhouettes.  Also, they come in varied colors and designs. 

Another thing that is great about photographing birds is that they bring up so many associations.  For instance, I included pictures of some seaguls from Wildwood.  Seaguls bring up associations of the ocean, beach, and summer. 

Birds also represent freedom and lightness.  I am lucky that I get to see a lot of birds out of my patio door.  There are a lot of blue jays, robins, and sometimes humming birds. 

This picture I took in a strip mall parking lot.  I could not believe how cute the chicks were!  I was glad I had started the habit of taking my camera with me wherever I go.

Thanks for visiting!  Hope you enjoyed!

Friday Shoot-Out Fences

Fences.  What a great shoot-out idea for MyTown!  So I give props to Sandra Leigh at http://sandarastraveljournal.blogspot.com/ of Canada for suggesting this theme. 

I am late with posting my shoot out because last night, when I normally would be posting, I was at The Academy of Music in Philadelphia to see the musical "Wicked".  If you want to hear about my musical experience, you can check it out at wickedly-good-night-at-academy. 

What I like about this topic is that fences can be found anywhere and come in such a wonderful variety!  For this shoot-out, I really stayed true to the intent of FSO.  All of these shots were taken in my town of Vineland, NJ. 

I love the shape of this star which was hanging on a fence near where I live.  I have tried to sketch it but am still trying to perfect the drawing. 

We had a little bit of snow this morning and I caught this shot on the way to work.

I played with some of these photos with cropping and changing to Black and White.  Looking for cool looking fences was a lot of fun. 

I call this The Rusted Bee.

I just like the way the branches are hanging down over this fence.

Everytime I think of fences, I am reminded of Frost's line "Good Fences make good neighbors."  Frost is one of my favorite poets because he can be interpreted on so many different levels.  One level in this particular poem, "Mending Wall", is about how we build barriers between each other, both figurative and literal.  However, with the FSO, fences are bringing us together!  I hope you enjoy! :)

Photo and a Poem: Winter Watch

White has taken over like a phantasm
of cold pain.

The snow slowly falls in silent waves
a quiet refrain.

Under a sky, scraped like fingers raked across skin,
leaving a red stain

The ground is cruelly hard, dark with death
and frozen rain.

The longing for green fills the field, my heart swelling
to remember.

The leaves bursting forth with life, with love, with sun,
early September.

Even then, the end was close against the edges, the wind ready
to dismember

the trees arms and limbs stretching their hands and fingers, soon to turn
to crimson brown embers.

Friday Shoot-Out: Under Construction

On Christmas Eve, I was at the Philadelphia airport and saw the perfect shot for this shoot-out--it was a baggage carousel down to its bare bones with plywood all around: under construction. Unfortunately, it was freezing and I was trying to keep up to get to the car quickly so I just had to run by instead of grabbing my camera out of my purse like I wanted.

Anyway, I stretched the topic a little.

I have a shot of breakfast under construction. Soon after, that egg became scrambled eggs. I also included what I call "the door to nowhere" because it looks like something unfinished. I love it because it is a symbol of possibility and openness. I included a spiderweb under construction. Spider webs are one of nature's miracles--it is always amazing how intricate and beautiful the design is, especially being created by such a small creature. I also included wind turbines because they are under construction more and more so that we can harness the great power of the wind.

And, finally, I am always under construction. I am a big believer in self-improvement and am always trying to evolve into a better self. Also, my relationship with John is also under construction, in that we are trying to build a life together; I am very fortunate that it is getting better and better everyday! By the way, this is the first time ever I have shared a picture of myself on my blog--I usually do not like how I look in photographs.

Anyway, I hope every one of you have a wonderful New Year and that your 2010 is full of love and light!

Friday Shoot-Out: Angels

I am not a traditionalist when it comes to religion and spirituality. I respect all religions and spiritual viewpoints. As I said before, I do believe in angels. I believe they are spiritual beings who have evolved beyond the physical form. I also believe many of them watch over us with love and compassion. I love all forms of angels and love angels in art. So, obviously, I think this is a perfect assignment for a time of year that celebrates love and compassion (in the form of celebrating Jesus's birth).

For this shoot-out, I am going to the archives, so you may have seen some of these before. As for many of you, this has been a crazy busy time! In a few hours, I will be heading to the Philadelphia airport to pick up John's mother and daughter. I still have to bake Splenda cookies (for my dad who is diabetic) and finish cleaning the place up. It's fun busy, so I can't complain too much! Because, as we all know, there is bad busy, which is the worst. So I will take fun busy any day! Anyway, if you celebrate Christmas, I wish you a wonderful Merry Christmas. If you do not celebrate Christmas, I hope you still have a wonderful day. I hope to be "seeing" you all in the new year.

Enjoy!