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"Nature is man's teacher.
She unfolds her treasures to his search, unseals his eye, illumes his mind, and purifies his heart; an influence breathes from all the sights and sounds of her existence."

-Alfred Nobel

Macro Mondays

My eye always seems to be drawn to the minutae of nature. The wonderous magnificence that is in every flower, bug and droplet of water. I never get tired of seeing the world through the lens of my camera. It is such tangible evidence of God and his handiwork. And so to look upon it, to recognise the complexity of the design and the simplicity of the beauty seems is like a real connection to God Himself. The creation is an echo of the Creator.



So to recognise my place in the world and my appreciation of it I am going to start a weekly post on Mondays to share the beauty I see every day. In the small things.

Homage to Nature - Part 2

Part 2 of my "Homage to Nature"....a captivation with water. I love that a photograph will freeze the movement of water instantly, giving us a split second view...one that our eyes just can't seem to capture on their own.
Here are some pictures that I took over the weekend...I love how the light seems to dance on the water...making it look almost magical. Mother Nature can certainly put on a show.

Homage to Nature - Part 1

Any photographer will tell you that looking through the lens of a camera gives you a whole new respect and admiration for Mother Nature. Even an amatuer photographer like me can see trees and rain and even blades of grass in a whole new light. Over the last week I was really reminded about just how awesome nature is. This is part one of my "Homage to Nature"....the beautiful American Bald Eagle.



While we were up at our cabin over the Memorial Day weekend we were lucky enough to have this guy perch on a tree right in front of us on and off all weekend. Apparently he is still a baby...his feathers are all mottled and they haven't turned their distinctive white and brown yet. Although you can start to see his beak changing from a brown color to the distinctive bright yellow. But I have to tell you even for a baby he sure has a massive wing span....at least 6 foot from wing tip to wing tip.



It was such a pleasure to see him knowing that they are breeding and thriving again in the wild after so many years teetering on the edge of extinction. I'm hoping he will hang around the lake for a season or two at least so we can see him mature and change into an adult. Mother Nature really is pretty cool isn't she!

The Lighthouse

The most easterly point of Australia is Cape Byron which hovers above those beautiful beaches I shared with you in my last post. It has this wonderfully restored lighthouse that is perched on the very top of rugged, craggy cliffs



It is the most wonderful view from way up there. You can peer out into the vast pacific ocean and watch the freighters plow through the seas as they make their way up and down the coast.



The colors were just breathtaking. And once again I haven't touched these pictures up at all. SOC. The view was mesmerizing. I felt like I could just keep staring . We were peering down watching the waves crashing against the rocks and you could see fish and stingrays swimming below. So if you are a bit of a beach buff add Byron Bay to your list of places to visit. I don't think you will be disappointed.

Seeing Color

The colors of nature can be mind blowing at times...better than anything we can imagine or create. Sometimes when I take a photograph I am a little disappointed that the colors in the picture don't appear as vibrant ..( thank goodness for photoshop).



And then there are other times when the real life colors are so wonderful that you don't need to process the pictures at all. Here are some of those photos. These are all SOC...no touch ups, tweeks or fiddling whatsoever.



They were taken at one of my most favorite places. Its a little resort town on the border of New South Wales and Queensland on the Australian east coast called Byron Bay. Its an eclectic community filled with artists, hippies and beautiful people...and the beaches are just unbelieveably beautiful.




The water is so clear...that turquiose blue that you expect to see in the Caribbean. The sand is a fine, pure, white dust and the weather is warm...all the time. Ahhhh....my idea of heaven.

Bees Please

It's not really a New Years Resolution because I usually break those in the first week of January. But I'd like to think of it more as a good intention. This year ( amongst other things) I am intending to be a lot more frugal and where possible make my own things rather than buy them.
Last year my husband and I made our own candles which turned out to be a whole lot of fun. We tried making our own bread ( which was a little less successful but we are persistant). We had chickens laying an abundance of fresh eggs for us and of course we made some homemade Toys for the Toy Society. Last year I got out the knitting needles and made a whole slew of scarves for Christmas gifts and for my children to weather the particularly nasty winter we are experiencing in the Pacific NW this year. There is our family blanket that I knitted and my hopes are to again plant a vegetable garden come the spring.



But something else that I would love to try is making my own honey! I doubt that I will ever actually get to do it due to our suburban location and the hazards of kids with bee allergies...(I can already hear my neighbors letting out sighs of relief)....but maybe one day.



While we were on vacation we stayed with my husbands brother who kept bees and the honey they produced was magnificent.



Apart from a few bee stings here and there...(which I admit could present a few problems)...the bees seem like the perfect pets. They produce mountains of honey and once you have their hive set up they do everything else themselves. You don't even have to feed them! (My dogs who are currently fast asleep lying on my feet will have to pick their game up this year if they don't want to be replaced by bees)

Mother Nature's Jewelry Box

The pictures in my blog have definitely shown a preoccupation with snow this week.



Up close it is so beautiful and delicate. It reminds me of jewelry...



As if Mother Nature was getting all dressed in her finest to welcome winter.

Sugar Coated

It was so frosty outside this morning it looked like everything was covered in powdered sugar