Day Three- The Chase

Picture taken with smartphone

September 29th 2012

This morning I was out in the backyard, watering the various plants in the garden and I hear my spunky little girl turn on her "troll" tone of voice. I turned around to her running in the yard from the grapevine to the radishes demanding "You get back here butterfly, now!"

The sight of her and the butterfly playing a game of cat and mouse made me laugh out loud. It always amazes me how laughing can create such energy and a overwhelming sense of jubilation. Before she chased the butterfly out of the yard because she was trying to lurer it to come closer, I was able to get a quick pic of it as it landed on a grape leaf.

After the butterfly flew over the fence she began to cry because all she had wanted to do was make a new friend. The only way to consule her was to show her the photo and tell her the type of  butterfly it was. As it turns out it was a Dogfaced female butterfly. She thought it was funny that a butterfly was called a dog, woof woof ;)

Day Two- Soaring

Photo taken using my smartphone camera

After picking up my kids from school, they asked to play in the school yard for a bit before going. I of course said yes, one factor being that it was a lovely fall afternoon, complete with a crisp cool breeze. While watching my children play with one another I noticed a lonely Monarch Butterfly flying around the school yard aimlessly. 

At first sight it made me feel a bit sad, the solitude of one butterfly, alone on a empty blacktop. But the longer I watched this impressive butterfly (it was huge, easily the size of my palm, including its wing span) I began to realize it was dancing. The butterfly no longer appeared alone, it had a partner. The butterfly was waltzing with the wind.

I only ask to be free.  The butterflies are free.  ~Charles Dickens

See You tomorrow.....

Day One - Fruits of My Labor

 Picture was taken with my cellphone using the Instagram app

September 27th 2012-

This evening my children and I enjoyed a late night snack of grapes, fresh off the grapevine from our backyard. This picture is simply beautiful to me, not in a technical "That is a wonderful shot" type of way. It is really more what the picture represents, the little things in life turn out to be the most important.

My father planted the grapevine when I was a child, for years he took great pride in taking care of the vine.  As an adult my parents moved to a new house and rented out my childhood home, where the grapevine was not appreciated for all it had to offer.

After several years I became the tent of that home, and in the beginning I wasn't really very involved in the yard work aside from cutting the lawn. I was starting my family and had other priorities in my life (such as taking care of my new little baby) , so once more the grapevine went unattended. After years of neglect the vine stopped producing grapes. But through some changes in my life and a different state of mind, I now view the yard as more then some place for my children to play. It can be a place that teaches my children and myself about nature. It can be a place that with a little hard work, can add food to our table. And to my surprise our backyard has become a place to feel calm and contemplate what really matters in this world, such as beauty in something as simple a truss of grapes.

These grapes provided that beauty tonight in the form of pure joy. My son's beautiful smile as he beamed while holding the grapes he helped care for. The sound of  my children crunching on the crisp fruit, knowing that I had a hand in helping nourish not only their bodies but minds, all by spending a little time in the garden.

A Little About Me

 And so it begins.........

I am a thirty year old woman that is raising two amazing children and takes pictures through out the day. To be honest I view my cellphone more as a camera than a phone. I can't bare the thought of not capturing every moment of my little ones childhood.
To me photos are a gateway into the past. When looking through pictures from my past they help conjurer up memories and emotions so strong it is like I am transported back in time. While looking at other peoples photos it helps me "walk in another man's shoes" and see the world from a fresh perceptive, which we all need from time to time.

In the coming days, I will be sharing my perceptive of this world with you one picture at a time. And even though I take pictures all day long, they tend to be mostly of my children. But this project I have set up for myself, isn't to just capture precious memories of my children, it is to step back and find beauty in sometimes, the simplest of forms. I can't promise that my children won't make their way in to this challenge from time to time, but my goal is to look beyond my own "little bubble" of a world and see what sometimes I take for granted. This is going to be a challenge for me, but one that I am ready to take on and to be honest one that I really think I need.

That being said I would like to share a few photos that mean a lot to me from the recent past, and yes some of them are of my children.

 My two loves! My son, who's curiosity can be seen on his face throughout the day as he puzzles over all this world has to offer. 
And my daughter who is a goof and who's smile can warm the heart of Jack Frost.

 Sitting outside in my backyard at dusk, amazed by the colors of the sky.

 My little thinker

 Two lovely ladies getting to know one another

Nature showing off some of it's most beautiful creatures

Cheers To The Next 365 Days!