Dirt road into the sunset 50/365

Dirt road into the sunset 50/365, originally uploaded by 2bamazed.

Down a dirt road where the day ends and the dust gets kicked up and there is no care in the world.

It's time...

What time is it?, originally uploaded by 2bamazed.

I found this clock on a street in Monticello that I was walking on.. I was trekking by myself, so didn't look around as much as I could have If I wasn't trying to find my way around.

I love Clocks. Don't know why, I would much rather have a clock with hands than digital anyday. This image just grabbed my attention though..

Why?

I was brought to the bottom of the Appalachian mountains this weekend to realize, it's time. Time to change, Time to grow, Time to trust, Time to Love, Time to let go. It is just time.

As I watched several cloud formations go over this, and watching the time go by, I was reminded I have been wasting A LOT of time worrying, griping, saying... and not a whole lot of positive and doing.

So to the change, "Bout Time"!

Waiting...

earth breaking, originally uploaded by 2bamazed.

Took this while out trying to get images for this minor little drought we are having..
So interesting how things come and go in a cycle. It wasn't but a few months ago I was at this place reflecting over the flooded waters, this time over the dry, cracked earth..
As I walked this country road, along a field of corn on one side, soybeans on the other, I watched the heat just rise off the siloh. You could cut the humidity with a knife. Put in mind being in a sauna..That is what it has felt like here lately.. The clouds will roll in, heavy and daunting.. almost a tease for the farmers.. a few drops of rain, clash of thunder and lightning, and then its like a steam bath all over again.. Drying up everything in its path.
River banks running well below the normal levels, and the earth just cracking.. Like it is calling out to the heavens.. Okay, ready to drink..
So like I always do, reflect ... You could liken this whole scenario to one's life. When your at a point where you have nothing else to give, you are at the mercy of the one who sends the rains.. just like with the ground, cracks form, pressure bends one in ways you would have never imagined.. One is dry, emptied...
Then I smile.. :) Did you know that when things go dry, roots go deeper searching for water? Even though this patch of dry farmland looks scary, or bleak.. nah.. soon enough.... the rains will come, and just in the right timing, will soften the hard weathered ground to complete the process of this years seed sown.
Just as leaves turn over when in need of water, earth cracks, corn points to the sky.. We, feeling dehydrated, out of energy or strength can only drop to our knees.. A preparing of sorts.. almost genius.. A humbling experience.. When you wait... for the rain.

2b

Sparks fly... colors in the sky

Ryan Adams... A lot of his music was played last night.  Remembered this one.. (We know a few guitar players.:)

Flutter by.. If I were a butterfly

flutterbye 2, originally uploaded by 2bamazed.

If I were a butterfly, where would I go?
Fluttering here and there
to and fro.

Gliding on winds breath,
taking in the scenes
Nothing to hold one back
because I have wings..

If I were a butterfly, where would I go?
flutter by, butterfly
to and fro..

Only I, only I, would know.

If I were a butterfly...

~Kimberley Jones 2010 "Flutter by butterfly"
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Took this the other day on my porch.. Rain showers had just ended, and the sun was showing its face.. I had to let my lens acclimate
to the hot and humid conditions outside vs the nice cool room it was in.. (very time consuming when you have a fast subj. such as this..)

Butterflies just amaze me..when we see them in their fullness. One would find themselves in awe.. Fascination sets in as you watch one in flight, or resting on a flower, taking in its sweet nectar.

However, if one digs deeper into the story, it is even more fascinating.. I found this story some years ago, but it has helped me along the way..

The story of the butterfly
http://www.hawaiiswim.org/business/TheButterfly/TheButterfly.html

A man found a cocoon of a butterfly.
One day a small opening appeared.
He sat and watched the butterfly for several hours
as it struggled to squeeze its body through the tiny hole.
Then it stopped, as if it couldn't go further.

So the man decided to help the butterfly.
He took a pair of scissors and
snipped off the remaining bits of cocoon.
The butterfly emerged easily but
it had a swollen body and shriveled wings.

The man continued to watch it,
expecting that any minute the wings would enlarge
and expand enough to support the body,
Neither happened!
In fact the butterfly spent the rest of its life
crawling around.
It was never able to fly.

What the man in his kindness
and haste did not understand:
The restricting cocoon and the struggle
required by the butterfly to get through the opening
was a way of forcing the fluid from the body
into the wings so that it would be ready
for flight once that was achieved.

Sometimes struggles are exactly
what we need in our lives.
Going through life with no obstacles would cripple us.
We will not be as strong as we could have been
and we would never fly.

So have a nice day and struggle a little and teach well.

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So a little thought to add.. With our struggles in life and sometimes the feeling comes across to just give up.. Remember, these struggles help give strength for one's fullness, When you can finally see the light and spread your wings and fly..

Flutter by butterfly, flutter by.

2bamazed, always

The Shoes

The Shoes, originally uploaded by 2bamazed.

One of my most favorite shots.. the mess of the wires on the floor, the moment of "first" heels, anticipation of my daughter's first dance, her hair flopping over.. :) Everything was just a beautiful mess. Coming in from the mall, bags were tossed here and there, the grab for the box that held "The Shoes" was in progress.. see these were different to her.. They were hers.
All I could do was just shoot.. Still new at the cam and settings etc. I saw the moment for what it was.. :) Firsts.. My daughter was growing up. I could in my mind remember her play dress shoes and jewelry that I thought she would never grow out of.. Or telling her to get out of my heels.. before she hurt herself.
I look back at this, and realize how much I have gained from this image. A milestone of many things.. Her life and the journey's she was about to take, my photography and it's journey, and such sweet friendships made.. All wrapped up in one image.

The shoes.

Journey on....

2b

As One....

Horseshow9, originally uploaded by 2bamazed.

There is just something that takes you back, when you see a young one doing something that you haven't done or tried.. You kind of scratch your head like, What does he/she know that I have overlooked? This shot was a reminder.

As this young boy walks the track during judgement time, all the other children had adults walking with them.. This group here.. It was the band of brothers.. Silently they made they're round, the horse.. truly ONE with these two. I watched and gazed as the boy handled his horse, and it was with such gentleness, They seemed to have had this understanding.. This bond.. This trust. As the judging came to an end, and they received 2nd place.. the little boy stroked his Horse with shear joy.. Even though they didn't get 1st prize, they did it together, as ONE.. And to him, that was more than a piece of ribbon could say.

2b