John Steiner invites us to show what winter looks like in the places we live or have visited. Since I grew up in climates where winter was cold and snow a common occurrence, I’m not averse to it. I even learned to drive in snow, which comes in handy every now and then!
When my sister and I flew into Portland at the end of October, the sun shining on Wy’East (Mount Hood) was stunning. At 11,239 ft (3,425 m) it is the tallest peak in Oregon. By the end of summer 2024, there was absolutely no snow on the mountain, anywhere. In this photo snow is beginning to show, and today it is all white and snow is accumulating.
Winter in the Pacific Northwest is generally wet. Though rain is much more common than snow, I enjoy the snow when it arrives. It brings out cheerfulness in anyone who is willing to have a little fun!
Although I love snow, the slush it becomes with thawing temperatures is the downside. Worse though, is when we have freezing rain that coats all surfaces with ice often causing trees and power-lines to tumble, and when we have a silver thaw, caused by snow melting and re-freezing. Whether by freezing rain or silver thaw, it can be/is very dangerous and often destructive.
It can also be beautiful, so long as you use caution and common sense.
On your walk with life, please honor our earth, encourage dignity and share kindness. 🐾
Thanks to Johnbo for a versatile challenge, and for a glimpse into the next couple week challenges. Cheers!
Sophia leads this week with the challenge to feature the 5 Elements or Agents of Wuxing, “a fivefold conceptual scheme used in many traditional Chinese fields of study to explain a wide array of phenomena.” The Wuxing Elements are, Fire, Water, Wood, Metal and Earth. The philosophical system dates back to the first or second century BCE, and outlines the interactions of each agent in constructive and destructive ways. I looked in my archives for photos of fire, and selected two that show the effects on the environment of wildfires. These were this past August at Willamette Pass/Odell Lake in Oregon, USA.
Being a water lover, I have many photos of this precious element. These two are of Salt Creek Falls, carving a path through the earth, over the cliff and down the forested valley.
Wood is everywhere in the Pacific Northwest, one of the reasons we have such intense wildfires. The moisture here, helps keep the forests green, still, fire is always a danger.
Metal sculptures always captivate me, whether large or small. Metal is pliable when hot, and strong when cool. Garden sculpture combines earth, wood, metal and sometimes water!
I’ll finish with the comfort and cheer of a cozy fire, featuring dear sweet Jello.
On your walk with life, please honor our earth, encourage dignity and share kindness. 🐾
Thank you to Sophia for introducing me to the Philosophy and study of Wuxing!
Dear Ann-Christine is right – for many of us what’s going on in our world is distressing. To boost our spirits, she challenges us to “share something that made us smile – and make the world smile with us!” I’ll start with four whimsical outdoor art works that delighted me when I saw them.
Wild or tame, animals have a special way of cheering me up. The photo of a young Brown Pelican (below) always makes me smile, and who can resist a begging Koi? The Humboldt’s Flying Squirrel, caught by accident, put a big grin on my face as it jumped from the deck-rail, flared it’s front leg-wings and sailed to a nearby tree.
“More fun than a barrel of monkeys,” is how I described Max and Daisy when they first came to be in our family. Actually, almost all the Beagles I have had over the years have given me moments of merriment, high spirits, and hilarity!
The City of Long Beach was flushing fire hydrants one morning when Max & Daisy, and I were on a walk. Always curious, Daisy went over to inspect what was going on. She barked at the spray, backed away from it and charged back at it barking the whole time. When the water kept spewing, she bit it! Though it may look like she’s drinking, she definitely was chomping!
Max loves to snuggle, sit on your feet, or sneak into a lap. He also enjoys trading toys for treats or walks, all of which I find endearing.
On your walk with life, please honor our earth, encourage dignity and share kindness. 🐾
A big thank you to Ann-Christine for keeping our focus on the lighter side of life!
Tina asks us to reflect upon what elements in our lives we are thankful for. In a free-write brainstorm there were many aspects of my life that came out, for example: Being cared for as a child, being encouraged to be myself as an adolescent/young adult, being supported with wisdom and space, and appropriate guardrails – though sometimes I wasn’t happy with those rules! Growing up in a family with loving parents, the usual fun and stress with siblings, and a value of being a clan is a grounding that keeps me stable to this day.
The last group photo I have of my clan is from Christmas, around 2014. Since then my father passed, and my Niece Molly (eyes closed!) has a son Micah, now 10 years old. Andrew in green shorts is in the Army, and Justin tangerine T is in his second year of college.
My sisters, Lori and Diana are precious to me. Whenever things in my life get wonky (like it has been this past month), they are here for me, in texts, phone calls, emails and in spirit if not in person.
Being educated/having a career, having shelter, food, clothing, being loved by and loving my husband of 55 years, having a loving birth family.
I met Creighton at the University of Washington when I was 18. He has been the love of my life ever since. We celebrated 55 years of marriage this past September, and though life has thrown us some hard times, we have endured. Beagles help!
Having friends – Olde Friends, having colleagues – friends of a feather.
On the left I’m with the three other counselors I worked with for years. We were quite a team and have remained friends after retirement. Right, the A-Club – a name we gave ourselves for all the fascinating conversations we had over dinner and wine, as we discussed the last book we had read. Our numbers have dwindled to a precious few, yet we still get together, though we no longer have assigned reading!
Having space to garden, with trees and peaceful neighbors. Being able to move freely, make decisions for myself. To live where the roads are pretty good, the bridges need attention and are getting it, the rivers continue to flow, and salmon are returning to places they haven’t been for decades. A place where I can drive two hours and be at the edge of the Pacific Ocean, where I can look out across the Columbia Gorge and see majestic Mt. Hood, where the air is not pure, but pretty good for a major metropolitan area. Where it is raining, however there are no cats and dogs coming down!
On your walk with life, please honor our earth, encourage dignity and share kindness. 🐾
My apologies to Tina and the Lens-Artists crew for being this late with my addition to last week’s challenge. As I mentioned above, I’m going through a rough spell here, though we are muddling through. I hope to have time soon to look at and comment on other posts.
Patti asks us to present three photos of a subject which bring the viewer ever closer to the details of the subject. This past week has been extremely stormy and wet here on the Long Beach, WA peninsula, so I am pulling from my archives to accomplish this challenge. In past posts I have featured the North Head Lighthouse, a lovely old one on the promontory at the approach to the Columbia River.
Volunteers have helped raised money to refurbish North Head, constructed in 1897, and located in Cape Disappointment State Park. In November 2012, the Coast Guard turned over ownership of the light station to Washington State Parks.
Tours of North Head’s interior are conducted by volunteers who provide history lessons as visitors wind up the stairwell to where the light had been, with gorgeous views in all directions.
The original first-order lens from North Head is on display at the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center in Cape Disappointment State Park.
On your walk with life, please honor our earth, encourage dignity and share kindness. 🐾
Thank you Patti, for another excellent challenge. Wish I had time to do more!
Kaї Love vs Money 2017Laura Ford Bird 2007Aristide Maillol La Rivière 1938-1943Jim Dine Big White Gloves, Big Four Wheels 2008Kan Yasuda Door or Return 2001
On your walk with life, please honor our earth, encourage dignity and share kindness. 🐾
Egídio challenges us to find qualities of silence in our photographs. Following the guidance of photographer Robert Adams, Egídio suggests that we feature five specific ways of expressing silence.
Though you may have seen this photo before, it is still my favorite image where the light creates a profound sense of stillness and tranquility. Taken from the deck of Cabin 1 at Beach Haven, Orcas Island, WA looking west.
My family has been fishing on lakes at the summit of Willamette Pass, Oregon for decades. This photo bears “silent witness to environmental change on the landscape as a result of human activity.” Just a few years ago, the waterline of Crescent Lake came all the way up to where I stood, as I took this photo. Drought and the demand for agricultural irrigation have had a significant impact on this once verdant place.
Many of my photos feature silent landscapes with no human presence: The Silence of the Subject. Here, a Bald Eagle soars out over the wetland and forest at Cape Disappointment State Park, Ilwaco, WA.
Left: every time I walk along the surf’s edge at Long Beach, I remove a shopping bag full of trash from the shoreline. Right: on the pathway from the beach to The Breakers Condominiums is a pole which through the years is over-loaded with flotsam, and surrounded by junk. Some of the litter is understandable, like ropes and buoys that get blown away or dislodged from boats in heavy ocean waves and gales. The rest of it is plain human negligence. This is my silent protest against the destruction of our environment and the violation of earths natural beauty.
I struggled most selecting my best photo to represent The Silence of the Viewer. The goal here is to “bring the viewer into a contemplative mood and a silent dialogue with the image”. While on a beach walk, I chanced upon this alter set near the berm, and the scene captivated me. Hope it does the same for you.
On your walk with life, please honor our earth, encourage dignity and share kindness. 🐾
A big shout-out to Egídio for suggesting this tough and thoughtful challenge. Instead of watching or listening to news for the next four years, I intend to use my time exploring beauty through Lens- Artists posts, and being out with my camera.
For this week’s challenge, Ritva asks us to dig deeper than the surface beauty of our photography to reveal through them “the interplay between shadow and light, ultimately capturing the essence of optimism that arises from seemingly insignificant openings in our world.” She asks us to “let each image tell a story, convey an emotion, or illustrate a moment of seeing light.” To begin I shine the spotlight on some of the magic I found at the Sophia M. Sachs Butterfly House while in St. Louis, with my sisters this past week.
A Paper Kite butterfly (Idea Leuconoe), has emerged from its chrysalis and hangs suspended soaking in the light of life as it continues its metamorphosis journey.
This King Swallowtail (Papilo Thoas) has moved away from its chrysalis and clings to a wall in the chamber gathering strength. Notice how much more full and thick its wings are compared to the just emerged Paper Kite.
Amid the flowers in the Missouri Botanical Gardens, this Monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) is the first I’ve ever seen and photographed in the great outdoors! The remainder of my post features the first stanza of a poem I wrote, with illustrations from my photo archive.
“Light is Life”
Light percolates through mist,
Light clenched in dense fog,
Light splintering between dark clouds,
Light casting a rainbow prism,
Light is life.
Thank you to Ritva for this inspiring challenge. When we open ourselves to the beauty of light and life, we fill our being with “hope, healing, truth, love and peace.”
On your walk with life, please honor our earth, encourage dignity and share kindness. 🐾
This week Anne Sandler of Slow Shutter Speed, encourages us to experiment with Intentional Camera Movement. I have never tried this technique before, and if I were at home I would make myself go out with my camera and play with it. However, this week I am in St. Louis, where my older sister and I are visiting with our younger sister at her home and taking day trips to see new sights.
Looking through the photos I have taken here, this one of the St. Louis Arch behind the clock tower of Union Station, is the only one that qualifies. I was kneeling down to get a good angle when I pressed the button on my cell phone. The rest are close enough in spirit, like those of JohnRH of John’s Space, that I decided to include them.
Citygarden is located within the Gateway Mall, an urban green space extending from the Gateway Arch grounds to Union Station, in downtown St. Louis. Zenith, a bronze sculpture created by Mimmo Paladino, is one of 29 sculptures resident in the gardens. Seeing it through the windblown tree branches adds to its mystical quality.
We had hoped to take a sunset ride on the Ferris Wheel, but when we arrived we learned it had been reserved for a private function. Still, it was delightful be close up and see the wheel change colors against the night sky.
Oh, the Butterfly House! Now there’s true magic. In this photo, one Heliconius rests on a leaf, as two or three others flutter about.
Next to the Butterfly House is a lovely old Carousel from 1924. Of course we had to take a ride! I really like this shot of the carousel horses reflected upon the inside windows, as we circled around with the wind whipping leaves outside in the grounds.
On your walk with life, please honor our earth, encourage dignity and share kindness. 🐾
Walking With Eagles is a collection of original poems and photographs by Lindy Low Le Coq. A lifelong naturalist, amateur photographer and bird enthusiast, Lindy’s verse, composition and photographs open a window into the essence of her subjects. Her poems and photography reflect the rich natural wonders of the Pacific Northwest.
Bald Eagles mature over the course of five years. Walking With Eagles invites the reader to take a poetic and visual tour of this odyssey.
view ~ Walking With Eagles ~ in top menu bar for a preview, though the folio is much nicer!
Lindy Low LeCoq 