This is what I see every morning when I take my walk. It's a neighbor's pecan grove just around the corner from our house. We have a pecan grove too, but I can't get a good picture of it. Our house and the outbuildings get in the way.I use this time at the beginning of my day to pray and think; or not. I give my thoughts free rein and am always rewarded. Not that I don't have bad thoughts, but having just gotten up from morning worship time, my head is usually in a good place.
I always carry a pen and paper to jot down my thoughts. If I don't, they are lost by the time I get home. The following is an unedited version of what I wrote this morning: E-mail Sharon, check Visa bill, learn how to scan photo onto desktop, add Morning in May photo to today's blog post, post photo of our house to blog, add calcium to Fitday site, look at my fat intake for yesterday on same site, and repot ivy. And I prayed for all our children. I only walk for a mile. By the time I get back home, my paper is filled with stream of consciousness writing.
A book I recommend is Julia Cameron's The Artist's Way. She talks about taking walks and how the cadence of our steps unleash a torrent of thought. I've found that to be true. Our brains respond to the constant rhythm of our steps.
I took the above photo with a point & shoot camera; nothing fancy. All the photos posted so far were taken with that same camera. I still have it and love it. I got a Canon SLR film camera to supplement the point & shoot, because it's more flexible. It doesn't take better pictures though. I like it because I can change lenses. I needed a telephoto lens to get close up. I sometimes like to take street photos of people but don't want to get in their face. With my telephoto, I can stand far away and they'll never know I'm there. The downside is that if I ever want to enter it in a contest or show, I have to have written permission from the person in the photograph.
Excuse me, my phone is ringing...it was Laurel telling me that a mutual friend of ours had some suggestions for my blog. Ain't that the way it goes? One day after my first post and I'm already being criticized! Just kidding, Amanda! Thanks for the ideas; especially the one about my header. I HATE typos. I'll fix that asap.
13 comments:
Poor Amanda (haha!)...the header does sound better now. In that book, does she talk about walking with children? That certainly changes the walking experience. When I am alone, I do have a torrent of thoughts and ideas and prayers...with kiddos, that's another story. However, I did get through about half of Parenting in the Pew last night, and was encouraged to find time during the small moments with my children to see the holiness that is there. That could certainly apply to walking. Definitely wasn't happening this morning though, YIKES.
I think maybe you should make this picture your header. It is the right kind (vertical) and it is really beautiful.
When Laurel mentioned that her mom had started a blog, I thought, "Oh, good!" I really like Laurel and her spirit and values, so I figure she's got a great mother.
Your photographs are beautiful, and I look forward to reading all that you have to say about following the Lord and living an artful life.
I was going to introduce myself, and then I saw my link listed on your sidebar. How nice! :-)
Blessings,
Susan
Sorry, me again...
I forgot to mention that I liked what you said about walking unleashing a torrent of thoughts. It's so true! I walk almost daily, and my best thinking is done then, but I hadn't thought of taking a notebook to jot down my thoughts. You're the second person to positively mention the Cameron book recently... need to look into this.
And do you mind saying exactly what point and shoot camera you have? I desperately need a camera, so I'm currently looking into this. I'm very much a beginner, but I'm ready to learn!
Thanks,
Susan
Hi there! When I read that you were blogging I had to come over and check it out. You and Laurel are both on my Google Reader.
I think about you often and remember your relaxing Sunday afternoons with family dinner and conversation and reading and walking around the yard. Thanks for being a fabulous adopted parent to me while I was at GSU.
Hey Shannon! It's been forever since I've seen you. Are you still in Augusta? E-mail me sometime. I tried to click on your blog but couldn't. Good to hear from you. Debbie
Hey Susan,
I'm honored that you read my blog. I sure have enjoyed yours! My point and shoot is a Freedom Zoom 115 by Minolta. It's a little workhorse. I've had it for about six years, and it's a film camera. I haven't gone digital yet. This blog may force me to get one.
The Cameron book is very good but New Agey. I just read it like she's talking about the God of the Bible. Works for me! Debbie
Debbie, thanks for the camera info. A film camera... Yikes. I think I'd better go with a digital. But I sure do love your photos. They are lovely. I love the one of the kitchen on today's post.
And that's just what I thought about the Cameron book, but I'm okay with that, too, because I read books like that the same way you do. Thanks for mentioning that.
Susan
I like your photo. Very south Georgia, with that humidity and those big, old trees! I wondered why you were walking about scanners until I read your comment to Susan. I took a long time to convert, too. I finally got a digital, but had a man shake my hand in Oregon once, for holding out so long ;-).
I like walks for thinking, too. I've heard of The Artist's Way for years, but had forgotten about it. Some of the portraitists in Atlanta read it. Thanks for the reminder.
Laura,
Where are you originally from in the South? I was raised in Tennessee and have lived in Georgia for almost thirty years.
Hi Debbie,
I've lived a lot of places in the South, but the trees in your photo reminded me of West Point, Georgia, where I spent my early childhood. We now have family in Athens and metro Atlanta.
And my father-in-law is from Tennessee, near Nashville. Where we you from?
I was raised in a little place called Turtletown, TN. That's right next to Ducktown, Dogtown, and Buzzard Roost; I kid you not! It's in Southeast Tennessee where Georgia, Tennessee, and North Carolina come together.
We've been in Southeast Georgia now for almost thirty years with 2 l/2 years in California squeezed in between.
I LOVE THE SOUTH!!!!
Ah, don't you love those little community names? There's a Ducktown in Georgia, too, though you'd have to be in just the right spot to ever notice it.
I like the area where you're from. People are pretty independent and sensible up there, if sometimes a mite eccentric. (I mean "up there" in elevation, though in my mind's eye, I still see it from the perspective of Georgia, which also makes it north.) Plus, the landscape is beautiful.
I have enjoyed living in Manhattan for the past ten years, but in many ways I do still think of the South as "home."
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