May 31, 2011 by

You just discovered you have fifteen minutes to live…

If I found out I only had fifteen minutes to live? Right now?

I’d get up from the computer and run outside and lift my face up and soak up the sun. I’d listen to the birds singing, and arguing and gossiping. I’d smell the grass, and the dirt, and the honeysuckle blossoms that are hanging on, just a little past their prime. Then I’d open my eyes and LOVE the bright blue sky and everything around me – the shaky fence, the rambling roses, the rock chimney on the back of the house.

And then I would tell God thank you. Thank you for everything I’ve experienced in this life. The triumphs, and the near triumphs, and the trips and falls. I’d say thank you for my art, and for making me not just a girl with potential, but a full blown artist. An artist who may have wanted to achieve more, but who achieved enough to feel fully expressed. That’s rare and wonderful, and I’ve been lucky, and I know it.

I’d say thank you for everyone I’ve loved, and everyone I should have loved, but didn’t quite – because they all made a difference in my life. A big difference. A profound difference.

And I would say thank you for giving me these final fifteen minutes, so that I could soak up the sun one last time, and feel grateful one last time, and go out of this world exactly like I came in – happy!

 

I just found out about an interesting project, starting today.

#Trust30 is an online initiative and 30-day writing challenge that encourages you to look within and trust yourself. Use this as an opportunity to reflect on your now, and to create direction for your future. 30 prompts from inspiring thought-leaders will guide you on your writing journey. http://RalphWaldoEmerson.me

And the first prompt was so interesting, I signed up…

We are afraid of truth, afraid of fortune, afraid of death, and afraid of each other. Our age yields no great and perfect persons. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

You just discovered you have fifteen minutes to live.

1. Set a timer for fifteen minutes.
2. Write the story that has to be written.

http://ralphwaldoemerson.me/prompts

I don’t know that I’ll go beyond this first day, but the first prompt made me want to write, so here I am, fifteen minutes later… What would you do if you only had fifteen minutes to live?

I think I need to go outside and enjoy the sun a little. I may have more than fifteen minutes left, but that’s no reason to waste anymore time inside!

 

April 7, 2011 by

Spring Flowers, April Showers

One of the best parts about moving into a new house is seeing what happens in the yard over the course of the first year. Sometimes the tree you sort of, kind of don’t really like all that much, breaks out in blossoms, and you’re in love. Sometimes a neglected corner starts to fill in with new growth, and then explodes in riotous blooms. I’ve heard it said that you should live in a house for a year, before tearing out any plants, because you never know what those existing plants may do – and if you tear them out too soon, you may miss some great potential.

I moved last summer, so this is my first spring in this house, and evidently the previous owners were big on flowers – because the yard is full of blooming plants. It’s very cool!

We’ve been told that some of the trees are black walnut, and when I Google them, the leaves do look right – but I didn’t find any images of the blooms that were as magnificent as the ones here. We have pink blooms on one tree, and white blooms on two other trees. They look just like wisteria blossoms – and the leaves look similar to wisteria as well, but the rest of the tree, and the nuts that form later are definitely not wisteria!

ETA: Ooops! I’ve been told that the trees are actually Black Locust, and Googling proves that to be true!

Black Locust // Photo: Cheryl SpeltsBlack Locust // Photo: Cheryl Spelts

Black Locust // Photo: Cheryl SpeltsBlack Locust // Photo: Cheryl Spelts

Black Locust // Photo: Cheryl Spelts

Black Locust with White Blooms

There are lot of different kinds of bulbs and some primroses…

TulipsPurple Flowers

Primroses

There are probably too many iris in the yard – if that’s possible.

Purple Iris

Purple Iris

During the Victorian Era, they were big lovers of fruit and flowers together – and it’s one of my favorite looks. There’s only one fruit tree in the yard – a lemon tree – but hopefully someday there will also be oranges and tangerines and apricots – all things that grow well in Hemet!

Lemon TreeBlack Tulip

And I’ll end with a black tulip. Have you ever seen a flower that elegant? It’s definitely a statement blossom!

On a technical note, all of these were shot between 4:09 and 4:30PM this afternoon – so a few hours before sunset – and the wind was blowing hard for most of those twenty minutes. I used a 70-200mm lens, at f/4.0, ISO 320, and as high of a shutter setting as was possible. Part of the challenge was in shooting flowers that were blowing and moving – and still trying to get a perfect image, that looks like the world was perfectly still when it was taken. The 70-200mm is my least favorite and least used lens, but sometimes it’s fun to shake things up and force yourself to do things in a slightly different way than you may be used to.

Shaking up your art – especially when you’re doing something as trite as shooting flowers? It’s a good thing! So grab an unfamiliar lens, shoot in a windstorm, whatever! Just shake it up and see what magic happens…

And as I sign off, raindrops are starting to hit the roof again… Hopefully the very last storm this season!

March 1, 2011 by

Carrots

Carrots
Just a pretty little image of some pretty little carrots…

And a link to a great post on food as fuel…

And finally, a wish for today! It’s March 1st, which in my world is the true start of Spring. The sun is shining, the sky is bright blue with fluffy white clouds, and the birds are singing. It’s perfect! And my wish is that today is is the start of something new and wonderful for everyone who reads this.

Here’s to the Spring of 2011!

February 24, 2011 by

Deceptive Packaging

Seriously? Why would they do this?

I was just looking at a package of six cheese danish, and I decided to flip the box over and look at the calorie count, and I’m shocked to see it says 170 calories. Really? That seems so low? So then I look at the portion size, and it says 55g. But how much is that? Maybe grams should compute with me – maybe that’s a flaw that I need to fix in myself – but right now 55g is a completely meaningless measurement to me. And I almost let it go at that, because after all, the entire package is marked as 21 ounces and 6 count, so I’m thinking that means I should be able to divide 21 ounces by the 6 count, and get about 3.5 ounces – that seems logical.

Then I notice the servings per container figure. Keep in mind that the label says in large print, 6 count. And there are 6 distinct danishes in the box. But what is the official servings per container in tiny little print? Approximately 11.

Seriously? If they wanted to say that half a danish was the serving size, that I could see. That would make sense. But approximately 11 servings? How do you get 11 servings from 6 sweet rolls?

Yes, I know they can sell more sweet rolls if the consumer sees 170 calories, and doesn’t realize that’s for only a fraction, and not the whole roll. I get that. And I also get that half a sweet roll is probably more than enough, and it’s a flaw in my thinking to just assume that a serving size should be a full roll. But if the package has 6 rolls, and yet the official servings per container is 11? That just seems unnecessarily complicated and frankly, deceptive!

February 10, 2011 by

Feeling the love… Tod Burr, Lara Johnston & Casey Abrams

I want to post some support for two people I know, and one I don’t – but all three have some very cool footage on national TV this week!

First up is Tod Burr, also known as drumtech! I first became aware of him while he was on tour with INXS – and more recently I saw him with one of his own bands, Merle Jagger, out in a dusty bar in the middle of the desert. It was so much fun! He’s brilliant, and talented, and hot – which is a pretty good combination. And he’s in a new commercial for Lexus! When I first saw the finished commercial I thought it was all faked, but turns out it’s real – and he’s part of the team who made it happen. And he’s wearing black nail polish in a Lexus commercial, which is a whole new level of hotness!

Second, I have to give a shout out to Lara Johnston! I shot her backstage at Rock the Cradle, in 2008, and at the time she was just the freshest, sweetest thing – and a true talent! Well she’s back! She was on last night’s American Idol, and she got a golden ticket, which means we get to see her again at the next level. The footage of her is a little short, but hopefully that just means they’re saving her for better things later in the season!

And third, here’s another American Idol contestant – one I’ve never met – but he lives in Idyllwild, and attended Idyllwild Arts, and he’s talented, so I’m feeling the love for Casey Abrams…

January 28, 2011 by

Tangerines…

Tangerines may be my favorite fruit. Maybe. They’re tangy and sweet, and you really only find the good ones right now, at this time of year – so find a Farmer’s Market quick, make the most of it! I know I am!

Tangerines

Tangerines and Blueberries

January 11, 2011 by

On patience…

When I last journaled in this section, I had just walked .25 miles one day and .5 miles the next day, after not walking at all for 19 days. And I was determined to do better.

The very next day I was in Los Angeles, and instead of blowing off walking, I *hiked* in the Hollywood Hills, which really means walking up a steep dirt path. It’s not like hiking in the mountains, where you’re going up really steep slopes, and hopping over rocks, and it’s just you and the mountain. In LA hiking means a raked dirt path, with a set end point, and lots of other people, including tourists with cameras. In fact, I was able to do it in sandals! But it’s still uphill, and it’s still good exercise! And I went 1.5 miles total, which made me very happy!

Green BranchThe next three days I was tired, so I just did my regular .7 mile loop – but I did it. And that made six days in a row, which made me feel good, really good.

It was starting to feel normal to me to go out and walk each day.

Then I took eight days off. And I’m okay with that.

I really do believe that I can do whatever I set my mind to. But guess what? Sometimes life throws us a curve ball, and we have to adjust our expectations. I thought that now was the right time to throw myself into a self-improvement frenzy, but maybe I need to scale back a bit and instead think of it as gradual self-improvement. Nothing wrong with gradual. It still gets me where I want to go, eventually.

Am I disappointed? Yes. Am I giving up? No. I may not be able to go as fast as I wanted, but I still intend to do what I need to do. I’ll get there. I just need to accept where I am right now, keep plodding, and have a little patience.

And just for the record, I walked 1.1 miles today, and it felt good. Really good.

January 6, 2011 by

Gilman Springs Road

Gilman Springs Road
Just a little plug for one of my other sites!

HemetWeb.com is where I blog about my new hometown, and I love this image so much, I wanted to share it here too. It was shot on Gilman Springs Road, just outside of San Jacinto, on the way to Riverside. To see more, go to http://hemetweb.com/2011/01/the-road-to-riverside/

(Note: As of August 2013, I’ve moved to Riverside, California, and HemetWeb.com is no more. But I still love the images from this day, so I’ve added two more below. Enjoy!)

Gilman Springs RoadGilman Springs Road

December 30, 2010 by

Some of my favorite things in 2010

Last year I wrapped up 2009 with a couple of lists of my favorite things – and it was fun! So I’m doing it again for 2010.

My 5 favorite songs of 2010
Based on how I feel today, it could change tomorrow… The first two were actually released in 2010, the other three are older, and one is very old! And the last one is from a local San Diego band!

My favorite blog posts by other people in 2010
A very long list – just like last year!

And finally, my 5 favorite photos of 2010
My choices for this year are all really simple – deceptively simple. I shot more complex stuff, more artistic, more ambitious work – but for some reason these five images speak to me in a way nothing else did this year. I love these five!

Purple Wildflowers in Menifee // Photo: Cheryl SpeltsYellow Wildflowers in Menifee // Photo: Cheryl Spelts
Wildflowers in Menifee, 3/28/2010

Nathan // Photo: Cheryl Spelts
My nephew Nathan, 8/11/2010

Miss American Coed // Photo: Cheryl Spelts
Miss American Coed Pegeant Queen, 9/18/2010

Ocean Birds // Photo: Cheryl Spelts
Malibu, California, 10/8/2010

Happy New Year!