You Capture – Living, Loving, Laughing….

I went to the zoo. I got lots and lots of pretty pictures. It was my first visit to the zoo with a DSLR camera. It was my first visit to the zoo after three digital photography classes.

I think it was my first trip to the zoo that I really found the beauty of the animals. It wasn’t about the display or how real it looked. It was about so much more than their pen and their antics.

I saw colors and shapes, reflections and texture. I saw lighting, profiles, and eyelashes. Details I hadn’t seen before and I realized….~~there are a LOT of birds at the zoo~~ every animal is a great capture.

This week You Capture from my idol Beth Fletcher has gone pink and pink is sooo sooo lovely.

I have girls. Three of them. We LOVE pink!

I am sharing my photographs from the zoo. These are the ladies (and gents) that – I think – wear pink the best.

I have many more photographs from the zoo, but for now I’ll leave you feeling pink.

Lucky for me, I have ANOTHER field trip to the zoo for photography class this weekend. With the start of another class – Wildlife Photography – I am excited to get to clicking. It is amazing how different a trip to the zoo is when you are looking through a viewfinder.

Also this weekend, we are celebrating a brand new seven-year old’s birthday at the movies and having an all-girl sleepover with her cousins. Molly turned the lucky seven this week! I think we’ll have lots of pink and lots of fun. I can’t think of a better way to do it than with family that lives close, and girl cousins close in age. Funny thing is? Jason will be outnumbered by a ratio of 10:1 (if you include dogs). He will need a poker night after this. Ha.

Have you been to the zoo lately?

Have a WONDERFUL weekend!

Sometimes, we catch a glimpse.

Of beauty.

Of life.

Our gazes wander and search.

For our fascinations.

For our dreams.

Maybe today, we catch our shadow.

Of who we are.

Of who we might be.

Our regal colors of intensity.

For our quest.

For our inspiration.

Maybe, we get lost.

We lose our way.

We lose our sight.

Our plans of peace, a shadow in our hearts.

Of what we want.

Of what we deserve.

But sometimes, our shadows emerge.

Our glimpses become clear.

Our hearts rejoice in the pureness of another day.

In all our glory.

In all our differences.

In every detail.

In every moment.

This poem is dedicated to my friend, and my mother-in-law, Sue Kelcey who has emerged from a brain aneurysm and stroke to tell the entire family and hospital floor how much she loves them. How special they are and to thank them for taking care of her since the end of September. Her heart filled with beautiful intention of getting home.

When I wonder why I am blogging, and what is it all for…..I think of her life journey. A journey that gives me inspiration to do what I do (and stop complaining already!).

I think of the pain she has been through. The struggle of physical therapy and her desire to hold hands with her family to celebrate life. Every memory, of every touch, and every touch, of every day; what kept her pushing through it all. I think of the moment this Sunday, when she hugged her granddaughters to her chest for the first time in months. Heaving sobs of gratefulness into their silky hair and squeezing them close with her one working arm. Every moment, every detail. It was beautiful. Hold on. You never know when your last day is here. Cherish the ones you have.

Encourage love. Encourage acceptance. Speak your heart. Live your dreams. Believe. The shadows are nothing but fear.

What inspires you?

Prompt 2)Write about a time someone made you smile *through the happy tears*