Journey Through the Walk of Life

Well, it's been a busy week for me, and not in the best way. My step-son and his family had a house fire this past Monday morning that started in-between the walls of their fireplace. It slowly burned all of Sunday night, and was not discovered until Monday morning when they heard crackling in the wall of the fireplace. The family is so blessed that this fire did not take their lives in the middle of the night while they slept, as my two grandson's room was directly above the fireplace wall. I believe the house is a total loss, as what did not burn, was heavily damaged by smoke and water. Times like this are so devastating to people, to the point that you can't even think of what to do next. I cried when I saw the devastation to the house, as it was once home to me, my husband, my daughter and my step-son. It was also the last place we ever saw my other step-son alive, as he passed away last year at the age of 26. So, I have been busy with a "go-fund" fundraiser that I organized on Tue. to get my step-son and his family some emergency needs, as they have lost everything in this fire. I posted the "go-fund" on facebook, and the out-pouring of of donations and support have been truly amazing! We are already more than halfway to our goal. So many people have offered clothes, coats, shoes, etc. that we also had to set-up a central location to drop off donations. This week has taught me about love and support of total strangers. There will never be a way to thank all of these people enough for all that they have done to help my step-son and his family. It's hard for a man and woman, with their 3 children to look at what once was. Now, they are taking a new journey into what is the unknown for them. Our family is strong, and they will literally rise from the ashes in time. This is just another "Journey Through the Walk of Life." Happy Thursday everyone!

Through the Path of Colors

Fall is a special time of year in Michigan, where everything changes in preparation for Winter. The air outside is crisp and fresh, the leaves on the trees change from green to golden yellows, oranges and reds, just before falling off and covering the ground with a great deal of leaves that crunch under your feet as you walk the ground around you. This is a photo I took in the park a few days ago as the winding path was a backdrop of gorgeous fall colors!

Fall-The Last Sail!

I've been to about 5 different parks in the last two weeks, just to go see all of the beautiful fall colors! Each park has something different as far as the colors go. There is a great variety of colors at each park. Some of the parks have water, as they are my favorite kind of parks. This one, I took a few days ago just sitting in front of the Coast Guard Station at one of the marinas. It was extremely cloudy outside, but the sun was still shining. This lonely sailboat caught my eye, as it appears to be the last boat in the water. The colors of the trees around the area of the boat, created a pretty photo. Hope you like it!

"Summer Farewell"

Saying good-bye for the Summer, to my special place on Lake Huron. I will miss it terribly throughout the Winter, as it is the place I go to find my peace and serenity, alone with my thoughts, and my camera. This is the place where I get up when it is still dark outside, grab a cup of coffee, my camera, and drive a few miles down to the Lake. There, I sit in serene silence, waiting for the magic to happen. The magic happens within minutes. A dark sky starts to lift, going from black to orange, gold, yellow and blue. The best part is when I look out onto the water and see a big red ball come up from the water out of no where. As it rises, it turns all of the magical colors of the sun. Many mornings, I am able to share the spot with geese, ducks, and even deer. I will miss it a great deal during the Winter, and long for the time when I will be back again to experience the magic and beauty of all this magical place has to offer. One last look in my mirror before I go, "Summer Farewell."

The Journey

Life is a journey. For most of us, it is a journey into the unknown. We ask ourselves where will our journey takes us if we pick door #1 or door #2, if we go left instead of right, etc. Many people just want to quickly get to their destination, and give no thought to the journey to get there. More often than not, the journey is more rewarding than the destination. When you take a moment to look back at how you got to the destination, you might realize the incredible steps you took in the journey to get there. It happens more than we realize in our everyday lives, "The Journey" is often more memorable than the destination. Have a great week!

Let the Light Shine Down

The woods in our yard at our summer place are beautiful. I can sit and look out there for long amounts of time and never get tired of the view. On the side of our woods is a path that the deer have created for themselves in which they go back and forth from the woods to the street. Usually, in early morning, they can be seen playing in the street and at dusk go back through their path and into the woods. Occasionally, a wild turkey runs across our yard, and the amount of different birds to be seen is pretty unique too. I have been trying to really learn about natural light and how to capture different kinds of photos with them. This particular photo is a picture of the woods where the trees seem to go on endlessly. I did not like the photo as much in color as I did while playing around with Infrared and B&W. I think this depicts more of how I actually saw the woods on this morning. The sun and the shadows the light created really stand out a lot more than the color version of this photo. So, "Let the Light Shine Down." Hope you enjoy!

Is it Real?

It looks like Spring may have finally arrived here in Michigan. I took my Mom who has Alzheimer's Disease to one of her favorite parks for coffee and a bagel on Sat. morning. The ice on the water is gone and it looks like sunny days ahead.

Foggy Morning Serenity

Left early morning to drive 65 miles to see one of the 8-yr old grandson's wrestling tournament. The ride there was so foggy, it was hard to see more than 20 ft. in front of us. This is one of the photos that I was able to take as we were driving down the road. The farm caught my eye and it just seemed so serene sitting there all by itself in the fog. Not a great photo, but it caught my attention.

Winter blahs, can't wait for Spring and the mornings where I can grab my coffe, camera, and go catch a sunrise like this!