“You don't make a photograph just with a camera. You bring to the act of photography all the pictures you have seen, the books you have read, the music you have heard, the people you have loved.”
― Ansel Adams
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We wake to frost and empty bird feeders!
“That’s the gift of winter: it’s irresistible. Change will happen in its wake, whether we like it or not. We can come out of it wearing a different coat.”
― Katherine May, Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times
Another frosty morning, outlining every detail. I slip outside, bundled up against the cold, thankful for a few moments alone to relish in the deep silence.
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“In a world that seems so uncertain, in lives that seem sometimes to ricochet from challenge to upheaval and back again, a dog can be counted on in a way that’s true of little else.”
― Anna Quindlen, Good Dog. Stay.
Beagles are a bit moody. They pout, they make you suffer if you change up their routines, they love to eat, and they shed. All and all they are the perfect dog!
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“It is the life of the crystal, the architect of the flake, the fire of the frost, the soul of the sunbeam. This crisp winter air is full of it.”
― John Burroughs
The sun is out, the air is crisp, and the frost is calling.
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“Our laughter kept the feathers in the air. I thought about birds. Could they fly if there wasn’t someone, somewhere, laughing?”
-Jonathan Safran Foer,
I finally clean the feeders and fill them with fresh seed and suddenly the yard is full of birds. I recognize, what I think, is the birdsong of a bird that usually arrives come spring. I speak up, telling him/her that it is too early for them to land in the PNW. I sit outside with my camera, the chill of the morning air surrounding me. I relish in it a bit as I watch the birds fly in and out of the trees, their feathers ruffled out to keep them warm. They play nice as they land here and there. They are noisy, but waiting patiently for their turn at the feeders.
***