wetwalking she crept
into darkened oldwoods
bumblebush wept
missing sweetgoods
teardropleaves watch
fairies hiddenbreath wish
forgivenot bitter scotch
weave hopeful freshstitch
sisterthorns together cry
tornfists stitched anew
silkhands won’t comply
our earthbodies stay true
After years of regularly posting and commenting here, I think I’ve reached a place of burnout. I haven’t been fully present like I used to be. It’s not fun.
To get myself out of this slump, and at the advice of my wonderful writer’s group, I’ve decided to self-publish my 52 short stories into a collection available by Christmas. Having a physical book, my book, in my hands will be a dream come true. I need this to move forward.
In the meantime, thank you to those who continue to show up and cheer me on. Your comments are what keeps me going. I hope you’ll consider ordering a copy when it’s available. I can’t even tell you what that would mean. I’m giddy thinking of it.
While I do the hard work of making it happen, here are some photos from my recent road trip. Let me know if you have a favorite and have a fantastic week.
Forget about everything else and be right here. Look at the way the full moon rises, timid and then quickly. Bold. Look at the way the Joshua Trees grow. Each branch jutting off the main tree is from an injury. They make broken look beautiful. You do too.
Let’s remember this moment and make more. Many, many more.
“What draws people to be friends is that they see the same truth. They share it.”
—C.S. Lewis
It’s not like me to be spontaneous. I like planning, making lists, and being as prepared as possible. Last week I decided at the last minute to visit my childhood best friend in Las Vegas for her birthday and got ready in three hours. It was a perfect, beautiful, enjoyable, and fully unplanned whirlwind of a few days capped off by the appearance of the Hunter’s supermoon. My heart is so full.
Most of these photos were taken at the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area. However, the last few photos were taken on the drive back in the morning. The last photo is the moon setting as the sun rose close to Newberry Springs, CA.
As always, all photos were taken by me with an Olympus OM-D and edited with ON1 Photo RAW. Let me know if you have a favorite and have a wonderful week. Only two full moons left of the year. Wow.
You needed to see the sunset because the world felt too chaotic. We spent two nights together watching the sky become gold and then black. I couldn’t erase the pain behind your eyes, but I could remind you what was in the sky. It’s always there for you, as I am.
“Clouds come floating into my life, no longer to carry rain or usher storm, but to add color to my sunset sky.”
—Rabindranath Tagore
Fall into the waves with me before we dance among the bowed heads of the pink flowers. Did you see the deer? The starfish? The seagull? What did they have to say to you? I thought I heard them giggling. Perhaps they know more than I do about what’s to come.
“I spent uncounted hours sitting at the bow looking at the water and the sky, studying each wave, different from the last, seeing how it caught the light, the air, the wind; watching patterns, the sweep of it all, and letting it take me. The sea.”
—Gary Paulsen
Labor Day weekend I visited our local Chalk It Up event, a free open-art festival for families. My daughter had the privilege of opening the show with her G.I.R.L.S. Rock Sacramento band. One of her friends was a featured alumni artist and created the first image below. This event has become a family tradition and this year felt even more special with lots of our friends and family attending. Life has been busy, but it’s never too late to share.
Let me know if you have a favorite image and have a fantastic day!
Mom said she wanted witchy photos in the woods. She wanted to dance in the moonlight and howl. She wanted pointy hats and dark makeup. She wanted her vision of us to be captured forever.
What she didn’t say is generational pain lives in our bones and she wants us to be free. She didn’t say mortality knocks and time moves oh so quickly. She didn’t say let’s be stronger, my dearies, and stop letting others control our happiness. She didn’t have to.
Mom said she wanted witchy photos in the woods. I gave them to her, minus the hats.
This is for you Mom, the one who gives and loves so big, who taught me to be strong, and who carries so much and still laughs. I hope you like the photos and know how much you are loved.
“You’re breaking generational curses. That’s why this doesn’t come easy for you. You’re who your bloodline has been waiting for.” —unknown
Surrounded by the pink sky, the blue moon winks at the girl walking with her brother and his little dog. The moon knows the unspoken things they don’t say to each other. The dog does too. The wind blows softly and the waves lap against the shore. Seagulls watch and the girl can’t help but wonder if they are the same ones she saw last time.
“I’m okay,” she wants to call to them, even though she’s not sure it’s true.
It could be.
“Here I came to the very edge
where nothing at all needs saying,
everything is absorbed through weather and the sea,
and the moon swam back,
its rays all silvered,
and time and again the darkness would be broken
by the crash of a wave,
and every day on the balcony of the sea,
wings open, fire is born,
and everything is blue again like morning. “
—Pablo Neruda
I saw the eighth full moon of the year while at Dillion’s Beach with my brother, mother, and my two teenagers. These are my favorite full moon photos so far. I know they are kind of repetitive, but I liked so many and hope you do too. Please let me know if you have a favorite.
Also, I’m considering entering a photo contest. More on that soon!
Oh, and here’s my brother’s dog Henry. Isn’t he cute in his little sweater?
All photos were taken with an Olympus OM-D and edited with ON1 Photo RAW.
Take a trip with me to the iconic city of San Francisco. We will stroll the Ferry Building, visit Fisherman’s Wharf, and spend a fair amount of time in Chinatown. Will finish our evening beside the beautiful Golden Gate Bridge. Let me know if you have a favorite image.
“In San Francisco—life goes on. Hope rises and dreams flicker and die. Love plans for tomorrow and loneliness thinks of yesterday. Life is beautiful and living is pain. The sound of music floats down a dark street. A young girl looks out a window and wishes she were married. A drunk sleeps under a bridge. It is tomorrow.”
—Hunter S. Thompson
These photos were taken with an Olympus OM-D and edited with ON1 Photo RAW. Here’s a bonus selfie photo taken with my cellphone.
I spent an evening at the lake with my daughter and her best friend. We swam in the murky water with ducks and seagulls. A beautiful crane watched us from afar as the sky turned gold. While I search for balance in my life, I’m still creating. For now, that’s enough. Let me know if you have a favorite photo and thank you for all the love and support you continue to show me.
“‘YOU are the big drop of dew under the lotus leaf,
I am the smaller one on its upper side,’
said the dewdrop to the lake.”—Rabindranath Tagore
These photos were taken with an Olympus OM-D and edited with ON1 Photo RAW. Here’s a bonus selfie photo taken with my cellphone.
Bridgette Tales 