Wait, What?

Wait, what day is it? 

What happens when all of your days blend together? 

Some times you don't sleep well and other nights you are just plain restless. One of those nights I woke up ... wide awake at 1:30 in the morning. There was no going back to sleep so I went out on the porch and decided to look at the sky.

Yes, I am very fortunate to live in a 'hollow' with the nearest street lamps 12 miles away. If I go up on the ridge, the yard lights of farms across the ridge do 'pollute' the night sky. So lucky lucky me. I can admire the stars from my porch and my driveway.

Porch view of that night's Milky Way. 
It was clear enough for the naked eye, but the camera can pick up so many more details.

Is it no surprise that I fell in love with the night skies while living here for the past 29 years? 
The stars give me a sense of peace and wonderment [as do most things in nature].

I went out to try a selfie of me looking up at the Milky Way. It didn't work. Other years I've gotten the beam from my headlamp to show up in the humid air...
Not so this night. I tried over and over. So then I turned the red light on and twirled it for a 25 second photo.

It is called light painting, which I never really got the hang of.

But I thought it turned out neat.

I'm going to try it again but wear dark clothes and use some glow sticks. 

Here are some random Toy shots I just felt like doing on an overcast afternoon. 
The Goat herder seems unaware that he is being watched. Squatch who is one of my favorite toys is still around Aurora! He often joins the Legos on adventures!
 

This Rock Monster set up on the cookie tray with a clay mushroom I made, along with bits of plastic leaves and chunks of wood.

Of course. the Evil King and Queen of ... hmmm, I don't know what to name their kingdom, do you have a suggestion?

While out watching the hummingbirds and the clearwing hummingbird moth, I placed an HO figure on one of the Blazing Stars just to see what would occur. 

And he looked as though he became a Bee Keeper! 👇

I spent some time outside yesterday morning with both my macro and long lens. I still have to go through a lot of photos of flowers, birds, bees, and other insects. By 9am, I had finished up outside and mowed a tiny bit before coming in for a shower.

The rest of the day was taken up with a morning visit with hubby's nurse and and afternoon visit for his sponge bath. Rich looks forward to these interactions.

So, yesterday was Monday. Let's see what today brings.

I'm  going to meet a friend I met at the gym and go see her place. 

I feel a bit wicked knowing that I have some free time to do something different.

So yeah.

Wait

What?

About play

This is the real secret to life--

to be engaged in what you are doing

in the here and now.

And instead of calling it work,

realize it is play.

Alan W. Watts

Some folks find it very curious or strange that I have found so much enjoyment in toy photography. I call it play and my husband thinks I am really off my 'rocker'. 

I know I've written before about toy photography. It started with an on line class in still life a few years ago. I was really intrigued by the arrangements I could make with old tea cups, flowers, and old tools. 

I had decided much earlier that when I picked up a camera again, I was going to be a 'Landscape' photographer and become someone famous. 

Still Life? It really sounded boring, but it was a challenge and I learned so much.

Anything went as long as it was odd.

I started trekking through the woods with tea cups and baubles. It was fun. It was not what was common place. 

One day my neighbor's little boy gave me a lego person and told me to put it in a picture.

And I kept experimenting.

A whole new genre of photography opened up. By golly I had sworn never to do still life. But I was playing. I was having fun.
I was challenging my brain waves. [Or lack there of..]

Hah.

Now I can be found with assorted items in my backpack while I hike the woodlands. 

Some folks think I've

lost my 

mind...

Nope, I just love being challenged by

imagination...

This is what I do for self care. I realize that now. I can immerse myself in gardening which is pleasurable for me. But sometimes I have to add something to my daily walks.

Hobby finds slime molds!

This guy fears nothing! 

And of course, there is always kindness involved. 

Experimenting with toys, Still Life, photography, and of course Infrared Photography seems dumb right? One should just concentrate on one thing and get very good at it.

One thing never holds my attention for ever. For me photography is Play.

And apparently play is great for adults.

Play helps to reduce stress.
Improve brain function.

Stimulate the mind...

Well, you know...in my case the lack of mind?

I could take up learning how to bake or be more domestic. 

But for now? 
I'm going to take those opportunities to play.

So I can still keep my sense of wonder...

Can I keep him?

Squatch's hut he built had been mostly demolished by the recent winds and rain. The dried grass insultation was gone and the inside was rather wet and windy. Time to search some more for a better place? Perhaps one that wasn't on the ridge. Or he could use the stick hut for a sleeping in on a hot summer night.

In the valley he admired the tree roots. What a nice cool shady spot.

The Root Caves were pretty neat, but they seemed to be occupied by chipmunks and mice. They made for annoying and noisy neighbors.

Squatch stopped to ponder the forest and admire the scenery when something odd happened.

A dog! 

They looked each other over and Squatch shrugged, the dog looked friendly enough. Maybe he was looking for a place too. 

Squatch turned and headed back towards the stick house thinking things over. 

Spring Surprises

Symplocarpus foetidus

aka Skunk Cabbage!

I had never heard of Skunk Cabbage until I moved to this area. I'm sure they can be found in forests near damp places around the state. Now I search for them every year to see how early the present themselves.

The earliest I've found them has been March 18th. The latest I found them just coming up was around April 15th.

The Common Powderhorn Lichen seemed revived with the moisture from the rain and melting snow.

Everything is mostly brownish and muddy right now so the lichen and moss are the colorful items in the woods.

I just love the name of this. Snakeskin Liverwort. It looks like dragon skin but grows mixed in with mosses. It is hard to spot too.

And then there was another surprise in my mailbox. I opened the box and found a mass of bubble wrap and I thought that as pretty funny. Perhaps someone thought I needed more for a suit of armor.

I unwrapped the bubble wrap and found a small figure that came with a card describing it.

Into the Woods
with BIG FOOT

Keep calm, stay wild
and squatch on.
Get lost in the woods
and have some fun!

Enjoy your journey,
one step at a time.
Believe in yourself,
everything will be fine.

I have a new pal to journey with. I showed it to hubby who just shook his head and laughed when I explained it.

Then I told him I was going 'Squatching'. 

I think that is a perfect made up word for what I love to do, explore the forest.