My tree - A photographic journey

So, I have to drive down to Olive Branch a few times a year to service some printers down there and at some point in 2015, I noticed this tree in a field off Riverdale. I stopped and took pictures of it. It spoke to me- in the middle of this suburban mess, there was a small field on a corner that had been saved from another failed convenience store and on it was this majestic oak tree.

This tree was a bright spot in what was more often than not, a bad day. So, I started making it a point to stop by the tree each time I had to go to OB for a service call. I missed a few- sometimes it was raining too hard for me to get a good shot. Once it was supposed to snow, so I was hurrying to get home before the storm hit. But, I've been pretty consistent- I have 8 images that show how the changes of the seasons dress my lovely. What's interesting is how I'm taking the shot from almost the exact same spot each time... I am not sure how I manage that.

I am so enamored by this tree, I actually looked to see if I could buy the land. It's just north of the state line- so in Shelby County. I would buy it just to protect the tree from being torn down and to make it ok for me to go and lay a blanket under her branches without being charged with trespassing.

Here's the journey from the first shot on December 29th, 2015 to the latest on October 24th, 2017.

Woot!! I can post again!

I have finally found the work around that will let me post photos on my blog. I've been very quiet this year and it's not entirely because I haven't had anything to say or share. I have been to some really cool places this year and I've done and seen some neat stuff.
But I've been in a funk mentally. Energy levels are still low- blood work is fine, but I still feel like I did when I had Mono. I haven't been as busy as I was last year, and while I know that's for the best, I feel like I'm slacking. It makes it hard to make new and meaningful work.
I have mostly filled up my moleskine, so I picked up a few new ones (a watercolor one!! A soft cover turquoise one And my normal black hardcover) I'm trying to get back into writing, sketching and making daily. It's harder than it should be, but I'm working on my self talk and my self care and hoping things will return to something close to normal.

I was lamenting the lack of toad visitors this year and was greeted by this handsome treefrog the same night, my large, garden toad momma this morning before work and tonight, when I came home, momma and a small, bright male were hanging out at the door. The universe answers sometimes. :)

How is it almost June?!?!

“I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be.”

~ Douglas Adams, The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul

It's been a very fast paced year. It's been going by so quickly, I'm not sure how I got to be where I am at times. And while I think I might at least be close to where I need to be, I can see a vast stretch between me and where I *want* to be. 

My birthday is quickly approaching and that's always a trying time for me. It's my New Year. I try to incorporate all the things I learned, about myself and others, during the time of turmoil (also known as Spring) and make some plans for the next 12 months of my life. It's a pseudo-tradition I began when I was 19 and I've more or less kept up with it. The plans have gotten more open-ended and much less 'strict' as I've gotten older, and hopefully, wiser. And my priorities have certainly shifted since I was a naive teen feeling like anything in the world was possible with little effort. 

I've been focusing more on my art- learning new skills, and trying to work out my visual vocabulary. It's hard creating a 'signature look'- I think it's something I'm just going to have to keep working at. Keep creating all the work I can create and see what repeats. I know what I want to say... it's just hard to figure out how to say that sometimes without being too overt. Maybe I need to be overt for a while.. see how that goes. lol. 

I'm going to have a change of scenery for the next week or so and I'll have an opportunity to dip my toes in the ocean. I'm hoping it will be the recharge I need to face the coming year. 

And here are pictures of some of the stuff I've been working on :)

the finished pieces from my workshop with Joanna Gollberg! i *love* the techniques i learned!

Always making leaves- these are all from the Memphis Botanic Gardens except the tiny oak at the bottom- that one came from Flagstaff AZ. :)