I started out in the grove of trees near my house. I try to look for small things when I take pictures. Often times there is so much grandeur—from the size of the land to the magnficience of the sunsets, to the age of the trees—that I try to focus on something small, framed by the significance of its surroundings. I try to really exploit the contrast in my photos. (Maybe that doesn’t come through, but…)
So here are some pictures of the first part of the safari.
I then moved onto the chicken coop. It’s still cold enough so that there are not many bugs or critters living in there. I need to use that opportunity to clean it out! But that day I just photographed it. I’d really like to paint it and turn it into a potting shed or storage, but there are a hundred other things I can think of to use it for—chickens (how novel!), goats, a playhouse…
I then walked over by the driveway and once again was moved by the hugging trees. I can’t capture the significance on camera, but I tried. These trees are so large and so old.. and so special to me.
Next I walked down by the creek. On my way there, I stopped to take a picture of the “neighborhood.”
I saw a turkey vulture that had returned to the area after the winter, one of many signs that spring is coming!
I was snapping away…
…when I suspected I was being followed! I turned around, and sure enough. Three kittens decided to accompany me. One kitten has been named “Angel” by the kids. At first, I thought it was a stupid name, and was certain that the cat would rebel. However, she has this strange affinity for hanging out on peoples’ shoulders. Like the little angels that tell you to do good things (or devils that tell you to do bad, in some cases!). So Angel it is.
(a photo of my shadow, with the shadow of an Angel on my shoulder)
She was accompanied by Lady Nicole (the cat formerly known as Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington, until it was determined that the SIR should actually be a LADY)…
…and Fraidy, the cat that likes to be around people, but doesn’t like to be close to people. In the cat world, there IS a difference.
The cats and I snaked our way around the creek, jumping over, sitting on the trees, exploring, and seeing what we could see. Eventually, B joined us, and we were really soaking up the great weather.
We came upon the horses, grazing in the pasture. We approached them from the west, a direction that they have rarely (if ever) seen anyone approach. I knew this, so I purposely startled them, and I took some pictures of their obvious distrust, and later distaste, for the change of routine.
When they realized it was just us, they decided to start a fight amongst themselves. I have no idea what caused the disagreement, but it was fun to photograph.
We moved on down the creek to the end of the property. You can see the bridge between the trees, the neighbor’s driveway over the creek.
We wandered around, pausing to look at everything so drastically changed for the winter, wondering what it would look like in just a matter of days. I always thought about the winter as stark and cold, just counting the days until life begins again. But maybe nature is enjoying its nap? Maybe it enjoys it as it comes, not anticipating tomorrow, just relishing today. I saw that in this vine:
A stagnant part of the creek.
Angel and our other safari-mates were still with us.
We saw all kinds of old treasures. Some things were left there on purpose, other things were relics consumed by the earth in years past, only to be pushed up again for us to see today.
We walked back past the horses again, who barely acknowledged us, now that they knew we were no threat.
We saw evidence that Terre d’Esprit did not belong to only us…
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