Being open . . .

"It is a narrow mind which cannot look at a subject from various points of view."

- George Eliot, Middlemarch

Opening....open....opened.

This is our prompt for Photo Art Friday, any form of the word open. And to be honest, I thought of a lot of ways I could interpret the prompt this month.

I thought of things that could be open like doors, windows, or gates. I thought about how rooms open up to other rooms, open outdoor spaces like a patio, or even a wide open space like the beach. I entertained the idea of something that was cracked open, or left wide open . . . even something that might be a real eye-opener.

But there were so many choices that I couldn't decide, so I just started going through some old folders keeping my eyes open to new ideas. 

And this is what I found. This photo of three separate roses all in different stages of "open," that I had taken last April. And there it was sitting on my hard drive, unedited, waiting. I suppose something else had caught my eye and I never looked back.

So this is my interpretation of being open. Open to life, opportunities and most importantly to being open minded. Because really, open means not closed. It means being accessible and relatively free of obstruction.

And you know, isn't the act of having an open mind what keeps our work fresh? Isn't that what gives us new eyes every time we explore with our camera? 

So why would we be any different with people, with each other. We pick up books and going on only a small paragraph on what the book is about we read them anyway. Sometimes it's even necessary to read between the lines, what's not written, to fully understand the story. And it isn't until we reach the end of the book that we make the conclusion of whether or not we liked it or if it even resonated. And whether we liked the book or not is really beside the point isn't it. Because I believe we are better off, always, for having read the book, for stretching our mind.

Many, many times I have run into a brick wall a closed mind. I have a feeling you probably have too and it's not a fun place to be. But whether or not the story is liked, yours, mine or theirs, isn't nearly as important as the message we all get when we retain an open mind.

That message simply says, I see you.

Love, Kim

sharing with Little Things Thursday, Thursday Favorite Things, Photo Art Friday

                   Friday Finds, Friday Photo Journal

Photo-heart Connection, November

{KK happy heart}

I have approached this month's photo-heart connection a little differently

and decided to put my thoughts into a poem.  

 Dragonfly Tears

I am part of an intricate

tapestry of life

and if only you would look

you would see it written on my wings

I am not like another

we are each made to be unique

but you can find beauty in the mystery

you need only listen closely for my sound

I soar above

a connection between earth and water

until all movement ceases

when tangled in your many strings

I am here

why can't you see me

I too was made in the face of our creator

and now the time has come; I'm leaving the battleground

©Kim Stevens

Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving . . . I'm hoping that today I can start my

Christmas decorating . . . all those boxes of decorations are screaming  calling  my name. They have been sitting there since before Thanksgiving. 

Love, Kim

Sharing with Texture Tuesday, Sweet Shot Tuesday, Nature Notes

Texture Twist, Photo-Heart Connection Kat Eye Studio

Wishing you . . .

"Thanksgiving day comes, by statute, once a year; 

to the honest man it comes as frequently as the heart of gratitude will allow."

- Edward Sandford Martin

Wishing you, from my family to yours, a very wonderful Thanksgiving day,

and gratitude that grows beyond one meal. I will be taking the rest of the week off

to enjoy my family and will see you next week. Enjoy my friends!

But, before we part....remember my foggy morning last week?

I'm sharing a short but important lesson I learned when the fog spoke to me.

Join me over at Focusing on life today to hear what it said...click here.

Blessings,

Love, Kim

sharing with Texture Tuesday, Tuesdays Around the World, Sweet Shot Tuesday

Five feet from my front door . . .

. . . there is a magical place.

It may not be a national treasure, but it's my treasure none the less.

 And I am so grateful for it.

"Nature is man's teacher. She unfolds her treasures

to his search, unseals his eye, illumes his mind,

and purifies his heart; an influence breathes from

all the sights and sounds of her existence."

- Alfred Billings Street

Sometimes it's hard to get anything done . . . because of the five feet out my front door.

When it comes to critters I seem to have an eagle eye, and you know when I was younger, I could

see caterpillars crawling across the road . . . while I was driving. Yep, that was hazardous. 

We did some tidying of the garden about a week ago and then a few days later I went out to tidy up

all the mess on the sidewalk. But, the only thing I ended up accomplishing was with my camera. This little guy

hopped across my path and started it all. Believe it or not this toad is only about an inch. Do you have any idea how hard it is to pose a toad in a small puddle and ask it not to move? And he was already feeling so defeated by our photo session that I decided I would keep to myself the fact that his nose looked like that of a cat.

I have had lots of spider webs lately too, or more like spider condos, one built on top of another and another. This web was only about 3 inches wide and the spider couldn't have been more than 1/4". Yep, I had to get within an inch of my life to get this. Did I mention it was a little windy...whew!

Oh, and these jumping spiders . . . are just the most curious spiders ever, seriously. When ever I'm outside

sitting on the front porch there they are, they just show up and always end up checking out my books, my coffee, AND, they seem to love my camera! This one, was no exception. It was so hard to get this because he/she/it kept getting closer and closer and would raise up it's front legs like they do before they jump and I would have to back off. But, at one point it was just a little quicker than I was. Yep, through my lens I watched it jump out of my frame and towards me. They usually just end up on my lens, but I couldn't find this one. He either missed entirely or ended up in my hair? All I know is that they have the cutest eyes with so much personality. You can beg to differ, that's okay I still like you! ;)

It was a total critter smorgasbord. I found this little green tree frog just chillin' between two stacked pots. I think he was enjoying the 90 % humidity that day, me not so much!

This is the ever elusive Tersa Sphinx Moth that comes out at dusk. You know, when there just isn't any viable light to take a photo. I had to bump my ISO into oblivion just to get this one. I'm still waiting on those three pupa to make an appearance into the world.

UPDATE: Right before I went upstairs to post this, I checked on those pupa like I do everyday, AND

guess what? One pupa is empty. I found it hanging on the stripped milkweed plant in the Monarch enclosure!! Whoo Hoo

And, I'm still seeing butterflies in the garden. Thank goodness for purple lantana as it has a very long growing season here. This is a Gulf Fritilary and a little hard to capture as they are always flittering. Have had some Long Tailed Skippers too but they have been hard to get as well. Still seeing a few Monarchs, and have one more chrysalis. I'm hoping it will hold out until my in-laws get here this weekend so that they can watch it emerge. Two more (the last ones) from that batch I found in my back yard are now j-hanging.

Hope you all have a great weekend. I will be getting ready for my in-laws who will be joining us for Thanksgiving. In fact this will be the first time any family has joined us at our home for turkey day. I don't dare go anywhere with my camera in the next two days, too much to do, so little time.

Until next time...

Love, Kim

sharing with Little Things Thursday, Thursdays Favorite Things, Friday Photo Journal

Friday Finds, Photo Story Friday