Finding Extra (in the) Ordinary :: Silhouettes

I took the first photo during a sunset sometime in the spring.  It's of a little bird nest in a tree in our front yard.  I didn't even mean to do a silhouette photo, but I love happy accidents!

This was taken recently on one of our days at the park.  Jax and Kaili were playing at the top of a hill, with the playground in the background.  The rope pyramid thing you see is only the tippy top of it.  At one point, there were so many kids swarming this thing, it made me so nervous watching them.. it's  high up and so unsteady because it's all made of rope (except the pole in the center).  Crazy how perspectives change as you get older.  If I was 10, I'd be trying to swan dive off the top with no second thought to safety.  Now that I think of it though, the rope is in some ways much safer than the steel and splintered wood jungle gyms we played on as kids, where the bottoms were lined with sand, gravel, or concrete.  And I did flips off of those and I'm ok, I think.  Anyway, what was I talking about?...  ;)

After the playground, we went for a walk along a trail and I noticed a single little bird perched on this Tim Burton-esque looking tree in the middle of a field.  The branches looked like a hand desperately reaching for the sun.  I had to capture the image somehow and I don't think I did it justice at all.  I think I need a better lens, not to mention some photography lessons.

So how have your summer ventures been so far?

Finding Extra (in the) Ordinary :: Day 1

After finding a spark of inspiration, I decided to go forward with my personal photography challenge -- capturing something extraordinary in my otherwise ordinary day.  I'd like to do this as a photo-a-day, but admittedly it's a bit ambitious.  But what's a challenge without it being challenging, right?  So here are a few from Day 1.  It was unusually warm yesterday so Jax and I were outside playing with the melting snow and ice.  Pretty ordinary, but certainly not through the eyes of a 3-year-old!  He found a sheet of ice in the back of his yellow toy dump truck and we both examined and admired each tiny detail. 

I love how the sunlight played with the cracking surface of the ice... and the gentle gradation of colors shining through is so beautiful to me.  I'm happy I snapped these photos before I (fumble fingers) dropped the ice and shattered it.

We then built a tiny snowman.  One arm was three times longer than the other, but he was a happy little guy.  I say "was" because by the end of the afternoon, all the snow on our deck was gone, and all that was left of our little friend was a tiny pile of twigs.

Here he is with Jax.  :)  So what's the moral of the story?  Enjoy the little things before they're gone.  ;)

Have a beautiful Saturday, everyone!

2010 :: views from my back porch

One thing I have always loved about being in Kansas is the chance to witness some gorgeous skies.  And with our house being on top of a small hill, I feel like I could just touch it sometimes.  I especially love watching the seasons change and seeing a different sky every single day.  All from the comforts of our humble deck--an ordinary place to be, yet full of extraordinary sights.

Through all the undulations between happiness and tears, I hope your year was filled with magic and moments that left your heart in awe.  Here's to the wonderful memories with our loved ones, the experiences that have helped us grow, and a new year brimming with hope and surprises. 

Wishing you the warmest and brightest of Holidays!  See you in the brand new year!