Somewhere Over the .....

Rainbow.

"Somewhere Over the Rainbow" © Paula Scott Molokai Girl Studio

Did you say 'rainbow' after you read the title? 

In the movie, "The Wizard of Oz", Dorothy sings this enchanting song. It speaks about the need and the yearning for being able to go to a place, "where there isn't any trouble". We all want to be there at that kind of place just like Dorothy. Sometimes we really need it more than others-life does have a way of throwing a lot of curveballs our way. And, although we really can't go 'somewhere over the rainbow', we have to find a way to go inward to find a place within us that grounds and centers us. You are all familiar (not necessarily from experience) with hypnotherapy and relaxation techniques where you are asked to think about a place that you've been to (or create one) that is calming. Such as a beach, a quiet, babbling stream, the pine trees in the mountains, etc. For me, I have a couple of places I go to and they are both on Moloka'i. These are places that are tightly woven into the fabric of my childhood, so it is a natural thing. I hope your 'places' are as nice too.

So, as you go about your day to day activities  I do hope that you can readily access that place, 'where there is no trouble' and feel yourself getting grounded, centered, and more peaceful.

The image here is certainly a rainbow of a different kind-created by a prism hanging in my window, creating this colorful spectrum at the foot pedals of my piano. Which, apparently, were in dire need of being dusted when I took this, but light waits for no one, so the picture gets taken in a less than 'perfect' state. Which is what life is.

Wherever you are tomorrow, if you are a dad or you have the opportunity to be spending time with your dad, I wish you a very Happy Father's Day!



Every week, a group of us from around the world post our shadow shots over at Shadow Shot Sunday 2. Entertain your muse and be amused by stopping by to see what others have posted!

Hello Hollyhocks, Hello (almost) Summer!

Dreamy Hollyhocks

Yes, I was 'AWOL' last week. Didn't plan on it, but a dear, dear friend who just turned 95 years old ended up at the McKinley Hospital (in Gallup, which is near the nursing home he is in) and my husband and I drove the 3 hours out and 4 hours back (traffic coming back) to see him. I will post more on that later, when the time is right. So, I did miss posting my contribution and I did miss visiting my Shadow Shot buddies.

This week's offering is in homage to the hollyhocks that are in bloom in some of the yards nearby.  Mine bloom later on in the summer for some reason. Maybe it has to do with the variety that it is? The ones that grow in my garden are called, Black Hollyhocks. Roses are like that too. Some bloom only once in early June (one of my favorites is Cecil Brunner), others bloom repeatedly throughout the warm season.

The above image is not one that I took-it is from the Face Book Community page called 'Different Solutions'. I can never figure out who the attributions belong to on their postings, so I've no way of giving proper attributes for this super cool summer image. But, it was too good for me to pass up.

What are you up to this wekend?

Every week, a group of us from around the world post our shadow shots over at Shadow Shot Sunday 2. Entertain your muse and be amused by stopping by to see what others have posted!

We Remember and We Celebrate Our Heroes

I find that there aren't enough words of gratitude that I can convey to all those who have served our country so that we are able to enjoy the freedom that we do. It seems like such a steep price-which is why I am at lost for words. All I can say is,

THANK YOU...

(about the image: back in late April, the local iris Society planted a row of iris' in our Veteran's Park as a thank you and tribute to our Vets. They only expected one of the plants to bloom but in fact, two had. This is one of the two that had bloomed and the name of this Iris is, "Call to Cadence".)

Basking Lizard

Have you ever watched a lizard in the early morning warming up in the sun? In Hawaii, we have these lizards that are called, skinks. When they warm up in the morning sun, they do push ups. I swear, they do! It's quite hysterical to watch. We don't have those skinks here in our yard in New Mexico and I've never seen the ones here do that push up move. They just, well, bask.

This one looks like he's trying to do push ups too. Either that, or croon into that 'microphone'! Which is really one of those things you put on your hose to regulate the water flow. No matter, it was fun to catch him in the act!

What ever it is that you do on this holiday weekend (Memorial Day), I hope you have fun and I hope you have sun! I'll be posting a tribute to our vets on Sunday, so be sure to tune in for that one too.

And, a follow up to last week's solarabra-moving it to a sunnier spot did not help. I believe I have 6 solar lights that are duds. And, I can't return them since I've taken them apart and glued them to something! Good thing they were inexpensive. I guess I'll have to step it up a notch and get better ones and hope they work. I'm looking for that magic.

Every week, a group of us from around the world post our shadow shots over at Shadow Shot Sunday 2. Entertain your muse and be amused by stopping by to see what others have posted!

A Solarabra (or, a candelabra of a different kind)

"What's a solarabra?", you ask.

Well...it's much like a candelabra  but instead of candles, I've used solar lights. Glued them onto this candelabra with liquid nails.

Although, I am still waiting for that magical light at night from a day's solar collection-it hasn't happened yet, and so I was thinking that perhaps I have it in a spot in my yard that doesn't allow it to collect enough light. So, I moved it and, of course, was rewarded with this lovely shadow! Now, I still don't have that night time magical light, but will try to move it yet again to another spot to get even more sun to see if it works before I rule out that I have 6 lights that are 'duds'.

I may not have solar lights at night with this, but I do have solar shadows that work! It just means that I need to go back and do more experimenting, doesn't it? I hope you try this out and let me know if you have success. I certainly can be rewarded vicariously with that.


Every week, a group of us from around the world post our shadow shots over at Shadow Shot Sunday 2. Entertain your muse and be amused by stopping by to see what others have posted!



You can view all of my 2012 Shadow Shot Sunday images on my Flickr account. Click here to view them.