In The Garden

In the spirit of continuing to be more creative every day, I attached the macro lens to my camera yesterday and headed out into the backyard.

The backyard at our old place had two of the most magnificent fruit trees that I've ever seen, and it was a joy to take photos of them as the seasons were reflected in their physical change. But the rest of the yard did pale in comparison, just being a pad of grass with a clothesline dotted off to the side like a rather skeletal mushroom.

Now, in our new place, the backyard is a puzzle of green. When we first moved in, the very last part of the yard was filled with old dead branches a neighbor had cheerfully cut off her trees and chucked over the side of the fence (Noice one!). Luckily for us the Green Waste collection was not far off. The slope above the retaining wall was a sea of bright green weeds, which were eventually raked out by The Mister and myself some weeks later.

But the flowers. They were everywhere. And we had a herb garden. And there was just so much potential!

Our pet rabbit Jojo was unequivocally a fan. After fretting that he might not move well, he had adapted within a week. (It took him a little longer to get used to the hardwood floors inside, having always been a carpet-raised bunny.) 

So. Yesterday I tried to capture some of the beauty of the garden on a small scale. As is usual when I use the macro lens, some photos I thought beautifully in focus turned out to be blurry and just off once uploaded to the computer. But some have come out well. 

I can't wait for spring...to start planting....

Lapin

Where There's Coffee....

 

 

Another day... And by gum, I actually woke up this morning feeling like I did in fact want to write a blog post. And maybe take a few photos. And do something creative. 

So the first thing I did is get up and make a coffee, and let my rabbit Jojo out to play in the backyard.

This sort of enthusiasm for me feels quite unusual. And so my first - and probably counter intuitive - instinct is to sit down somewhere quiet to think about it until it goes away. Over thinking I'm sure is the bane of my existence, and what has eventually short-circuited almost all my large scale creative endeavours. 

But as I'm sitting here I'm actually starting to get more ideas, not less, and that's really unusual. Possibly my brain is seeking to find arty and crafty outlets to churn over rather than the other things in my life that are keeping me up at night - balancing the books, divining my career path (which to be honest is more of a suggestion of an overgrown mountain track at this point), figuring out how to claw back the savings we spent moving to our lovely new home.

I'm not sure what circuit in my brain is taking me from looking over bills to making pompoms...but right now I'm sort of glad that it is. Because it's making me happier. I know deep down the bills will always get paid - somehow they always do. (I'm not the type to default, I feel too guilty!) And I realize that's what great about arts and crafts is that they deposit your mind firmly in the 'now'. Making is always a 'now' moment. 

So outside on our back patio, with Jojo hopping blissfully out amongst the clover, I brought up the 'Paper' app on my iPad and started to sketch. I know that the quote goes 'Where there's tea, there's hope' - but in my experience I drink tea when I'm already pretty calm, maybe sitting down for a chat with family. It's coffee I drink when I need to get going and get energized. That's when I need my hope. 

Lapin