Life.

…A wonderful gift we were all given though we never asked for it ourselves…

How many times have you heard it…’Enjoy your life and live it fully…you only go around once.’

I’ve said this myself many times.

Believing that life is meant to be lived to its full capacity, I think never a moment should be wasted. Days and nights ought to be filled with activities enjoyed and people whose company is appreciated. Regularly partaking of these pleasures is something that should hold a priority and significance for all of us.

For some, however, the interpretation of living life ‘fully’ can be lost or misconstrued. With the desire to have and do it all, the focus is fixated on living it ‘up’ rather than living ‘well’.

Translated by throwing caution to the wind, eating and drinking is indulged without concern while exercise is viewed as hobby instead of necessity… a pastime..’fit in’, if at all, whenever convenient. Less desirable habits are adapted acknowledged with empty vows to ‘quit’ them forthcoming.

Although we subconsciously know better than our actions indicate, we are convinced that anything less of this way of living ….is living life deprived.

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I’m sitting here at my computer trying to focus and write a post but mentally unable to do so.

If you could see me, I’m happily sipping a glass of wine and gaily browsing the internet…visiting blogs I enjoy to read ..some known and familiar, …and some new and unexplored.

Finding contentment and pleasure in this luxury of reading, I ‘m enjoying the minds and musings of others while my own remains blank and unoccupied. I’m absorbing every detail of every written word and pondering every thought-provoking statement.

I enjoy reading blogs of all types of nature…similar… or different to my own. Contemplating and examining others opinions and experiences of life opens all kinds of doors and viewpoints into worlds that might otherwise remain unexplored.

I marvel at the inspirations, photography, humor, sensitivity, passions, loves and kinships they have to offer, and come away each and every time feeling satisfied and accomplished in understanding.

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“…You Wake Up, and Time Has Slipped Away…”

Photographs…

…Our only visual link to the past.

Whether our own or even somebody else’s, it’s always nostalgic and delightful to flip through photos,.. identifying people, enjoying scenery or reliving memories from days gone by. Recording life as it happens, time is stopped… frozen forever for another day …to be reopened and enjoyed again.

With todays technology the photographer is provided with instant gratification. With the ability to re-shoot a scene immediately if the first is deemed poor, not a moment of potential treasured memory is lost. Having two hobbyist photographers in my family I am continually delighted as special events are immediately captured.

Rummaging through my albums I smile at the recollections my own photos stir as sleeping memories are awakened. Sometimes every detail can be vibrantly recalled,.. the scent of the air, the conversations taking place, or the laughter being shared. All events are relived again …pleasantly enjoyed once more.

Being left sentimentally satisfied after reviewing the pictorial documentation of my life, it is the photos of ‘old’ where my passions lie..serving as bridges to times unknown.

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… Will You Follow?..

We took the dogs for their first hike of the season today.

Loving to hike as much as we do, the dogs seem to inherently know when we are about to embark on such an afternoon and eagerly anticipate the invitation to accompany us. Willing to take turns and don a backpack of their own, the Collies are always at the ready …anxiously awaiting to begin an adventure.

Today I decided that I would take Zack, my little Lhasa Apso, along as well and see how he would do.

Zack, a very bossy little dog to the Collies, (read more about him Here), seems to become slightly nervous upon leaving the house. Even a simple walk around the block will sometimes cause unease…his little tail displaying this emotion as it lengthens and drags behind him instead of happily curling over his back. Wanting to include him anyway, I insisted he come along.

As we set out toward our destination, I watched with amusement as the three dogs anxiously tolerated the car ride. Collie ‘noses’ were seen protruding out both sides of the car’s rear windows …somehow processing every scent in the air. Zack sat on my lap.. happy but cautious to our destination, .. the excitement to launch mounting with every passing minute.

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In celebration of Patrick’s Birthday, we headed for little family getaway to Rhode Island.

This being our second trip to Newport, it is fast becoming a favorite weekend vacation spot of ours. Wanting to visit a few of the “Mansions” of Bellevue Avenue, past residences of various members of the Vanderbilt Family, I was again left awestruck..just as I was the first time I was there.

These summer ‘cottages’ of the Gilded Age are overelaborate and ostentatious, yet grand and spectacular to behold…remaining beautiful and unique unto themselves throughout each passing decade.

My favorite ‘cottages’, as they are termed because they were built as summer homes to be used for a mere unbelievable six to eight weeks out of the year, are ‘Marble House’ and the ‘Breakers’, the residences of William K. Vanderbilt and Cornelius Vanderbilt.

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Most of us try hard to make ourselves readily available to anyone requiring assistance.

Never hesitating to lend a hand, whether it be to offer a ride, run an errand, care for a pet, or babysit a child, we all like to help… making life easier for those at a particular ‘time of need’.

Offering our services, we seldom give it a second thought. Perhaps not realizing fully what we may have gotten into, we can sometimes extend ourselves beyond our limits… burning the candle at both ends. Although intentions are good, we end up in over our heads…biting off more than we can chew.

With the growing awareness that a steady promise of dependability can be wearying. …we continually repeat the behavior.

Giving careful consideration to our ‘division’ of self, we contemplate the simultaneous execution of these good-natured offers with the on-going demands of life. Inundated upon reviewing our temporarily altered schedule, we fear something will be left untended. We persevere, nonetheless, attempting to successfully fulfill our commitments.

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It’s here.

…It’s officially here…A new season is finally upon us.

Spring. Warmer weather, adventurous hikes, and yes, …even bugs.

Today PD and I ventured out on our first hike of the season. With rain predicted in the forecast, we crossed our fingers that it would either hold off or clear up early. Fortunately, for us, it didn’t have to do either. With the sun shining brightly and the temperature perfect for hiking, we set out to enjoy the day.

We wanted to explore a trail on the AT up to Race Brook Falls. The incline, though a little steeper than most, was just challenging enough. It didn’t take long before a sweat was broken…

As we climbed, conversation became unnecessary. Making our way over tree roots, rocks, and streams, attention to footing was needed but absentmindedly given…as the beauty of the surroundings absorbed our minds. With every laborious breath and with every step taken, there came with it an exhilaration…a pleasure in simply existing.

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For the last day or two, there’s been a feeling of melancholia which had washed over me. I tried everything I could think of to shake it, but not even a decadent piece of chocolate, or a relished glass of wine, or a telephone call to ‘mom’ could lift this dark cloud. Though this feeling does not descend on me often, …thankfully… I still hate succumbing to its presence.

Reflecting as to why I felt this way, I’ve come to realize that this seems to be a recurrence every spring. Realizing that with the promise of a new summer season at hand, one which I thoroughly enjoy and take full advantage of , there also comes with it an additional work load to be undertaken ahead of time. Overwhelmed when reviewing the ‘jobs’ which lay before me, I am frozen in action..unable to muster any ambition to tackle these daunting chores.

Because of an early snowfall, the leaves were never raked and are still on the ground.. since October. Despising this job (in either season) more than any other, I swear silently under my breath as I vow, again, to remove the tree. If the Maple in the front yard isn’t bad enough, there is yet another out back, even bigger than the first. ‘Brainstorm’ that I am, I decided one year to put in a garden pond. Where you ask? Why under this tree, of course! (…Yes, you’re right…you guessed exactly where my head was..)

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Would we listen to what they had to say??

Being a Pencil Artist, my inspiration to draw comes directly from the Wildlife of the World. I find every creature to be beautiful and inspiring to me in their own unique way.

When I choose an animal as my subject, there is a connection that slowly develops …an intimate bonding and understanding of each creature as my mind works my pencils to desperately try to capture its essence. As I educate myself to the behaviors and characteristics of this animal, I develop an affinity with it. I come to understand it’s nature and identify with it’s characteristics, values, and the instinctive laws it adheres to for it’s well being and survival.

I have found that much in the Animal World is similar to ours…lending lessons and advice to life as we know it.

So journey with me now, into a world that I love, …a world coexisting with our own… similar yet different. It teaches and enlightens without intention. It is harsh and brutal yet balanced and serene …sound without interference…

..Welcome to the World of Wildlife…

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As spring is finally approaching here on the east coast, people are beginning to discuss and make ready for their upcoming summer plans.

Although still chilly for most to begin enjoying the activities that the warmer months bring, for some, the weather has no bearing.

Recently befriending a young man at the Fitness Center where I work, he informed me on Monday that he was preparing to leave on a ‘hike’, today in fact, on the Appalachian Trail, …one that would take him away for two months. Only planning to go as far as Tennessee, …this time, as he’s done the entire trail once before, he expects to be back by the end of May.

Never contemplating an adventure like this myself, I am extremely interested in the details of such a journey…and inspired by the people that choose to attempt it.

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