ThisJourney

The Angel and the Hummingbird

Sun, 03 Jan 2010 16:52 -0800

Seaside Church Gate

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 23:05 -0800

If you look, with your eyes, your heart and your soul, He is always there.

Rossglass Catholic Church - Our Lady Star of the Sea (Built sometime before 1745)
The gates of the chapel on the shores of Dundrum Bay in Northern Ireland with the Mourne Mountains almost visible across the bay.

Santiam River Autumn

Sun, 18 Oct 2009 09:52 -0800

When you know something special is there and you are in too much of a hurry to slow down, stop and experience it. You may be missing something amazing and beautiful. Slow down, shift your focus away from whatever earth shattering mission you are on and look around. No matter if it is on the street in front of your home, your house of worship or on a beautiful river ablaze in fall colors. If you look with your eyes and your heart you will find something special. Do this enough and one day you will discover that one most important thing.

This photo was taken on a hurried dash one fall afternoon to help with family in a distant town. I was in a hurry to get there and get things taken care of. Driving through the mountains and along the river, the vibrant fall colors and beautiful light finally broke through my single minded thoughts and I began to appreciate the blessing of the view. I finally stopped along the river and took the time to slow down and enjoy the view and the smell, the sound of the water. The remainder of the drive that day and weekend was much more pleasant.

Questions?

Mon, 12 Oct 2009 21:31 -0800

Never quit asking them.

A interesting cucumber from my garden with a tomato.

(Now Just why did it grow that way???)

Swedish Lake

Mon, 28 Sep 2009 19:29 -0800

The opportunity to explore

Explore another country

Explore without constraint

Explore without time limits

Explore without well meaning hosts

Explore without a plan

Take the time to explore, It is truly worth the time and effort.

A lake in Sweden, not sure where, doesn't matter it was a beautiful warm day. It was one of many pretty
lakes in that region of Sweden. Taken on a rare opportunity to explore Sweden unfettered.

Moon Rise

Thu, 10 Sep 2009 22:07 -0800

Traveling home after a long weekend in the valley, I stopped at Detroit dam to take a break. On the dam, several fishermen sat silently waiting for that last bite of the day. "Doin' any good?" "Nope, just a couple of little ones." Standing there gazing out over the lake, listening to the water lap at the face of the dam, a sense of peace and gratitude came over me. Thinking of all of the blessings that were given, even the ones that didn't seem like blessings at the time. A yellow/orange glow moved across the water from the east and in a few minutes a huge full moon was casting it's warm glow upon the lake.
Another blessing along This Journey.

Tong li China

Wed, 09 Sep 2009 20:38 -0800

Sometimes when you are hosted by wonderful people in another country, they believe you want to see all of the tourist sights.
There are occasional rewards when this happens. Tong Li, advertised as "The Venice of China", is a two hour bus ride from Shanghai. The trip begins in downtown Shanghai with typical views of urban Shanghai and soon turns to rural farmlands, canals, fish ponds and ... quite strangely ... a giant landlocked aircraft carrier. Tong Li is the definition of a tourist trap, we arrived early enough to beat the masses but they soon caught up. The city can be enchanting if you look past the tourist facade. Boats reminiscent of gondolas guided by haggard old men and fresh faced young girls glide past silently with all manner of cargo, live chickens, gravel, rubbish, hogs, and the occasional early bird tourist. Little back alleys with locals selling fish, dried shrimp, fruits and vegetables and all manner of unrecognizable consumables. In the end, it truly was worthwhile being a tourist that day.

Power

Tue, 08 Sep 2009 20:55 -0800

Sometimes you think you are trying for one thing and for some reason you just can't bring it together.

Look at it differently, you may find something amazing and beautiful.

Last 4th of July I planned to take some photos of the local fireworks and didn't make into town in time. Out on my back deck, I started watching them at a distance. I put on a long lens and tried to take some photos but they just came out all shaky and blurry. About to give up. I looked a little closer and they seemed to have interesting colors and patterns to them. Finding that if I moved the camera on purpose I could create some interesting shots.
This is just one that I took that night, a few more are at
http://thisjourney.net/Fire Works

Remembrance

Tue, 13 Jan 2009 21:27 -0800

The most painful state of being is remembering the future, especially one which you know will never come.
Søren Kierkegaard

Hillsborough Fort

Sun, 11 Jan 2009 21:42 -0800

Hillsborough, County Down, Northern Ireland
Set in the beautiful Hillsborough Forest Park and built on the site of the old Magennes stronghold, the Fort was founded in 1630 by Peter Hill and completed around 1650 by Colonel Arthur Hill. The Fort consists of a square enclosed by an earthen rampart with outer stone facing. This stone facing rises above the rampart level to form a parapet wall. It was constituted a Royal Fort by Charles II. William of Orange spent several nights at the Fort on his way South to the Boyne in 1690.