Music and Nature

I have created a music video that pairs my photos with some of my current favorite piano music.  I have been playing classical piano since age 6.

Music:

• John Field – Nocturne No. 5 in B flat major
• (Smetana) Song / Chanson Op.2 No.2. This song is the second of six movements/sections from Album Leaves op.2 by Bedřich Smetana

I am addicted to the Smetana piece.

The photos are from various places I’ve lived/visited over the past few years:  Washington state, Utah, Colorado and New Mexico.

I hope you enjoy.  I will be doing another one shortly.

 

 

 

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“The earth laughs in flowers.”
― Ralph Waldo Emerson

 

The Colorado Lilypad!

It’s been a while since I have posted.  I’ve been busy.

First the home.  It’s a place of peace and warmth.  Thus far I have filled it with all the things I love: my music, my art, and warm natural woods and sounds.

As I type this I’m watching two yellow-tailed hawks circle outside my window.  Thus far I’ve seen cougar tracks, dozens of deer, a whole flock of turkey, rabbits, foxes, and a bazillion birds who have taken up residence because I feed them.  There is no sound here but the chirping sounds of birds and the wind in the trees.

I am going to be doing all sorts of land and garden improvements to the home.   I am turning the pond into a Monet pond, I’m doing a large labyrinth in the front yard, there will be a salsa garden this year, and I’m turning the backyard into a rock garden. I will be sharing with you as I do these.  I take any and all suggestions for ways to do things better so I hope you will follow me and chime in with your expertise as you see fit!

I have fallen into Heaven.

Please take a moment to add me to your Instagram friend list! @Froggey007

The Center of the labyrinth.

View from the front East side. I’m standing near the massive ponderosa.

View from the loft lobby

This may be my favorite room. This sunroom is south facing and faces the pond

Greenhouse filled tothe brim with plants for the salsa garden

Basement bedroom

Dream Catcher dead center in the middle of the home.

Sunset meditations

 

 

 

 

 

Irish Blessing

 

May there always be work for your hands to do,

May your purse always hold a coin or two.

May the sun always shine on your windowpane,

May a rainbow be certain to follow each rain.

May the hand of a friend always be near you,

May God fill your heart with gladness to cheer you.

 

 

The Road Less Traveled

Two roads diverged in a wood and I – I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference. ~Robert Frost

Meditation

When was the last time you spent a quiet moment just doing nothing – just sitting and looking at the sea, or watching the wind blowing the tree limbs, or waves rippling on a pond, a flickering candle or children playing in the park? ~Ralph Marston

Misty Rose

And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom. ~Anais Nin

After the Storm

And after the storm,
I run and run as the rains come
And I look up, I look up,
On my knees and out of luck,
I look up.

Night has always pushed up day
You must know life to see decay
But I won’t rot, I won’t rot
Not this mind and not this heart,
I won’t rot.

And I took you by the hand
And we stood tall,
And remembered our own land,
What we lived for.

But there will come a time, you’ll see, with no more tears.
And love will not break your heart, but dismiss your fears.
Get over your hill and see what you find there,
With grace in your heart and flowers in your hair.

And now I cling to what I knew
I saw exactly what was true
But oh no more.
That’s why I hold,
That’s why I hold with all I have.
That’s why I hold.

I won’t die alone and be left there.

Well I guess I’ll just go home,
Oh God knows where.
Because death is just so full and man so small.
Well I’m scared of what’s behind and what’s before.

And there will come a time, you’ll see, with no more tears.
And love will not break your heart, but dismiss your fears.

Get over your hill and see what you find there,
With grace in your heart and flowers in your hair.

And there will come a time, you’ll see, with no more tears.
And love will not break your heart, but dismiss your fears.
Get over your hill and see what you find there,
With grace in your heart and flowers in your hair. (Mumford & Sons)

Flowing Water

“Water does not resist. Water flows. When you plunge your hand into it, all you feel is a caress. Water is not a solid wall, it will not stop you. But water always goes where it wants to go, and nothing in the end can stand against it. Water is patient. Dripping water wears away a stone. Remember that, my child. Remember you are half water. If you can’t go through an obstacle, go around it. Water does.”

― Margaret Atwood, The Penelopiad

Gilgal Gardens

http://gilgalgarden.org/

What an adventure hidden near downtown SLC!  You have to know what you are looking for to find it.  I have seen lots of photos of the sculptures in this garden but was fascinated by the scriptures, songs, poems, etc etched in stone around the sculptures.  They more completely tell the story of how the sculptures came to be, and the thought processes by Child (the creator) that contributed to his faith/spiritual journey.  It is one eclectic Mormon journey.  It isn’t every block that reveals a Joseph Smith sphinx. I loved the symbolism of stars (aka Masonic symboism).

Child named the garden Gilgal after the Biblical location where Joshua ordered the Israelistes to place twelve stones as a memorial. The name ‘Gilgal’ is sometimes translate to mean ‘circle of standing stones,’ an appropriate appellation for a sculpture garden. Gilgal is also the name of a city and a valley in The Book of Mormon, a sacred scripture in Mormonism.

Because I am a rock lover and a storyteller, I’m including a lot of these stone verses that enhance the meaning behind the actual sculptures.