Thursday's Inspiration: Spring

There is something about naturalized narcissus that just speaks to me.  I think maybe it is the combination of elegance and comfort -- such a graceful, elegant flower growing in the midst of the shaggy spring grass...  like a beautiful woman in torn jeans and a t-shirt.  Does that make sense?

As many of you know, spring is my favorite season.  I love all the signs of new life bursting from the cold and brown winter earth.  From the early snowdrops through the golden forsythia, spring is a parade of natural wonders and a feast for tired winter eyes.  :)

Next week's word prompt is breakfast.  I will be away for the following two weeks.  I come back by May 30th, so let's do country then.  OK?  Looking forward to seeing all your inspiration!  :)

My Wednesday

It's been a fairly quiet Wednesday here so far.  I spent the morning editing photos of this sweet family.  I paid some bills, and made salad for lunch.  Exciting, right?  I've been listening to this beautiful song.  My friend, Joy St. Claire, created the CD cover art.  Isn't it lovely?  I need to do some laundry, and I have a photo session scheduled later in the afternoon.

That's about as exciting as it gets here.  :)

I'd love to see you tomorrow for Thursday's Inspiration.  The word prompt is spring.  I know it's fall for those of you down under, but spring has several meanings, right?  My post will be up by 2:00 pm New York time.  See you then!

Mosaic Monday: Early Spring

I took these photos a few weeks ago, at the Leonard J. Buck Gardens in Far Hills, NJ.  The gardens are about two or three miles from my house, and I love going there especially in the spring to see all the woodland beauties.  I think my favorites this spring are the tiny fiddlehead ferns unfolding -- so soft and delicate!  The yellow marsh marigolds have to be a close second.  I love the way they carpet the marshy garden in spring.  Finally, I have always loved the bright green new leaves of the skunk cabbage -- not a pretty name, but a beautiful plant.  Do you see the star magnolia?  It smelled divine!  :)

Here are the instructions to join today's post:
1. Publish your Mosaic Monday post. The post may be about any subject you wish. The only stipulation is that it include a collage, or mosaic of photos.
2. Once it is published, click on the title of the post. This will lead you to the static link for your post. The static link is the page with only that post on it. Copy the url from your browser at the top of the page.
3. Paste the url into the appropriate inlinkz box in this post.
4. Type your name in the appropriate inlinkz box in this post.
5. Click on "Enter."
6. Please link back to this Mosaic Monday post so that your readers can find other wonderful mosaics.

That's all there is to it! It's always a good idea to then check and see if your link is working. If you have any questions, feel free to email me: mrcarroll(at)optonline.net

And a quick reminder: if you would like to join Mosaic Monday but don't know quite where to start, there is a tutorial on mosaic-making on my sidebar. Just scroll down, and click on the small blue mosaic.

Thursday's Inspiration: Tree

Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under trees on a summer's day, listening to the murmur of the water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is by no means a waste of time.  ~J. Lubbock

And this, our life, exempt from public haunt, finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks, sermons in stones, and good in everything.  ~William Shakespeare

I find myself grasping for words today, so I must let others speak for me.  I ♥ trees.  :)

Now, for the next few weeks, let's see...
May 2:  spring
May 9:  breakfast
I will be out of town from May 13th through May 23rd, so no posts for those weeks, except if someone else wants to take over?

Just a Few Thoughts

It's a beautiful spring day here in New Jersey, and I was able to find some pink ranunculus yesterday.  I took a few photos, but I've got more plans for these beauties tomorrow.

I often listen to cable news as I work at my desk during the day, editing photos or doing the dozens of other tasks that come with a photography business.  This afternoon, I listened as Vice President Joe Biden spoke at the memorial service for slain MIT officer, Sean Collier.  He was 26 years old -- the same age as my son.  By the time James Taylor was singing "Shower the People" along with the MIT acapella choir, tears were streaming down my face.  How often do we take the people in our lives for granted?

Well, that's my little menopause moment for the day.  I really only posted here to invite you all to join me tomorrow for Thursday's Inspiration.  The word prompt is trees.  The post will be up by 2:00pm.   I'm in the process of loading Photoshop and all my photoshop actions onto a new computer.  Wish me luck!

Mosaic Monday: My Etsy Shop

Oh, I had such big plans for Mosaic Monday this week.  I was going to begin sharing some of my spring garden photos with you.  I had streams bordered with a sea of yellow marsh marigolds.  I had a still-furled fiddlehead fern.  I had new skunk cabbage, with it's bright green crinkles.

I had a laptop with almost no space left on it.  When I tried to make a mosaic, my startup disc was full.  :(

So instead, here is a marketing card for my etsy shop, which just happened to have a mosaic already on it.  Small miracle.  In case you're wondering, the template for this mosaic is from Design Aglow's Pinnable Modern Mood Boards.

I will be investigating my computing options this week.  Wish me luck.  ;)

Here are the instructions to join today's post:
1. Publish your Mosaic Monday post. The post may be about any subject you wish. The only stipulation is that it include a collage, or mosaic of photos.
2. Once it is published, click on the title of the post. This will lead you to the static link for your post. The static link is the page with only that post on it. Copy the url from your browser at the top of the page.
3. Paste the url into the appropriate inlinkz box in this post.
4. Type your name in the appropriate inlinkz box in this post.
5. Click on "Enter."
6. Please link back to this Mosaic Monday post so that your readers can find other wonderful mosaics.

That's all there is to it! It's always a good idea to then check and see if your link is working. If you have any questions, feel free to email me: mrcarroll(at)optonline.net

And a quick reminder: if you would like to join Mosaic Monday but don't know quite where to start, there is a tutorial on mosaic-making on my sidebar. Just scroll down, and click on the small blue mosaic.

Thursday's Inspiration: Blue

Thankfully, we had some blue skies earlier in the week!  This was shot at the Leonard J. Buck Gardens, near my home.  More to come for Mosaic Monday.  Gotta go -- I'm in triple red alert.  Trying to get my very messy house straightened and cleaned for a luncheon tomorrow...  Aaaarrrgh!  :)

Next week's prompt:  tree