2014-3-17 Dan

 

What is it about water that makes so many people comfortable?  I did not grow-up near the ocean, so why am I so compelled whenever I am near big water to actually go see it?  If I see the water I invariably want to go touch it.  Have it flow over my feet and have my toes sink into the wet sand.  I know that I am not alone in these feelings.  They seem to be a collective memory, something infused in many peoples beings. 

When I was out for this sunrise on my last morning in St. Augustine, during a much-needed break from the hard winter, I shared the experience of the sunrise with a number of people.  We all came out to the beach at about the same time, for the same purpose.  Sometimes it feels that life can be very complicated and confusing.  I need to remember that I am the one making it more or less this way.  I never want to lose sight of the truly important things and people in our lives; with what we all instinctively know as moments to be cherished.

2014-3-8 Dan

2014-3-8 Dan

 I have heard the idea of living in the moment for many years.  I understand the concept.    But to understand a concept and to implement one are two different things.  I have lived the vast majority of my adult life coveting the goal just over the horizon.  The famous line is “if I can just…”, or “once I get ….”.  The reality is if I realize the goal, or I don’t, it doesn’t change who I am.

I was walking on the beach when out of the corner of my eye I saw this guy running into the surf.  At first he just plopped down and sat in the water while the waves flowed over him.  Then he found a stick and was exhilarated with the find.  The photo you see is where he is playfully running back to his owner.

It is okay to have goals in my life, but I need to remember to enjoy my life while I am pursuing my goals. The gift of dogs is how they are tied to the moment-to-moment existence.  I need to learn to enjoy the sticks I find along the path of my life.

2014-2-18 Dan

 

Every evening at he end of my workday I have to choose a way to drive home.  There are two routes, highway or back roads.  This winter has often made that choice difficult and dangerous.  I left work and found a strong, steady wind coming out of the east.  This means the snow falling was coming off of Lake Erie or lake effect snow.  The highway scares me because of the many trucks and SUVs that think they are immune to the weather conditions. The back roads are fraught with its own challenges but I decided to take this route and trust my own driving skill. On my trek home I found the road surface at times were completely covered and no tracks to follow because the wind had obscured the tire ruts.  Sometimes the blowing snow would reduce to total visibility to the end of my car's hood.  My twenty minute relaxing commute becomes an hour and half stress induced quest for home.

I have heard the term “white knuckle driving” in the past and not really give it much thought.  This year I have come to fully appreciate the saying.  Lets hope last night was my final experience for the year.

2014-2-13 Dan

I woke this morning and looked at he weather channel, as is my ritual this winter.  There was an alert warning of freezing fog in the area.  “Freezing fog”?  You have got to be kidding me. Our winter is becoming creative with the new onslaught on the population of Southeastern Michigan.

This is what “freezing fog” leaves behind once the sun burns off the morning mist. 

2014-2-12 Dan

 

February has always seemed to be the hardest month of the year for me.  Although it has the shortest numbers of days, in many ways it feels like the longest month of the year.  Often one leaves for work in the dark only to return home in the dark.  And when you do have the rare opportunity see daylight, it is defused through the grey haze of winter clouds. This year is not exception.

The picture I am posting is one of the rare sunny days we have had this winter.  Usually in winter the trade off to see the sun is much colder temperatures. The temperature at the time I took this photograph was -12 degrees, with a wind chill in the -20s.  I will gladly trade a few days of warmth for some vitamin D from the sun this time of year.

2014-1-31 Dan

 

Three years ago we dipped our toes into the world of blogging.  The results were much greater than Robin and myself expected.  The original objective was to post and write everyday.  It was not always easy but we both grew tremendously from the experience.  So fast forward three years and Robin and myself find ourselves living a 1000 miles apart but wanting the connect again seeing the everyday world through a viewfinder.  Our perspectives are from different regions of the country but the goal is the same.  Our plan is to post once or twice a week.  The question is can lightning be caught in a bottle for a second time?

During the oppressive weather this January in Michigan, my painful commutes to work exposed me to the unique wind blown snowdrifts on the roadsides. Wind is the energy behind waves on water, I find it interesting that the energy of wind and snow is so similar to the energy of wind and water.