“All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.

From the ashes a fire shall be woken,
A light from the shadows shall spring;
Renewed shall be blade that was broken,
The crownless again shall be king.” 
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

Trees. I love trees.  I always have. Not just because they are beautiful in nature but because they tell stories.  I love stories; stories that make you think and reflect.  Trees with exposed roots, with grand leafy spreads; even the bare and diseased trees that no longer flower tell us something. There are a lot of trees where we live. I think we take them for granted....like we do anything that is in great supply.  

My 'littlest' loves to jump up and grab at the leaves of a big tree in our backyard.  She's 4. When she was 2, I would watch her reach up on tip-toe trying to reach those leaves. Much to the tree's dismay (or maybe it likes the attention), she can now take a running leap and reach the leaves. When all the leaves fall in Autumn we really miss it's grand presence.  It's a big tree and when it's bare, a gaping hole in the landscape is all that remains until Spring.

This tree has lots of exposed roots, that spread out all around the tree for several feet. Of course, I know trees have roots; I just never realized how far they wandered out.  I guess these roots are a lot like our own roots.  They spread out in all sorts of directions....some roots we understand, we know where they go and where they come from. Understanding where we are from helps us to know which direction we should go and which directions we should avoid. Sometimes, our roots leave us "stumped" (pardon the pun); we don't know what to do or where to go. So we lay down roots of our own and we hope the roots we plant will help guide generations to come.

The images and thoughts were inspired by a photographer that I really admire.  Like me, she's a storyteller and a documenter of life. Her words and images resonate with my soul.  She recently published a blog post that led me to capture my images. After I wrote my words, I read hers and realized that even our words share a common thread.  Please click here to see her blog. 

Thank you for stopping by!

Welcome to 30 Minutes in my Life!!!

This month I recorded 30 minutes of our time sheep shearing while visiting Granny in Ireland.  My brother-in-law and his sons take on this process.  This August, my husband and kids helped out as well. It's not easy. It is sweat and blood type of work; on the part of the humans and the sheep.  The sheep are a skittish type animal to begin with, then try and capture one in a small pen packed with other sheep...quite a feat.

The sheep are dosed (medicine to keep them healthy), shorn, their tag is recorded in a book, the wool is packed in bags.  Lambs aren't shorn, I have one included in here (he's the cute fella marked with a capital "D" for Dwyer).  This helps other farmers recognize the sheep when they roam away from their herd.  The other sheep will be marked once their wool starts to grow back.

So we head down to the shed .... 

Just outside the sheep shearing has begun...

The capture...

The Dose...

Sheep #772

Recording who's been shorn...noting the yellow tag on each sheep's ear.​

Shed Shenanigans... 

Farm knees...

D for Dwyer...

"One for my master and one for my dame and one for the little boy that lives down the lane..."

This concludes 30 minutes in my life this August! Please head on over to my neighbor, Amanda Voelker Photography, to see how she spent 30 Minutes in her month! Knock here.

It’s one thing to make a picture of what a person looks like, it’s another thing to make a portrait of who they are.” – Paul Caponigro

Welcome to the Daily Frame!  Here's my week in reverse!! Thank you for stopping by!

The Daily Frame | 182 of 365:

"To see a world in a grain of sand,
and a heaven in a wild flower,
hold infinity in the palm of your hand
and eternity in an hour."

The Daily Frame | 181 of 365:

I had nothing for this day...then I looked at this one...it looks like the sun is shining up at her from the sand.....

The Daily Frame | 180 of 365: 

“Even though you may want to move forward in your life, you may have one foot on the brakes. In order to be free, we must learn how to let go. Release the hurt. Release the fear. Refuse to entertain your old pain. The energy it takes to hang onto the past is holding you back from a new life. What is it you would let go of today?” ~Mary Manin Morrissey

*you will notice this is the same outfit she wore yesterday...she also slept in it...picking my battles...

The Daily Frame | 179 of 365:
“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

The Daily Frame | 178 of 365:

"Other than a dimple in a cute little chin,
What’s more adorable than a toothless grin?"
~Azu "Betty" Espezia

The Daily Frame | 177 of 365:
"Every tooth in a man’s head is more valuable than a diamond." ~Miguel de Cervantes, Don Quixote, 1605

Upon losing his first top tooth today while on a merry go round at a country fair....the second one came out tonite.....I bet you can't guess what tomorrows photo will be!

 

The Daily Frame | 176 of 365:

Isn't there a quote that goes something like, "When a woman changes her hair style, watch out for big changes!" ?

Well, she starts pre-school in September so that warrants a new hair do....

 

Please click through to my neighbor, Deanna Sackett of Daisy Baby Photography, to see how she spent her week!! Knock here.