A couple weeks ago I got to go visit with my roommate's horses, Caper (below) and Tequila (above). They're sweet and they love their owner to death.
I've also been going home a lot lately, taking advantage of being close to home and getting some free delicious meals. And of course, I always love hanging out with Pepper. She looks uncharacteristically wise in this picture.
This post is kind of random. Maybe over Thanksgiving break I'll find time to take some better pictures.
Sunlight shining through fall leaves feels like a special gift from God to me.
I was visiting the mountains with my parents last weekend. I needed a break from the sterile, cold indoors of the anatomy lab and the lecture hall. I needed sunlight like a hawk needs to soar.
I told my parents that I was going to spend Saturday night sleeping in the backyard in the tent. They laughed at me and didn't believe me, because it gets cold at night and I'm not one to make myself unnecessarily uncomfortable. But I managed to make it through the night, mainly because my sleeping bag is fantastic and I got nice and toasty by my campfire. Didn't get a great night's rest, but I was too stubborn to come inside and it was nice listening to the wind in the trees and the owls. 
I woke up early to bake brownies, make coffee and take pictures. This is the view from our porch.
We drove to Brasstown Bald, the tallest mountain in Georgia, and hiked the last half mile to the observation deck.
Time spent in nature makes me feel whole again, when all seems tired and old and broken.
My parents needed a break, too I think.
Bear Hollow has a nice selection of native wildlife, but the animals weren't really into photo-ops today. This bald eagle was the exception. It must have very limited flight capabilities because its enclosure was open at the top and you could look down into it.
A few days ago my aunt Carolyn passed away. Since I’ve been playing with the idea of starting a blog for a while now, it seems an appropriate time. In one of the last coherent conversations I had with her, Aunt Carol gave me this advice: write down everything important in your life that you want to remember later. I think she said it for herself as much as for me. A minute later, I found myself telling her who I was again and what my relationship to her was.
But I don’t really want to talk about Aunt Carol’s degenerative disease and the suffering that it brought to her and our family. I just want to share what a creative, special person she was. Carolyn was an artist – not as an occupation, but as a lifelong passion. I wish I could share with you some of her prize-winning photographs and beautiful nature paintings – but unfortunately I can’t right now. I’ll try to put some up later, but she did not live in a digital camera era and I am living halfway across the country from where the originals are located. All I can say is her creativity has inspired me to begin exploring nature photography, and to document my life through photography and writing in blog form.
I’m also thankful for the closeness of my family – the way we all came together to share Carolyn’s last years, to take care of her and keep her involved and feeling loved. Go, family.
