Spirits of glass, butterflies and ghosts

Sunlight through our upper windows illuminates glass

Another day of being alive in the North Woods.  Another day of sunlight and shadows.  Another day of learning and growing and seeing things in different ways. 

Aren’t we lucky to have new chances to view things differently?  To exchange our lens of perception and perhaps focus in on something new?  Or perhaps simply see something old in a fresh way?

Our deck and woods illuminated through the bottom and stem of a wine glass. Yep.

These photos were taken during the weekend.  First photo:  a green glass which sits on a shelf with other cocktail glasses.  (None of which has ever been used for cocktails.) One is red, another green, another blue, another silver.  I always equated them to some of the colors of our chakras.  (Go figure!)    Don’t you love the way the sun shines in on the green glass? 

Green, as some of you may know, is the color of the heart chakra and deep healing.  It is also the color of spring.  The color of nature’s forest giving birth to itself. 

Breathe deep the green.  Feel yourself coming to life again, down beneath the frozen white of your bones.  Remember the romance of spring.  Breathe deep…

Then there is the wine glass photo.  Odd angle, yes?  I occasionally enjoy a glass of Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc.  Apparently during those times I feel a strange desire to grab the camera and capture some convoluted angle through the prism of glass.  Cool shot this time, don’t you think?

Fallen Butterfly on Road-Walk

Now come the dead butterfly photos.  (Oh, and I have dead bird photos coming up for maybe tomorrow or the next day, as well. Prepare yourselves.)  These fallen beauties were spotted on a 1 1/2 mile hike on the road. 

You know how there are so many different kinds of walks?  There are woods walks and road walks and lake walks.  There are fast walks–let’s get those hearts pumping and calories melting!–and then there are slow walks–let’s see how much attention we can pay to everything.  There are photography walks and meditation walks and lost-in-our-head walks.

On Sunday afternoon I opted for a medium-fast road walk.  To better avoid the forest infestation of wood ticks.  To exercise.  To feel the benefits of movement.  You know.  A civilized exercise-y kind of walk.

Barry was, fortunately, going off in one direction in the car.  I hopped aboard.  He let me off 1 1/2 miles from home and I eagerly set off at a good pace.

Until the butterflies appeared.  Leaned down to capture their colors and lines.  Murmured over their butterfly-spirits.  Imagined them flying in butterfly-heavens.

Second fallen butterfly comrade

Along the road, I spotted Her.  A woman in a window, in a tiny cabin next to the road.  What…?  Who the heck was she?  There were no cars nearby…  Was it a ghost?

Look closely. Do you see the Lady in the Window?

Upon closer surveillance, it appeared to be a cut-out of a woman in the window.  I’ll bet she’s caught the attention of many travelers…

P.S.  On another note altogether, guess what happened today?  My yoga teacher decided to teach me the next level of yoga next week!  I think I’ve graduated to Intermediate Yoga, can you believe it?  OK, maybe advanced beginner!