Month: December 2021

True Friendship; a Gift

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“There is nothing on this earth more to be prized than true friendship.”

Thomas Aquinas

There are those friends who only are around when things are good. I refer to them as fair weather friends. Then there are those who are there to share in our windfalls and when that is gone so are they.

Then there are those that are there during the rough times to help you through. I refer to them as the roughneck friends.

A true friend is one that accepts you for who you are even if you have a difference of opinions on some things. It’s hard to find two people who agree with each other 100% of the time. That shouldn’t have an affect on a friendship. True friends inspire one another. They help you find the light at the end of the tunnel when you thought all was lost. They are the ones on the other end of the phone at 3 a.m. who you called just because you needed to talk to someone. They instill confidence within us. They are good listeners and they are there to support us. They overlook our failures and share in our successes. They rekindle our inner spirit. True friendship is the greatest gift of life.

Photography; an Art

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St Francis River near Fredericktown, MO

“Photography is a way of feeling, of touching, of loving. What you have caught on film is captured forever…It remembers little things, long after you have forgotten everything.”

Aaron Siskind

I remember the first time I saw Ansel Adams work. I was mesmerized by it. I couldn’t get it out of my mind. How could black and white pictures look so amazing? That’s when the photography bug bit me.

In today’s high-tech world, anyone can point and shoot. Novices use photography to record memories. Photography is an art from and a form of nonverbal communication. Good photographers are artists who tell a story through their photographs.

Historical St Joe Mine in Park Hills, MO.

Photography is more complex than just point and shoot. A good photographer is creative and understands composition and its elements. They are 1) light 2) color 3) contrast and tone, 4) line 5) form 6) pattern 7) balance 8) movement 9) positive and negative space 10) texture 11) camera position 12) focal length 13) shutter speed.

A good photographer has to be able to do more than point and shoot. For instance, lighting and color can completely change the mood of a photograph. Many photos are printed dark and brooding in an effort to impart dramatic or mysterious effects when it is better to match the tonalities and contrast level to match the desired mood rather than to a standard formula.

Historic St Joe Mine in Park Hills, MO.

For those photographers who want to improve their photography skills I highly recommend reading, “The Art of Photography” (A Personal Approach to Artistic Expression) written by Bruce Branbaum. He is an internationally recognized fine art photographer. His photographs are held in public and private collections worldwide and represented by photography galleries in the USA and Europe. He is an ardent environmentalist and in 1974 was awarded the Sierra Club’s Ansel Adams award for photography.

“You don’t take a photograph, you make it.”

Ansel Adams

Let the Healing Begin

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St. Francis River near Frederiktown River

“My scars remind me that I did indeed survive my deepest wounds. That in itself is an accomplishment. And they bring to mind something else, too. They remind me that the damage life has inflicted on me has, in many places, left me stronger and more resilient. What hurt me in the past has actually made me better equipped to face the present.”

Steve Goodier

At the moment, the world is in great need of lots of love and healing. Presently there is so much hate and discontent and it looks as if it is going to get worse before it gets better. Turmoil and confusion are the new norm. People are being controlled through fear, intimidation and misinformation. It has come to the point that one doesn’t know what to believe.

St. Francis River near Fredericktown, MO.

Pray, pray and pray some more. We are told that, “the truth shall set you free!” What is the truth? The whole truth and nothing but the truth. That’s a $64 question.

I don’t know what is in our future. We can’t give up or lose sight of what we believe in or our dreams. We have to be kind to each other even if we disagree with each other. Healing won’t start until we learn to love one another. I pray that we learn from all of this so that we will be stronger in the future.

St. Francis River near Fredericktown, MO

I chose the pictures I used because of the peace and solace it gives me. It is my safe place and my place for healing. The rocks represent me, and the river is life. Every day the rocks (me) get pounded by the river (life) and the rocks persevere. The river just takes the rough edges off the rocks.

The Dark Side of Christmas

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My Precious Kate

I love the Christmas Holidays but unfortunately there is a dark side to Christmas.

Soon the shelters and rescues will begin filling up with older dogs that were surrendered by heartless owners. The only thing they are guilty of is growing old.

Dogs that have been with the same family for 10 to 15 years find themselves in a strange place surrounded by strangers. They are scared and soon become depressed. Yes, dogs can suffer from depression. They have feelings too. When are they coming back to get me? What did I do to deserve this?

I just can’t understand how people can be so heartless and cold to an animal that gave them nothing but unconditional love.

Kate as a puppy.

Then a month or two after Christmas the shelters and rescues begin filling up with Christmas puppies. Owners who didn’t really research puppy ownership have decided it is too much work.

I beg of you, if you are thinking about getting someone a puppy for Christmas, stop and think. First are you going to consider this new puppy part of the family? Second can you make the commitment to give this new pup a forever home? If the answer is not sure or no then walk away from it. They deserve a forever home.

My Eros as a pup.
My Eros all grown up.

I unfortunately lost them 28 days apart to cancer.

As Christmas approaches I beg of you to not be heartless and surrender your old dog to a shelter or rescue. If you are thinking of buying one for a present STOP and ask yourself if you can be fully committed to accepting the pup as a family member and giving it the forever home it deserves. If you have any doubt at all then PLEASE walk away.

Remi
Remi

There is an interesting story about Remi. I bought a house and the people who owned the house left Remi and a neighbor took the job of caring for her.

On the day I closed on the property I went to the house and was greeted by Remi. Teeth bared she wasn’t going to let me in the house. At one point she had me by the pants leg. I managed to make it back to the truck without getting bit. She was just protecting her house from a stranger. No one told her it wasn’t her house anymore.

The next day I came back and the neighbor met me and properly introduced Remi and I. Now we are the best of friends and she lives between both houses. She really has the best of both worlds.