Sprung

I picked our "first fruits" from the garden this evening for dinner, a bit of arugula and Rocky Top Salad Mix. The trees are in full bloom and so are my tulips. I think Spring has sprung.

Refreshing

Project 52 "Refreshing"

Whisps

Project 52 "Weather"

Beauty

Project 52 Week 17 "Beauty is..."

I read this quote on one of my favorite blog sites Artifact Uprising a few weeks back and it has stuck with me.
“Keep close to Nature’s heart…and break clear away, once in awhile, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean.” // John Muir

My first job right out of college was at a camp as an Outdoor Education Instructor. Our team earned the nick name "Nature Nerds" by the rest of the camp staff. At the time I loathed this title. I had spent my teenage years battling my "nerd" social status and I wanted nothing to do with the endearing title. I wasn't much into classifying bugs or tracking animals in my free time like my fellow "nerds" but I did love being outdoors, especially in the spring. One of my favorite classes to teach was called "Wild Edibles", the class was more of a ramble through the woods than anything else. I usually managed to find some edibles along the way but mostly I remember those spring walks when the first buds of crocus flowers were just beginning to peek through the snow and the Sugar Maples were flowing with sweet sap. 

In recent years my love for the outdoors has been overshadowed by the everyday duties of young motherhood. At the end of the day there was little to no time left to give to my own personal health. Now that they are a bit older and now that I've come to place more importance on my mental well being I am making more of a concerted effort to get back to nature. I am healthier when I can escape for a few hours into the solitude of the beach or forest and wash my spirit clean. I would rather spend an afternoon on the water than almost any other place. The beauty of the natural world feeds my very soul.
I took a few hours one night this week and headed out to Holland State Park to hike Mt. Pisgah. With a tea in one hand from Lemonjello's and my camera in the other I enjoyed views of Lake Macatawa, the "Big Red" lighthouse and of course the sun setting over Lake Michigan.

Poetry

Train track turned race track.

Over the last few months I keep going back to this post where I shared my goals for the year. It's helpful to remind myself of the direction I want to go. I have also been seeking out photography blogs that inspire me to be authentic in my art. When I find a photographer who's work is creative, real, and poetic it can lead to feelings of discouragement and a lack of my own creative ability, but ultimately their work draws me back again and again. The greatness of others art whispers to me that I was created to be creative. It urges me to keep going, keep practicing and to keep creating. Here are a few photography blogs that have spoken to me this year.
You Are My Wild
Our Creative Truth
Sarah Robertson