"Blessed are the curious, for they shall have adventures." - L. Drachman

Morning light highlights all the tiny filaments so often missed.

When I was a girl out hunting arrowheads with my family in the high plains of Wyoming I was taught to 
look down because that's where all treasures would be found.

Even now I can't help but look down as I go on daily walks with my trusty dog, Molly.  Together we explore the familiar trails we love and often head "off-trail" for the thrill that comes with new discoveries.

With camera in hand we try to stay open to the possibilities.  Sometimes it is a grand adventure. Other times it's a game to look more closely at what is common and waiting to be discovered--if I just take the time to look.

"Always be on the lookout for the presence of wonder." - E. B. White

Raindrops glisten on a freshly fallen leaf.

I seem to be always intrigued by the leaves and feathers I encounter during my walks.  

These are just ordinary leaves and feathers, shared freely by trees and birds, blown into place by a gust of wind or a passing bicycle.  Sometimes it's the color of the leaf itself. Sometimes the way it's snagged in its location that catches my attention.

If it makes me look twice then I dutifully bring my camera to my eye, knowing I'll study it more closely when I get home and download the day's images to my computer.

Often what I see enlarged on my screen is so breathtaking that I cannot imagine ignoring it.  I could have missed this if I hadn't paused to look more closely, I find myself saying more than once.


So, today I'd like to share just a few of those images with you in the hopes that despite whatever deadline you're facing or moment's pressure, it will remind you that even the ordinary can be beautiful.

"The world is full of magic things, patiently waiting for our senses to grow sharper." 
                                          - William Butler Yeats  

An early autumn leaf falls on a stone.

Sunshine illuminates a small feather in the grass.

River algae ensnares both fly and feather.  

  
















The Cache la Poudre River is low right now and Molly and I have had several grand adventures wading to new rock bars now emerged. 

Because the current is slower in many places, abundant algae adds a new and colorful dimension. 

Poudre River spray glistens like diamonds around a feather.

A heart of light surrounds a yellow leaf.

Last Sunday while lost in my creative shooting of leaves and feathers I was amused by Mother Nature's wry sense of humor.

I spotted an interesting "feather" because of the interplay of light and shadow, but as I looked closely I had to laugh that I was fooled!  It was not a feather but rather a scrap of paper. 

A Feather-Wanna-Be?  I laughed.

Hello "Feather Wanna-Be!"

And, then Mother Nature zapped me again!  Oh, this was TOO FUNNY, I thought.  Of course I knelt to take a photo and when I stood up, a guy across the street who was taking a break from weed-whacking called out to me. (I had no idea he was even there! I can imagine his curiosity seeing this woman walking her dog stop and stoop down in the middle of the street with her camera.)

"What are you taking a picture of," he asked, clearly befuddled.  From where he was resting there was nothing in the street worthy of being photographed.

"Well," I said, still amused at what I had just photographed, "You see, I'm an artist." (This is like a Get-Out-Of-Jail-Free-Card when it comes to explaining irrational behavior.) "I've been taking photos of leaves all morning and this is a joke from Mother Nature."

"What is it?," he asked, really curious now.

"Oh," I replied beginning to laugh harder, "It's a faux leaf."  

"The artist is a receptacle for emotions that come from all over the place; from the sky, from the earth, from a scrap of paper, from a passing shape, from a spider's web." - Pablo Picasso