Images for the those who create, write, post, and design. Products for exceptional tastes!
Garlic – it is grown and appreciated around the world. It is used in most cuisines, it has proven health benefits, and it keeps vampires away.
#garlic #culinary #culinaryphotography #cuisine #foodie #foodieofinstagram #cooking #savory #herbs #chef #foodphotography #thistleblossom #etsy #etsyshop #zazzle #italianfood #chinesefood #greatwithsteak #startwithgarlic
Oh man, this anonymous quote is convicting – at least for me. I know I have created many mountain ranges of doubt during my life. How about you? Oh, what obstacles we can create for ourselves! Are you ready for moving mountains?
As I venture out in sharing my images and my thoughts, I have had so many doubts. What if no one likes them, what if no one sees them, what if, what if, what if. Then one day it hit me. I am posting and sharing because I like my work. This is a challenge for me – to improve, to be more thoughtful, to be more observant. What a feeling – it is freeing. Once I put things in perspective, the baggage of doubt was lifted.
So, what changed for me? I prayed. I asked God to guide me in my photography. He started moving the mountains that I had erected. The obstacles I have now, are not of my making – they are challenges to help me grow – creating websites, figuring out if selling my work is an option. My path is less cluttered, but the end is still up the mountain. But now I know I can continue the climb.
A little about the photo. These are the Sawtooth Mountains of Idaho. When I lived in Boise many years ago, driving to these mountains was my get-away, my escape, my time for rejuvenation. The air is so clean and crisp here. If you listen and are quiet, you can hear the river, the birds, and the wind in the trees. I hope heaven looks a little like the Sawtooths.
#sawtooth mountains, #sawtooths, #Idaho, #mountains, #Idahorecreation, #movingmountains, #photography, #startingabusiness, #outdoorrecreation, #findingfaith, #doubtsmakemountains, #photographer, #photography, #thistleblossom, #etsy, #etsystores, #zazzle, #zazzlestaores
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How far away is this mesa….really? Do we really know how far away it is? Can we eventually reach it?
When I took this photo in the Utah West Desert, I couldn’t help but travel back in my mind to the time I was driving on Interstate 70 and crossed over from Kansas into Colorado. I think I was a little disappointed that we were not automatically in the mountains – we still had quite a journey to get there. I could see the mountains in the distance…but I could not say for sure when we would get there.
If you look beyond the mesa in this photo, you will see snowcapped mountains in the distance. These are intriguing! But, I need to reign myself in and focus on my immediate goal.. to actually stop this side of the mesa…there are wonders you cannot see in the distance that are perhaps hidden from those with loftier goals.
So, what’s my point? Do not forget that you must conquer and succeed at intermediate goals before you jump into conquering the bigger goals. The intermediate goals help you pace yourself, identify resources that may be necessary and helps you plan.
I am all about having big, huge plans! But I am grounded in that I know that the intermediate goals must be met before you jump towards the big one.
Thank you for joining me on my journey,
Charlotte
One of my all-time favorite places on earth – Grand Tetons National Park. For those of you who don’t know, it is just below Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming.
One of the reasons I like it so much, is that it is not nearly as crowded as its neighbor to the north. Go in the off-season. I was there in early fall 2 years ago with my husband and son. The memories of visiting here over 30 years ago swept over me, as time has been kind to the park. The National Park Service deserves more credit than they seem to ever receive.
It was very quiet, but a storm is coming in. The wind is picking up and the temperature is dropping. It is becoming obvious that our time here will be shortened.
When I need to escape and have a few moments to myself – whether in the hectic workplace, or now, when Zoom meetings can get a little tedious, I retreat back to the Grand Tetons in my memories. How can one not get wrapped into the glory of God’s creations and remember, that nothing, nothing is bigger than Him.
You can thrive where you are planted. You can flourish, you can grow, you can adapt and you can beat the odds. You can overcome.
The Utah West Desert is beautiful in the springtime, but can be harsh and brutal in the summer and winter. Temperatures can oppressively hot or bone-chilling cold. Yet, season after season, you see signs of survival. You have to look. You have to be focused. You cannot overlook what you normally might – the little things, the things that genuinely blend into the environment, the things you might take for granted.
Perhaps this can be one lesson from this last year.
#utahswestdesert #lonely #thrive #flourishing #overcome #survival #faith #success #succeed #desert #juniper #thistleblossom
Learning to dance in the rain…making lemonade out of lemons… there are lessons to be learned. As I contemplate 2020, a year we will never forget, I am thankful, actually, for the experience I had during the year. For my career, it was the hardest year I have ever worked. But, I was forced to get creative, forced to look beyond boundaries that we sometimes establish ourselves, and I was forced to roll with things outside of my control.
Personally, this was a year I grew in my passions, my faith, and my commitments. The year 2020 taught me to dance in the rain.
#danceintherain, #grandtetons, #tetons, #lemonstolemonade, #covid, #selfdiscipline, #thankful, #faith, #commitments, #creativity, #hobbies, #passions
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Traveling the Scottish Highlands on the Applecross pass: I told some friends after my husband and I visited Scotland, that I think Heaven must look like the pass to Applecross in the Highlands. And we only had the privilege to see it because we asked an innkeeper in Stirling what he recommended we see. So we went venturing into the Highlands
Mark and I had a tentative itinerary for our trip, but it offered flexibility. This excursion was not on our radar, but you know the saying about the road less traveled. So we did it. We had the chance and may never again.
We had been in all kinds of weather, and this morning it was pretty damp and foggy along the Loch. I did not mind the weather – that is what the UK is known for, correct? As we worked out way north, the landscape became more rugged. Water flowed in streams from the hillsides. Pockets of fog settled in near the very few trees along the way.
We started our assent into the Applecross Pass. It is popular with bicyclists – it test their stamina as it ascends over 2,000 feet. We gently passed by a few of them, and I am still in awe of their tenacity to attempt this ride. It is a winding, one lane, narrow road. You cannot help but take it slow – but it does force you to look around and you can’t help but admire the view.
As we came to the top of the pass, the vista was breathtaking! The clouds had parted and the sun was shining. The water of the multitudes of lochs was the bluest I have ever seen in my life! The hillside were covered in heather, and you felt as if you could see forever.
Then we came across my Highland Cow. This may be one of the highlights of our entire trip. There it was, just grazing, appearing to not have a care in the world. I am not sure how close to the edge it was, but there was a loch below. The sun was at such a perfect angle to have it glisten on that ginger hair. It made it look so soft.
There were other Highland cows around and an untold number of sheep. It was such a beautiful location – my heart and mind wander there often. Up on top of the pass, I felt myself stop and quietly awe at the wonderment. I was almost brought to tears on the beauty, on how lucky we were to be there, and that we are unsure if we will ever be back.
I have always loved adventure. Let me encourage anyone who reads this to do something different – take a new way home, go down that unpaved road, do not always go where everyone else does – pave your own path.
Traveling the Scottish Highlands on the Applecross pass https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/applecross-pass
The bison is a come-back story. Close to extinction, we somehow got the wake-up call to save this amazing animal. I can go to Yellowstone National Park and see the bison flourishing. I can stand transfixed upon a being so majestic, so powerful, so amazing.
I believe the world today needs a starting place. If we are to strive towards a greater understanding of each other, we need a place to begin. That has become very hazy this last year.
Let’s take a sunset. I am confident all of us have experienced a sunset that has taken our breath away. Imagine if we could all stop and acknowledge that the beauty of a sunset is something shared by all mankind, globally, without regard to who, where, when…
We can have a place to come together. And we can start with acknowledging a Creator who gave us the beauty of the sunset. We will then have a place to start. We must. It is time.
Don’t you know someone like this? When I sorted through all of my grandmother’s old photos, I would find some that I could not trace to anyone. They were friends of my grandmother’s…lost as to who there are.
But, they are great photos of a time-gone-by. Vintage, retro images are a hoot…especially when we can add a modern day twist to them. I mean absolutely no disrespect…let’s enjoy these images with a little tongue-in-cheek humor!
Meet Kenzy. This morning some new friends and I were talking about dogs, and it was amazing that the three of us each had adopted rescue Border Collie mixes. Rescue is my favorite breed.
I often describe Kenzy as my diva dog. She is oh so smart. But when she gets upset or bothered, she goes and hides in her bedroom. Haven’t we all done that?
Another thing I love about her is her tenacity. When she wants you to play ball with her, she will drop the ball at your feet and just stare at it. She will simply sit down and stare at it as if it was going to do something astonishing. Minutes will go by and she just continues staring.
Why am I talking about Kenzy? First of all, I love the pic I took of her. Second, working on the website today caused me to want to hide in my bedroom. But I promised myself I would stick with it, even while doing new things on my computer. I have shown tenacity today.
This is a work in progress. If you like what you see, please share and throw some likes my way.
Have a great evening!
Water – we are always drawn to water. Quiet rivers, thunderous waves, glass-like lakes and tumbling streams.
What do you do when you find hundreds of old photos of people you do not know? Instead of throwing them away, I decided to have some fun.
Why not be a little cheeky and take a peer into the yesteryears!
Let me know what you think!
My wonderful husband has always wanted to be a chef. So, in his interim retirement, he became a certified chef! He is mighty humble, but I think he is the best! I have loads of photos of his creations…if you want the recipe, we may be able to provide it!
This is his Hummingbird Cake. Oh my, sooooooooo good!
I will be adding daily posts…sometimes encouragement, sometimes just nice photos. I appreciate any likes you toss my way.
I realized that thistles are everywhere – at least where I have been. They can have absolutely beautiful blossoms but have wicked and nasty stickers. I have taken many, many photos of thistles – with butterflies, bees, hummingbirds…such a beautiful moment. To get to the beautiful flowering part you must encounter at least the wickedness of the stem. Maybe I have equated this with life – there are a lot of trials, but you can get through them to see the beauty. You tell me. For whatever reason, I am enamored with thistles. So there you have it.
One of my latest images. Wild horses still roam in the western deserts of Utah.
