Passing Over into Spring

I was walking around the yard, 'our' woods, and happened to look down, and over to under, an ancient juniper tree, at something turquoise and quite luminescent, and here it is just as I found it, a perfect robin's egg.

Quite magnificent it was. It seems now, still at the tail end of a long winter, to be a beautiful symbol for spring, renewal, for Passover, and Easter. And bunnies. I have seen one patiently waiting for the grass to come alive again. And for robins. There are so many robins around here this year. I love the color of their breasts. The way they warble-chirp. Their plumpness, their friendliness. Their peppyness. And I love the way the female creates the most luscious and gorgeous-colored eggs.

I still have this one after almost two years. It may have been stolen by a crow, I don't know. But it is tucked away inside a dried coconut shell. Occasionally I take a peek at it, a treasure, a miracle of nature.

Invaders of the Heart

I stopped in last night at the dress rehearsal for Invader's of the Heart, Pomegranate Studio's 2010 showcase featuring the work of some talented belly dancers. Under the direction of Myra Krien (top), who also performs, these dancers are just beautifully clad (mostly) and amazing! The show is at the James A. Little Theatre in Santa Fe. Friday and Saturday, March 19th and 20th at 7:30 pm.

If you would like to see more of my photographs you can click here to be transported to my flickr page. Enjoy!

80 Years Ago Today

You can cut all the flowers but you cannot keep spring from coming.

~Pablo Neruda

On this day in 1930 the news of the discovery of the planet Pluto was telegraphed to the Harvard College Observatory. He has since been demoted—in 2006—but it does not alter his power one little bit.

International Women's Day and The Power of Film

I'm thrilled for Kathryn Bigelow, the first female director to win an Academy Award (for "The Hurt Locker"). She's only one of five female directors in the Academy's 82-year his-story to be nominated. I love what she said last night during her acceptance speech: "I would not be standing here if it wasn't for Mark Boal, who risked his life for the words on the page and wrote such a courageous screenplay that I was fortunate to have an extraordinary cast bring that screenplay to life." One classy lady, especially to give credence and kudos to the screenwriter, which is not often the case. Jane Campion and Sofia Coppola have also been nominated for Best Director. A far cry from the early days of film, where the only role behind the scenes females once played were secretaries to the studio executives. Incidentally, these women edited all the films back then! Who had the power, eh?

I do find it interesting, though, what Tom Hanks said about the last time ten films were nominated in 1942 when "Casablanca" won: America was at war.

Photo of Kathryn Bigelow came from here.

I also loved the genius of "Avatar", and I agree with much of what the writer of this article from TIME has to say regarding why it didn't garner the expected BIG awards.

Actors Sam Worthington, left, and Zoe Saldana as Jake and Neytiri in Avatar

20th Century Fox / WETA / Reuters

The voters of the Academy and what and who they represent are perhaps not able to acknowledge a film like "Avatar" at this time. Nonetheless this film permeated the ethers of the planet, and no doubt beyond. It has left its mark imprinted upon our imaginations, and it has blazed a trail for others with a similar theme of BEAUTY, VISION and COMPASSION. Let us hope so. Film is such a powerful medium for inspiration and understanding, especially in this time of gargantuan global transition.

Synchronicity and Chopin

Happy 200th Birthday, Frederic! 200 and still sounding wonderful.

Frederic Chopin is 200 years old today. It's amazing to learn that he composed my favorite piano concerto when he was only 20 years old. It debuted in Warsaw in March of 1830, shortly before he left for Paris. You can hear the middle part of it here, the Romance or Larghetto. I hope to use this in a film one day. Here he is, the only known photo of him at age 39, just before he died of TB.

This piece was not, however, used in Impromptu, a fine historical romp in a French château which told of his relationship with the famed French writer, George Sand. I did some research on her as well...

I love that a French Baroness in the 19th century would divorce her Baron, wear trousers, then change her name to a man's so she could follow her passion of writing (often sensational romance) novels. My kinda girl.

As for the synchronicity...

I was walking last week, listening to some music, which got me thinking about the wonderful experience I'd had photographing sea horses last year. About how I wanted to re-edit the work and make a finer cut movie of it. I had just learned from my friend that at least one of these creatures had given birth to a whole new batch of sea horses. I saw the image of the one looking at me as I photographed him: a single blue eye staring through the glass.

Then an interesting thing happened. I got home and checked my email and saw a new post from Bird's Eye View. Strange, I hadn't posted anything new... I opened it, and lo and behold it was the one from last July about the sea horses.

I have no control over this at all :) I publish a post, and at a certain time the same evening, the post is forwarded to all my subscribers. Sometimes, for no apparent reason, a post is sent again at a much later date. It is a mystery. And this time, synchronicity.

Even though I cannot quite put it into words at present, I know the sea horse and Chopin are connected. Perhaps it is through the constellation of Pisces. But that is another story...

Extraordinary Beauty

A friend of mine posted this on his Facebook page and I was captivated. Photographed at the largest aquarium in the world, it is utterly sublime. The divers on the floor give you an idea of the scale of these magnificent fish. Enjoy.

Kuroshio Sea - 2nd largest aquarium tank in the world - (song is Please don't go by Barcelona) from Jon Rawlinson on Vimeo.

Aspen buds hold tight for spring...

Magic happens... I was so intently focused on getting the buds in focus I didn't see what was going on with these magnificent icicles... Perhaps I couldn't have seen it until the shutter was actually clicked. Regardless, my lovely and talented painter neighbor saw the photo and wondered how I got those colors. But I didn't, I said. They were just there!

Recently I came across this quote from the late photographer Minor White. It is timeless, and I feel describes beautifully the moment above (at 1/500th of a second), and indeed encapsulates so many of my photographic experiences.

No matter how slow the film,

Spirit always stands still long enough for the photographer It has chosen.

—Minor White

Snow Day for Parlez

What do you do when it's snowing snowing snowing, and all the creatures are buried and there's nothing to hunt? You go into the bathroom and start climbing...

You find a really good spot, high up and warm, and you stay there and keep an eye on things. And scare away the spiders with your shadow.

Pearls Pearls Pearls

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HEARTS°º©©º°HEARTS°º©©º°HEARTS S A L E !!!
Spoil yourself, and/or someone you love.

Hearts,
The Pearl Girl

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Etsy Buy Handmade PearlGirlPearls

Blue Skies

Walk the middle road and you will see

there will always be blue sky behind the clouds

A walk today after a big wet snow.

Listening to Mozart's Clarinet concerto I looked up and saw

a young Red Tailed hawk looking for lunch.

He moved perfectly to the music, slowing above me, hovering on a note;

as if the Adagio was made just for him.

Such majesty.

Happy New Year, New Moment, Blue Moon

If you will stay close to nature, to its simplicity, to the small things hardly

noticeable, these things can unexpectedly become great and immeasurable.

If you will love what seems to be insignificant and will in an unassuming manner,

as a servant, seek to win the confidence of what seems poor, then everything

will become easier, more harmonious, and somehow more conciliatory,

not for your intellect—that will most likely remain behind, astonished—

but for your innermost consciousness, your awakeness,

and your inner knowing." —Rainer Maria Rilke

Full Moon in Blue, Santa Fe, New Mexico. ©Elsa Kendall

Once in a blue moon is here, December 31st 2009. What makes it so special is that it comes not only on New Year's Eve, but is ushering in a brand new decade. To learn more about this phenomenon you can check this link.

Inspired by a meeting I recently had, I've been revisiting a book I've not looked at in a while, the poet Rilke's "Letters to a Young Poet". It is a treasure indeed. There are so many parts worth quoting, but this seems appropriate for now.

How could we be capable of forgetting the old myths

that stand at the threshold of all mankind,

myths of dragons transforming themselves at the last moment into princesses?

Perhaps all dragons in our lives are really princesses just waiting

to see us just once being beautiful and courageous.

Happy New Decade

New Year

New Moment

A limited edition of this print is now available. For information please click here.

Happy Winter Solstice

Look closely to see Parlez's special greeting.

Click here to go to the treasure.

Wishing you all a Blessed Winter Solstice and nature's beginning of a brand New Year!

The Winter Solstice: Astronomically marks the beginning of shortening nights and lengthening days.

Interpretation varies from culture to culture, but most hold a recognition of rebirth.

Birds of a Feather: Amazing Crop Circles

Just browsing through the wondrous etsy.com pages and came across these images of crop circles taken by a chap in the UK. They are both from 2009. This first one looks a lot to me like peacock feathers. I have long been a fan of these amazing feathers, not only for the colors of the exquisite eye, but also of the symbolism that accompanies it.

The second one looks very much to me like an owl, another favorite bird of mine. Both of these were made this year, and the jump from geometry to geometric birds is quite something.

Truly amazing, both!

There are a lot of naer-sayers about the crop circles, but I ask you: who could possibly do this on a tractor in the middle of the night?!

To see more of Steve Alexander's work, you can click here.

Vivaldi: The Painter

Villa Tempietto Barbaro, Maser, Italy. Designed by Andrea Palladio Photo: Stefan Bauer

This morning I've been listening to BBC Radio 3 on line. What a gift. There is a special on Vivaldi this weekend. We all know The Four Seasons, often played a great deal this time of year, but I knew little else about him. I had visited areas where he lived and worked, though, and was fortunate enough to spend time at this amazing villa on a hot summer day, after a lunch with a friend and a lot of chilled Lugana. It didn't detract from the experience at all; the Veronese frescos are still vibrant in my inner eye, and the beauty of the villa (partially still inhabited) is timeless.

If you are interested in spending an hour with Catherine Bott speaking with the wonderful conductor Claudio Scimone (who at 75 says he's much more enthusiastic now than at 25) at his home in Padua, Italy, click here. A lot of illuminations with response to the counter-reformation, universal liberty for all, and how music replaced words that could never be spoken without fear. All interspersed with some wonderful selections from I Solisti Veneti, a group from one of my favorite regions in Italy, that has specialized in showcasing the work of composers from the Veneto for the last 50 years. It will be available for one week.

Vivaldi is a great painter of music. His bright colors remembers the sky of Tiepolo, and his dark colors are the colors of Tintoretto and of Tiziano. Even if these artists were living before Vivaldi, Vivaldi was playing their world. The simplicity of the architecture of Palladio is the simplicity of Vivaldi's shape, and it's also the great weapon for which Vivaldi conquers the whole world.

—Claudio Scimone

If we could use only weapons of beauty and mystery...

Allegory of Wisdom and Strength, c. 1580

Paolo Veronese

Jeanne's 12th Annual Craft Fair Saturday December 5th

To view larger, please click on the image.

You are warmly invited to Jeanne's 12th Annual craft fair at her home on Saturday from 10 am - 5 pm. Louise (wearing the hat) and I will be there with more hand-made items: crochet hats and fingerless gloves, and Pearl Girl jewelry. Lots of great eats and hot chai as well, and other wonders from some gifted artisans.

521 Del Norte Lane, off of Paseo de Peralta, near the main Post Office at Federal Place. Paseo going west, past Scottish Rite Temple, right on Grant, over the little bridge, left on Rosario, first right on Del Norte Lane.

Between the Worlds

~Dusk is neither night or day~

I love this idea... The same can be said for dawn.

Sunset at the ninth hole, Quail Run, Santa Fe, during a wedding celebration.

The flowers on the arch are real, and were just gorgeous.

Wisdom

I was walking past a little area of our shed and saw this. The innate wisdom of the creatures is just stunning to me. How does this friendly spider know how to make such a wonderful web? Most have seven different glands for each type of filament they need to create.

I had my suspicions but just found out for sure that, "The tensile strength of spider silk is greater than the same weight of steel and has much greater elasticity."
For more fascinating info on spiders' webs you can click here.

"Without love, wisdom's birth is impossible.

For wisdom is knowledge correctly applied through the construct of love."

HAPPY HOWLIN-EEN!

Ed visited recently in Santa Fe. We went to a matinee of Where the Wild Things Are and then stopped by a little early pumpkin carving party at cousin John's house. Bet you can't tell where our inspiration came from... :-)

Musical Fun

FUNNNNNN!

. . .endurance requires real internal work,

a daily flexing of spiritual muscle that is grist for the mill of the Gods,

grinding slowly and growing our beauty.

—Judith Gayle