Friday Foto Friends - March 10, 2017

Breathing In Grace

Today I'm joining Deb for Friday Foto Friends. Come join us and share your photos!

As I thought back on the past week, the image that comes to mind is of the late-afternoon sun on Monday afternoon. It was a brilliant white that illuminated the clouds. Accompanied by 50+ mph winds, it made for a stunning and memorable afternoon.

I was curious to see what other nature photos I had from this week a year ago. Surprisingly, I didn't find one around our farm. We did take a trip to the Minnesota Zoo in 2016 and saw this majestic eagle.

I went back another year. 2015. Again, no photos around our farm. However, I did take a trip to see three southern states that I had never seen before: Louisiana, Arkansas, and Mississippi.

This little frog was hiding in a reed in a swampy area I was visiting. It was part of a wildlife area that had a wooden walkway that went far out into the water.

Finally...a couple of outdoor pictures at our farm this week in 2014. It looks like we were at the tail end of winter as well with melting snow, puddles, and brilliant sun.

Most of the snow appears to have melted which is consistent to what we're seeing now.

This is in start contrast to 2013 when the farm was blanketed  in  snow. This is looking south towards one of  the pastures.

All of  the evergreens on the left hand side (east side) we had transplanted when the trees were much smaller. The previous owners had planted a nursery, of sorts, with the trees  closely  planted next to one another. This helped them, most likely, easily care for the seedlings.

The trees were about five feet tall when we had someone come in with the tree-transferring equipment and move them to another area of our farm so the trees could have enough space to grow.

This week in March 2012 had another cloud formation with sun rays that I wanted to remember. This photo is looking west.

It was this week in  March 2011 that I found a photo of the girls, pets, and I outdoors doing a nature study. We were exploring tracks made by animals. Sophia is doing paw prints of Shadow (who  used to be an outdoor cat and then became an indoor cat) while Olivia is using archery arrows to hold back Montague.

I miss the days that we did  nature journaling together.

What a change it was this week in March 2010. The majority of snow was melted (with the exception of snow by the north side of the barn). The girls were wearing short sleeves outside and walking Eenie, the cat.

A year earlier, in 2009, there was plenty of snow to make a snowman. The girls had a fresh carrot for a nose and birdseed in the hat for the birds to eat.

Seven years of photos taken  at about the same time each year. Such a contrast of temperatures, snow cover, and outdoor activity.

What it makes me realize is that we need to commit to spending more time outdoors together - especially when it is weather that we all enjoy and the mosquitoes and flies aren't around.

It  also showed me, as I reviewed the photos, of the importance of balance in one life. Work, volunteering, connecting with nature, and doing hobbies all have a place in one's life. It's finding that right combination...that delicate balance...so that life is full of the memories that we want to draw upon and treasure in years to come.