Painting En Plein Air

This has gotta be one of my fav pics - It's of me painting. :) My uncle took it last summer. We had spent the day kayacking on a beautiful alpine lake nestled in and at the foot of the Beartooth Rocky Mountains. En plein air, is a French expression which means "in the open air".

Iris Garden

….Recently, my mom & I took a little trip to an iris garden. It was the neatest place, right on the edge of the city, by the interstate, but tucked away out of sight behind the trees. There was a variety of over 400 different irises. It would've been the perfect place to spend a lazy afternoon outside doing nothing. It was so tranquil & bright. We ordered a few iris bulbs, that we'll receive & plant this fall. It was hard to decide what to get, there were so many— 

I'm standing among the flowers. It smelled SO good. 
There were a ton more flowers, but they didn't make it in the shot. 

Just Do It —

RUN. (Quoting Nike's catchphrase.) Been tryin' to get back into a good running schedule. Injured the knee skiing in January; it's still pretty stiff. I hadn't run in over a month. And I was feeling really out of shape. So I went out jogging tonight. (Did around 3 miles in 22 minutes, I was surprised how fast that was for me!) There was a truly magnificent sunset. The sky was set ablaze! Ever-changing shades of purple, yellow & orange lit the heavens in a radiant, dusty haze. While I was jogging with my ipod, it rained lightly. Got fairly wet, from sweat & rain, but it was totally worth it.

In the east, where dark clouds rose ominously, there was a bright rainbow. I could see the whole entirety of it's colorful arching span. The rain eventually slowed to a light drizzle & then stopped. The arch of color faded. The pavement was still warm & wet under my shoes. The air smelled beautiful. Crisp & clean. The sun slipped beneath the rimrocks, & I ran on….  

-GB

Music - E Minor

A "Ping Pal" showed me this song. Instantly fell for it. It's so beautiful, so sad. So rich.

Busy Bees

What 
wondrous 

miracles 

abound 

in ordinary 

things! 

Go outside, 
& look around—
What do you see? The order & wonder of it all. A universe so great, a world so small! 

Strength

There is a strength,

That comes through prayer,    

A confidence, a power,

A quite, deep unflinching faith 

To meet the trying hour. 

There is a peace 

That comes through prayer, 

A calm serenity

To face whatever life may hold

With grace and dignity.

There is a joy

That comes through prayer,

A gladness of the soul, 

A glorious sense of having been 

Refreshed, renewed, made whole.

                                                            -By Helen Marshall 

Settlers Of Catan

One of the awesomest board games ever made.

Over this past winter & spring, I've played countless hours of Settlers. Friends & family will come gather 'round the kitchen table, I'll make brownies & we'll play into the wee hours of the morn. I've yet to tire of the game. (& probably never will.) No two games are alike, with an ever-changing board setup. It's literally addicting. The games involves chance, skill & strategy. Usually there's lots of lively discussion too. Sheep! Brick! Wood! Rock! Wheat! It's for 3-6 players. 

-GB