Day 211: 225 years old - and counting

My computer alerted me on August 30th, that it was Mary Shelley's 225th birthday.

I sincerely hope that in 1000 years, we are still tracking the age of deceased artists...

Day 210: Hole in a Tree

In January I went for a walk and noticed a hole in a tree.

I wonder if an animal lives in there?

Nosy by nature, I balanced on tip-toes to peer inside.

I don't think anyone is home, but I spy a bed!

Fast forward roughly nine months later, to today. 

I, again, went for a walk. But this time, I decided to take a seat on a bench overlooking the pond. 

It just so happens that this bench directly faces the tree with the hole I had noticed at the beginning of the year. During my sit I had planned to do some thinking and writing, but my attention was quickly diverted.

By a head.

Poking out of the hole!

My jaw dropped.

There's a squirrel in there!! I've never seen a squirrel inside a tree before!

Needless to say, I was excited.

So excited, that I had to capture it! Even if it is with a low-quality, kind-of-hard-to-see-what's-happening-unless-you-saw-it-in-real-life sort of video.

This is just another example, in a growing list, of how everything comes back around to connect together. 

Sometimes it takes months, other times days. But always it requires an observant eye.

Day 209: Veggie the Bird

I have a giant head and big eyes because I love looking around and observing everything around me.

I really like nature and traveling - which makes sense, because I'm a bird!

Ooh, look at all of that fog - spooky.

Brrr, this ice sheet is cold!
-------
That's all for now.
Adventure awaits!

Day 208: Lessons from a Grasshopper

A while back, when on a nature walk, I spotted a grasshopper. 

Wow, I haven't seen a grasshopper in a Long time!

Naturally, I wanted to get a close up photo of it (given my newly discovered photography skillz).

I didn't have a chance. I couldn't get close enough and the grasshopper, sensing my encroachment, hopped away.

A few days later I saw a group of them in some tall grasses I was passing by.

Ooh! I'll try to get my photo now!

Nope, same outcome as before.

Disappointed but undeterred, I maintained my determination to one day capture the beauty, details, patterns and textures of the grasshopper with a close up photo.

I didn't know when or how it would happen, but I fully believed that one day it would.

*********

This morning before work as I was making breakfast and getting ready for my day, something caught my eye.

The sight was so compelling I stopped what I was doing, grabbed my phone and scurried over to the window.

Something seemed VERY out of place.

What the heck?! There's a grasshopper on my 4th story window!!!

I was so excited! How was this even happening? A grasshopper randomly climbing on MY window FOUR stories above the ground?! 

I couldn't believe it. I was finally going to get my close up! Well, the grasshopper was going get IT's closeup.

And you'd better believe it was a photoshoot. I tried out ALL of the angles. Probably spent a solid 5 minutes - at least.

 

It is so interesting how the things that capture our attention and really spark an interest or desire seem to keep resurfacing.

Sometimes we miss them, too distracted or busy to catch the subtle appearance.

And other times the reappearance is too obvious to miss - like the grasshopper.

What we focus on expands.

This is why when something catches your eye - say someone's bright yellow shirt, for example - you then start seeing the same or similar things all over the place/way more frequently.

It's on your radar, now [whatever 'it' is], so it's much easier to pick up and notice later on. 

This is a great realization to have not just about nouns - people, places, or things - but about attitudes, perspectives and approaches as well.

What we focus on expands.

Knowing this, why not focus on the things that we want, are interested in, lift us up, make us feel good? Why not intentionally expand the positive attitudes, open-minded perspectives, and nonjudgmental approaches that would benefit us most?

That sounds a whole heck of a lot better than focusing on things that hold us back and break us down.

*********************************************************

 

In the spirit of accuracy, I must admit that all of the grasshoppers I saw on my walks and the one I had a photoshoot with this morning are actually Locusts. Not Grasshoppers.

I didn't know what a Locust was until I looked up the difference between a grasshopper and a locust after my sister asked which it was.

Locusts can fly. Grasshoppers can't.

Who knew? Clearly not me.

My research also left me with these fun facts [courtesy of AZ Animals] - enjoy!

Grasshoppers

There are many things you may not know about grasshoppers. Here are some examples:

• Grasshoppers have ears on their bellies
• Grasshoppers make music by stridulating
• Grasshoppers lived way before dinosaurs
• Grasshoppers are a good source of protein

Locusts

Locusts also have some interesting things about them:

• If food runs out, locusts turn cannibal
• Locusts have serrated jaws
• Locusts are waterproof and can repel poisons
• Eating locusts can reduce heart cancer

Day 207: Delayed Morals

When I was in middle school I wrote a story, The Grape Brothers, for my friend's little brother.

It was a story about  - wait for it - brothers, who are grapes! And their desire for a different life than the one their family said was destined for them. 

It doesn't have a happy ending, though there is a silver lining.
Quench your curiosity and read the full story here.

At the time 12 or 13 year old me was writing the story, I had no plan for where it was going or the overall message or moral I was trying to deliver. Like many of my creative pursuits I was flying by the seat of my pants and open to wherever things landed.

Now, twenty years later (holy cow!!!), I see that past me may have actually been writing for present me.

You know the story synopsis, up top - telling of the Grape Brothers' desire for a different life than what their family has in mind for them?
I had no idea that was a theme of the story until writing this post today.

It took twenty years -
20 years of learning
20 years of experiencing
20 years of living
- to fully grasp the message Tween Sarah had unknowingly penned so long ago.

We all, individually, get to decide what we want for ourselves and our lives.

As the saying goes, the only certainty in life is death. But we have a whole heck of a lot more say in what happens before that than we are led to believe.

Vince and Carlos didn't want to be turned into wine or a tasty treat - so they literally charted their own path until they reached their end.

Maybe this is something we would do well to be reminded of more often?

Day 206: I love Purple [cars]

On many walks through my neighborhood I have passed by this car.

I think it's quite unique in color. You might agree. 

It's so unique in color that you'd think it would have captured my eye and compelled me to share upon the very first viewing. But for some reason, this was not the case.

It's almost as if I've somehow been desensitized to purple colored cars . . . like this isn't the first one I've seen . . . 

Oh my gosh! This ISN'T the first Easter egg purple car I've seen!!

It only took me dozens and dozens and dozens of walks past to realize. 

Could this be the same one I saw five years, two months, and two days ago?!?

At the time, I couldn't be sure. 

The only thing I was completely certain of was my burning hope the owner had hair to match.

Day 205: Creepy Request

 

Had this request come from anyone other than my sister, I would have been totally creeped out. But since it did come from her, I was only moderately creeped out.

 And then after an awkward moment, it was hilarious...