Buddha Speaks

Have you ever visited a place that "spoke to you"...a place you'd want to put on a "Must See" list? 

I've been to a few of those places. Unfortunately, I don't have photographs of all of those places. I don't have any photographs of the Souks in Dubai or the dhows in the Persian Gulf. I don't have any pictures of Ruby Falls inside of Carlsbad Caverns. When I visited those areas, I was not into photography - that came much later in my life. If only I had been...

But, either way, those places, as well as those I'll share with you, all spoke to me in one way or another. These are all places I'd put on the "Must See" list if there was one to post for all to see.

Here are some of the photographs I DO have of other places I've visited that I'd like to share with you. And, maybe one day, you'll have an opportunity to visit them and they'll speak to you...

Approach to the Buddha Shrine in Jungle  Gardens at Avery Island, Louisiana

Avery Island,the birthplace of Tabasco hot sauce, is also home to all walks of Louisiana native wildlife, as well as many species of plants. There are 170 beautiful acres to see at Jungle Gardens, But inside of the Gardens is one particular area that would have to be on my "Must See" list, not only for it's beauty, but for it's history.

Located inside of Jungle Garden s, you'll find a beautiful little Zen Garden area complete with an entry "arch" and a small shrine. That whole area gives off such a peaceful feeling, I could have stayed there for hours. BUT, inside of that little shrine was the real "Must See" item - the one thing that you must not miss. Inside, you'll find a 1,000 year old Buddha statue!

Silhouette of the Buddha

The plaques just outside of the shrine, tell you the history of the Buddha

The entry arch to the shrine area

Another place that spoke to me was my beloved Mexico. I was blessed to be able to live there for five short years. I still miss it very much.

I miss the color and the culture...the people and the sites...the mountains and, yes, the shopping. You never knew what you'd see when you left your casa. :)

I was lucky to be able to travel to several areas of Mexico while I lived there. Sometimes, I'd drive and other times I'd take a local bus or book tickets on a tour bus. It was all about the adventure! I think that is what we lack here in the United States  - adventure!

The small village that I lived in, Ajijic, was located just south of Guadalajara, on Lake Chapala. I had a beautiful view of the lake of which I never tired seeing.

My view every morning...

A local fisherman's boat anchored in the waters of Lake Chapala

Located across the lake was an Eco Trail that we would drive on...It was just a dirt or gravel road that led you through the beautiful countryside of that part of Mexico. You really never DID know what you'd see there either!

A young caballero, headed to market with cans of fresh milk

Herding Burros...

I traveled to Guanajuato to the International Cervantes festival. One of my highlights was visiting the mummy museum. Very eerie, but beautiful music played throughout the museum...I think I could hear every voice of each person displayed there.

Museo de Momias - Guanajuato
(click the link to go to their page)

The whole area was beautiful. The stone work was especially beautiful as it had a beautiful greenish blue color which was from the high mineral content in the soil. The stones in this church had those beautiful colored stone but this photograph really does not do it justice.

Beautiful stonework...beautiful churches...

Another favorite place of mine to visit was Patzcuaro. I visited there several times. That is the town in which you'll find one of the biggest celebrations for El Dia de los Muertos - The Day of the Dead. They also have an annual fiesta that is much like our Mardi Gras. 

Right off the coast of Patzcuaro was the Island of Janitzio. Everything, all of their needs, had to  be brought to the island each day by boat since there was no ground to grow anything. The whole island was houses and shops. At the top of the island stood a giant statue that reminded me of our Statue of Liberty and it represented liberty to those people as well.

Shopping on Janitzio

And, what would Mexico be without it's beautiful, colorful Talavera pottery!

Talavera pots, anyone?

Oh, the memories! When I left Mexico, I felt like I'd left a piece of my heart there. One day, I'll go back and retrieve it!

There are so many more places I've been to that have spoken to me. But I'll stop here and save some of those other places for another day...But what about you? Where have you been that has spoken to you? What's your "Must See"????

Into A World Of Color

Into a World of Color...

Nothing prepared me for the world of color that Autumn brought for me the very first year we ever lived in Arkansas. The first time I saw a tree in full autumn change, I felt like I'd been living in a colorless world and just stepped into a world full of beautiful color. 

My two granddaughters, Kaelyn and Abby, and I were on our way up Petit Jean Mountain that particular Saturday. I had wanted to show them the wildflower field, full of beautiful pink and white cosmos. I'd never seen those before either and especially not a field full of them.  

Wild flowers everywhere - even tiny white ones...

Beautiful field FULL of Cosmos...

Butterflies enjoying the nectar of flowers...

Bees collecting pollen...

Later, we were meeting up with my daughter and son-in-law to hike one of the trails, but for now, we were on an adventure of our own...

On the road to the field of flowers, we came upon this tree and we were all in awe. We had to pull over and actually get out and collect a few of their leaves. I wonder if my granddaughters still have those leaves?

The first Autumn tree I ever saw...on Petit Jean Mountain.

...and there was more to come! After we hiked, we traveled on to the Antique Car Museum and here were more beautiful trees!

RED!

How beautiful is that! 

I guess if you live up north, this isn't such a big deal to you. But it was very impressive to me and still is every year I have the privilege to see the colors change...

Now...let it snow!!!

WOO HOO!!!!

Up Up & Away!!!

Up Up & Away!!!

While on a recent trip, I was able to attend the 2013 Hot Air Balloon Championship in Gonzales, Louisiana, with my Dad, two sisters, and best friend. What an experience! This was only my second balloon experience. My first Balloon Festival ever was only last year in Albuquerque.

Last year I was invited to meet up in Albuquerque with my very good friend, Jan Shriver, and we planned to attend the 2012 International Balloon Festival. There were many more balloons of many different shapes and sizes compared to those at the Championship competition in Gonzales, but needless to say, I was still impressed!

Early Morning Ascension in Albuquerque

What a site to behold! I'd never been to anything like this before - as a matter of fact, I'd never even been close to a hot air balloon and wasn't sure what to expect.

The grounds were HUGE as you can imagine for an international festival. In the picture below you can see just a small piece of the tents set up for the festival goers to enjoy with the open grounds beyond it for the ballooners. Hundreds of balloons!

2013 International Balloon Festival grounds, Albuquerque, NM

Balloons seen all through the sky from our hotel in Albuquerque

Just look up and you'd see a balloon somewhere (Albuquerque)

There were all types and shapes of balloons in Albuquerque, while there were mostly the regularly shaped ones in Gonzales - but still impressive. Both had beautifully colored ones, those advertising businesses, and specialty balloons.

A typical balloon flying in Albuquerque 

A specialty balloon - In Memory of all the POWs and MIAs (Albuquerque)

A simple shaped balloon lit up for the "Glowdeo" (Albuquerque)

In Gonzales, you saw pretty close to the same thing but the number of balloons and size of the grounds were on a much smaller scale.  As I compared the two balloon shows, I was still impressed with the smaller Championship show in Gonzales. How can you NOT be impressed when you get to walk amongst all of these huge balloons right there at ground level. They tower over you and you feel like a Liliputian in Gulliver's Travels. It is somewhat magical.

Beautiful Patriotic Constitution Balloon (Gonzales)

Eagle shaped balloon in Gonzales

Getting the air going in the Purple People Eater balloon (Gonzales)

Earlier in the day, one of the events in the Gonzales Championship was the Drop Competition. I won't pretend to remember all the particulars about it (how high you must fly, how low you can go, etc.) but the easy version is that the balloons would start at a far point, fly over the Balloon Line and come in as low and close as possible to make a drop on the big giant X on the ground. Some of them made their drop and some of them didn't. Some of the drops were close and some were not so close. It was interesting to watch. Last year's champion won again this year and held on to his title.

Setting up the "Balloon Line" for the Drop Competition (Gonzales)

OK, the line is all set up - let the competition begin!

Here they come!

Flying over the "Balloon Line" for the Drop Competition in Gonzales

X Marks The Spot! Where is the X???

Getting ready to make the drop!

The drop is over - time to deflate!

While waiting for the After Glow show, how about a tethered balloon ride?

After the competitions were over, the balloons started getting ready for their "After Glow" show. In Albuquerque it was called the "Glowdeo". Both names were fitting. All the balloons would start setting up on the field, while people strolled here and there watching. 

Walking amongst the giant balloons...

By the time they were all inflated it was dusk, and each balloon would take turns firing up their canisters, making their balloon "GLOW" .... how beautiful. At one point, they had all of the balloons glow at one time but I missed that photo opportunity. I was just starting to feel really sick.  

: (

Let the GLOW begin!

Glowing in the far background

Aglow...

After all the glowing was over, it was time for the fireworks! But, alas, by that time I had started home and was not able to stay for any of it. My Dad and sisters said it was a beautiful show. I'll just have to take their word for it! :)

So, who's ever gone to a Balloon Festival? Where was it? What did you think?

Digital Art And What It Says To YOU!

My whole blog is based upon what you see when you look at a photo, or what does that photo say to you...does it have a story  behind it?

So for today, I decided to do another interactive blog. I will post a few of my digital art pieces ~ which all started out as regular photographs ~ and let's see what these pieces say to you. 

...What story are they telling you? 

...What do you see when you see each piece? 

At the end, I'll post what the photos actually are, in case any of you are wondering. Actually, most of them will probably look enough like the original photo for you to be able to tell what they are. But then again, maybe not - depends on what kind of "eye" you have! :)

Now, I'm not asking you to guess what each one is - actually, what I'd like for you to do is look at each one with your mind's eye and tell me what you see ~ kinda like an Artistic Roschack Test, lol.

So, are you ready? Let's go! 

Here's the first one:

#1

#2

#3

#4

#5

#6

#7

#8

#9

#10

So, what did your mind's eye see?

It always amazes me that with a  little manipulation to a photograph,sometimes you can turn it into a piece of art! 

Come on ~ don't be shy! What do you think????

Don't forget to check the list below to see what each picture originally was.
:)

1 - A sprig of ivy hanging down from hanging bastket

2 - A section of sidewalk at Towne Center Mall, Baton Rouge, LA

3 - My little friend, Faith H, at a Fall Harvest Festival 2009

4 - A Bird of Paradise flower

5 - My little Jedi Gransdon, G.T.

6 - The Pagoda at Avery Island, Louisiana

7 - A Crepe Myrtle flower

8 - A decorative Christmas Ornament hanging in the window as a sun catcher

9 - A rust stain on my Dad's garage floor

10 - Big Piney Creek, AR