When I started this blog back in early February, I had all kinds of ideas of how it would work. There would be a lot of entries that focused on specific trails in my neck of the woods here in northeast Ohio. I knew that in the beginning, there would certainly be a lot of snow and mud and barren tree, but as spring crept in, each post would become more and more colorful. I imagined various landscapes I would explore and try to capture to share with you. I thought about how to utilize vacation time and even began thinking about trips to other national parks.
But within a month, things changed in ways I never would have imagined. My hikes are less frequent and it saddens me not to be out on the trails more often. When I do go now, a mask is part of my attire, which creates some new sensations and can at times be annoying, particularly when I want water. On the plus side, however, now I don’t have to worry about people seeing me panting for breath as I go up big hills!
Since I can’t get out as much as I’d like, I’m trying to challenge myself to find new ways to approach my very familiar surroundings here at home. One challenge I gave myself was photographing bubbles. At first, I was having some technical troubles – it’s a bit difficult to blow bubbles, get your camera in position, focus, and shoot before the bubbles get too far away, disappear behind a tree, or simply pop!
Thankfully, I have captive assistants in the form of my children and one of my sons obliged by being the official Bubble Blower. It was a windy day, so I still had to act fast to aim, focus, and shoot, but we had a lot of fun.
One of the things that came into focus (more so than most of the bubbles) is the importance of shooting as much as possible when you have a constantly changing subject, because you’ll never know when you capture something at just the right moment. It’s definitely one of the advantages of digital cameras over film – my mistakes don’t cost me much and provide a lot of learning.
Eventually, my son got bored of assisting, so I was back on my own and decided to take another tack by catching bubbles on the wand and then carefully setting it down to photograph. I never had really looked closely at the kinds of reflections bubbles show and the way it flips on the axis. It was a whole new world in there.
Another challenge I’ve given myself is to just wander through the yard and see how things look from different perspectives. There’s a decent chance my neighbors might be getting worried about how confinement is affecting me if they glance out their window and see me laying flat on my stomach, apparently taking pictures of my driveway, but the reality is I noticed a slug making its way to the grass and wanted to get as close to its level as I could.
I like to go and sit among the trees and bushes and take a fresh look at my surroundings. Watching sunlight filter through the greens, changing their hue and glow, is fascinating for me and the song of the wind as it moves along yards, bringing with it a chorus of leaves and swaying branches both roots me and gives my soul a chance to fly.
Meanwhile, I also find it essential to keep my eyes looking in all directions – up and around and even over your shoulder to take in all the sights. There’s also something to be said for really looking at the ground; there’s a whole world at your feet and you certainly don’t want to ruin it with a misplaced step.
When I started this blog, I never expected that my yard would be featured prominently. I thought maybe I’d do a post or two at some point about the difficulties in finding time to get away, particularly as a working mom and that in a pinch, there’s always the possibility of using your own outdoor space. But now I find myself taking regular walks around the house, searching for new ways to look at familiar surroundings. It’s a fun way to challenge myself, but it also plays an important role in helping me recenter and remind myself that I am ok. I know that I’m very privileged to be able to this – I have a job, I can work from home, we have a house and a yard, and health to enjoy it. My heart goes out to everyone suffering hardships from this – economic, health, loss of loved ones, increase in anxiety and other mental health issues, and so on. It isn’t much, but I hope that these images can bring even a smidgen of peace or a moment of distraction and calm for you. And more importantly, I hope that we all are able to find new perspectives to help and support one another.
