His Great Hope ...

There He was, alone amidst the sweeping waves and stormy Seas of life.
His soul tossing and turning, regretting past mistakes, missed opportunities, and failure.
The Dark Clouds of the abyssmal Sea looked bleak.
He was destined, for sure, to die slowly as He sunk below the water.
It was coming, He knew. The skies were getting darker as the time went by.
He succumbed to the notion of His own demise. He had nothing.
Then, She came....


Right before His eyes, the sky parted in a majestical scene.
A ray of warm sunshine beamed down on His face and gave Him warmth.
It was an odd feeling, having spent what seemed like an eternity
in the cold vastness of an empty abyss. The feeling was queer.
It was a feeling He hadn't felt in a long time, so long that He wanted to be afraid,
wanted to find a dark spot. He got used to the dark. It shielded Him for so long
from the light of his past transgresions. In this light that was blessing Him,
He wondered what to do. What was happening and why was it happening;
He just couldn't understand.


The light had a name. It was Hope. Hope was just there; having always been there.
She was merely blocked out by the Dark Clouds that He had inherited from destiny.
Hope had come in a time where He didn't believe She even existed.
The ilk of the Dark Clouds in His life had tainted Him into believing
that all there was in life was Them. For the Dark Clouds had seared His eyes
with apparent dillusions of the notion that They were all that were there.
Aye those Dark Clouds, with Their overt sense of self-import, tricked Him
into believing that what They were was of the paramount. Hope challenged that.
The Dark Clouds were only a small part of the Sea.
They had Their importance and fuction in life that was equal to all other things great and small.
Hope let Him know that He was important, too.

He was mesmerized by this. Could She be so daft as to think
that He was of any consequence to anyone or anything? Had She not known
that it was in the Kharma that He was to be but a bit of floating debris drifting
in the sea like the waste of a passing ship that was jettisoned overboard,
lest it become a burden to someone?

Had She not been told that His job in life had but one course;
to serve His purpose and be set aside until next time? He HAD served His purpose.
He had done it as best as He could. Apparently, Hope knew nothing of this.
She must not have known about what a failure He had been,
that tool that just didn't quite measure up. He was broken,
like an over-torqued wrench, a bent nail, a bolt stripped of it's fine threads.
Did She not see that He wasn't to be fixed? Not to be saved?
What was Her blindness to the truth? Hadn't the Omniscient Dark Cloud informed Her,
taught Her, or guided Her to the knowing that this is how it was?

Hope saw all. Hope knew all. She was, after all, Hope...
Hope shone on His face and gave a warmth that He was starting to accept.
She was showing Him all the scenery that the Sea had to offer.
He started to take a liken to Her. Hope was there. As long as the Dark Clouds stayed away,
She would be there. Upon their approach, She would then slip back away, He thought.
They were coming again, those Dark Clouds, full of despariaging remarks and subversive mood.
He would be, once again, alone to deal with Them. She would become a memory.
He knew She had a jouney of Her own. For She had a path Herself She'd travel.
He thought it was a one way journey.


But Hope had something in store for Him...
Hope DID have a journey in store. The Great Celestial Being
had created Her to take a journey. To cast light on the faces of others near and afar.
To give them the same strength that He had seen and felt.
She was to envelope the Seas of the other side of the Earth
with that same beauty and sunshine that had been exposed to His.
She had a darker test to complete herself. One in which He wanted
Her to be victorious. She HAD to come back to Him. He needed Her so bad.
The Seas seemed more beautiful when She was around.
Despite the waves that enveloped Him oft times, His only desire was to see
Her when He resurfaced. Hope was all that brought Him fighting
to get to the surface for surely He would've never came up again had
She not been there. He thanked the Great Being for presenting Her to Him at all,
the least of which during His peril. Had He met His fate, He would take solace in
knowing that She even existed. What's more, the Great Being blessed Him with
Her presence at all. For He now knew, He HAD done something right
in His meek existance to accord such a beautiful payback.

But then There was Hope...
Hope was in Her Journey. She had a dark side She had to traverse.
It was of great risk;of great uncertainty. She wanted to see Him.
Among all the waves, He was someone She could appreciate.
He looked at Her and made Her feel wanted, special. It made Her shine brightly
as She spread Her rays of Hope to all who came into view.
She DID want to see Him again, right? She WAS sure?
Would He be there when She returned. Or would Her struggle to success
and subsequent return to His last vestage be for naught? She struggled to come
back and the tought of seeing Him gave Her strength. He gave Her the push
needed to speed around to Him and where She last left Him.

But there was He...
Hope came around the Horizon. He revelled at the sight of Her,
the Hope that He knew. The Dark Clouds and what the mere thought
of what They had done to Him had disappeared. Those sundering waves had subsided.
The Land was in sight. He smiled. He smiled like he had never smiled before.
For He knew....


He knew He had been given...HOPE

Written by S. Rendleman
























One Love. One Peace. Always and all ways.

Postcards From the Fence

Every artist dips his brush in his own soul, and paints his own nature into his pictures.

~ Henry Ward Beecher

One Love. One Peace. Always and all ways.

Postcards From the Fence

there are days too beautiful for words.

Today is one of them.

One Love. One Peace. Always and all ways. 

Trust ...

your inner voice.

When someone gives you false information, your body reacts to it.
When someone treats you or speaks to you with disrespect, your body reacts to it.
You know immediately, don't ignore what your body tell is telling you.

People who falsify like to keep you second guessing yourself, don't.

Somewhere deep down ... you know what you need to know.

That inner voice is there to protect you, to help you, to warn you.

Listen to it. 

One Love. One Peace. Always and all ways. 

Morning musings ...

things are changing in my world.
I can't tell you what they are just yet ...

but I think
they're big ones.
No, I know they are.
New beginnings.
New Journeys.
I've opened the door to some things,
 things that are going to be bigger than I imagined.

I don't mean to sound cheesy when I say
I love life, I mean I really love life, all of it.
In the end it's all good. It's a big ole garden full
of flowers, and weeds, and worms and dirt and...
well ... playin in the garden get's messy sometimes.
But some very beautiful things grow there.
It's all good.


                                                                                                        Showy Lady Slippers


These flowers are so beautiful.
They only bloom in early summer.
They  grow in the ditches on the sides of the road,
the edge of the forest, where it's wet, and mucky.
You get what I'm saying. 














One Love. One Peace. Always and all ways.

Postcards From the Fence

I've looked at clouds from both sides now

From up and down, and still somehow

It's cloud illusions I recall

I really don't know clouds at all

One Love. One Peace. Always and all ways.

Beautiful Scenery

isn't just about trees, lakes and landscapes.

I've photographed Brooke since she was three.

I had the privilege of photographing her this week.
Your heart baby girl is the most beautiful part of you. 
It always has been.
It always will be.

>

Congratulations Brooke~!~!

One Love. One Peace. Always and All ways. 

On The Subject of Clarity

I know.
It's hard to tell what it is ...

You're too close. 

Step back. 

You have to ...

in order to see the whole picture.
Clarity requires it. 






Life ...
is about seeing the whole picture.

  

One Love. One Peace. Always and all ways.

May you be at peace ...

My son's father died a year ago this month, give or take a few days.
I am re-posting this in honor of his memory. 

You were so good in heart.

You were a good man.

This life was so very difficult for you.

Your time on this earth was not in vain.

Your gift was your kindness.

The biggest gift you gave to me,

and the family we share...

Our son.

Do me a favor would you?
Hug our daughter for me.
Tell her I love her.

Wherever you are may you now find the peace

you could not while you were here.

R.I.P. Erik.

1964-2010

One Love. One Peace. Always and all ways.

I think ...

Love feels like this ...

and this ...

and this ...

In fact I know it does.
 

: )

The true source of joy is love —
love of God, love of beauty, love of wisdom,
love of another human being, it does not matter which.
It is all one love:
a joyful awareness of dissolving boundaries of our ordinary narrow self,
of being one with the reality beyond, of being made whole.

- Irma Zaleski,
from the essay The Door To Joy

One Love. One Peace. Always and all ways.

Point made ...

Now back to regularly scheduled blogging.

Literally jumped off the phone and chased the storm tonight.

I have more images but this one ... this one caught my eye.

I love a good thunderstorm.

One Love. One Peace. Always and all ways.

I've been busy ....

Photographing some big talent in the Blues world. 

What an incredible experience that was. The music was insanely good. 

Most of my inside time has been spent post processing 32975722354 pictures from this event.
Will be writing about it very soon.

Bernard Allison

Lance Lopez

these are only two of the talents 

I've heard and photographed this last month.

I've been ...

(this was caught on a beautiful red spinner bait among other things sent to me for my birthday!)
[thank you !!!]

fishing ...

and camping, four wheeling, and and and .... 

When the sun is shining and the air is warm, inside is the last place I want to be.
Summer is definitely here.

I'll catch up soon~!

One Love. One Peace. Always and all ways.

My wish ...

They say you can count on one hand,

the people you can count on.  

It's true.

I'm blessed,
to have that many
and then some.

It saddens me that a majority of them
are dealing with situations, physically and emotionally,

that are beyond what most would call challenging.

More people than I know are facing crisis'
they never saw coming.
So for all who find themselves in need...

It's my wish that your healing comes sooner rather than later.

It's my wish that you continue find the strength to push
through pain more difficult than you care to admit.

It's my wish that you find peace in your lives.
It's my wish you find the clarity you seek.

It's my wish that you be surrounded
by those who will lift you up,
that your hearts are filled
and overflowing with joy.

It's my wish that you always feel love's gentle embrace.

It's my wish that the universe will show each of you,

a little tenderness ...

One Love. One peace. Always and all ways.

Remembering Summer 2

One Love. One Peace. Always and all ways.

Postcards from the Fence (7)

I asked if I could photograph them.

They said sure.

He told me ....

We've been married 68 years.

I asked them how they met.

She shakes her head,  " I don't remember."

Stupidly I ask did you "know" he/she was the one right away?

They both reply,  "Probably, we don't really remember."

"But we're still together, we're happy to be together and that's what counts."

There was so much pride 

as they talked about being together for 68 years. 

Well earned, I'm sure.

One Love. One Peace.Always and all ways.

Life requires more than talk.

It requires action. 

The difference between words and deeds is the same 

as the difference between watching the rain and dancing in it.

J. Anderson

You couldn't be more right. 

One Love. One Peace. Always and all ways.

Postcards from the Fence (6)

                                                                                                                                                                                                  Texas 2011

I don't know who she is ...

but I think she's got the right idea. 

It was funny to hear Minnesotans complain

about the heat last week
especially after such a long winter and slow spring. 

I thought it was heavenly. 

I think I've acclimated to a warmer climate.
I never thought I'd say that. 

One Love. One Peace. Always and all ways.

May The Force Be With You ...

he said to me. 

I do believe it is. 

Thank you Gus for the photo edit.

You are truly a Photoshop master.

Wishing you and Kerry all the happiness in the world. 

And then some.

One Love. One Peace. Always and all ways.

SMUGMUG

Sharing is caring right?
I know a lot of  you bloggers out there take incredible photos.
Smugmug is the place to go.
For website, storage and sales.

I've been with them for quite a while now.
Their staff is quick to help, and well
they do back flips to make sure their customers are happy.


I'm uploading new photos every day!
Be sure to check out the travel section of my portfolio.
And while your at it grab yourself a Smugmug page!

                                                                                                                                                                                             Oregon 2011

One Tree Past the Fence Photography

One Love. One Peace. Always and all ways.

Thank You ...

Two words that look so simple and small.
Two words that hold a world of gratitude,
really aren't small at all.

Too often,

 we see this weekend as just a weekend to play

because of the holiday,  the extra day off,
the extended weekend.

Let us not forget what it's about. 

In remembrance of ... please share.

One Love. One Peace. Always and all ways.

Portrait of a Man ...

O'War.

I know. I know they look like ....

I so want to run the commentary going on in my head.

The beaches of  Corpus Christie and South Padre Island were filled with them.

To tell you the truth I've never seen them up close, and so many.

Didn't stop me from playing.  Go big or go home, even if goin big sends you home.

One Love. One Peace. Always and all ways.

A Seal's Story

 

One Love. One Peace. Always and all ways.

Postcards from the Fence (5)

and they called it puppy love ...

        seal skamoes!

I'm thinking people should kiss more not less.

The world might be a happier place if they did ...

One Love. One Peace. Always and all ways.

On the Subject of Love

Love is a force more formidable than any other. 

It is invisible - it cannot be seen or measured, 

yet it is powerful enough to transform you in a moment, 

and offer you more joy than any material possession could.

Barbara de Angelis

One Love. One Peace. Always and all ways.

Postcards from the Fence (4)

Happy girl.

One Love. One Peace. Always and all ways.

Ponderings ....

I recently photographed this whale.
I saw the show. I clapped when the whale did
what he was trained to do. I was in awe of
his size and strength.  He was magnificent.
It was humbling.







I saw Dolphins do the same thing.
And I clapped, photographed and cheered as the dolphin performed.
I saw what was called a cove,
hold four or five dolphins. It was an outdoor
tank that was maybe the size of a hockey rink,
(and that's what it looked like)
okay maybe larger, but not even close to the size
of a football field. I was sad as I watched the
dolphins swim in circles. I wondered how deep it was.
They looked sad.  And bored. 


In my head I plotted their escape.
In my head I wondered how I'd feel if I were
held in captivity for the enjoyment of others.

I get that an animal born in captivity knows only the
life he was born into. But does he? Does instinct tell him there's more?
What about the ones who weren't.
The whales and dolphins who know the vastness of the ocean ...


I get the educational aspect. I do. 
But something just doesn't feel right about all of it.


I feel the same way when I leave the zoo.
It's so cool to see these animals I would normally
never get the chance to, but at what cost ...




that's the question I ask myself.


At what cost ...

I think I'll stick to the rides.

One Love. One Peace. Always and all ways.

Postcards from the Fence (3)

Life ...
is what the Dr. Ordered!~

And it's good.
It's damn good.

One Love. One Peace. Always and all ways.

SHE'S HERE!!!! SHE'S HERE!!!

I do believe she's FINALLY come to stay.
I knew I'd find her in a southerly way.
And when I did,
Immediately, she apologized for her delay.

You know what's next? SUMMER!





I'm off to find big water, and catch a few fish.
I may be a little scarce,
Warm weather was meant to be enjoyed
and I intend to make the most of it.
Happy days!~













One Love. One Peace. Always and all ways.

Postcards from the Fence (2)

I knew, of course, 

that trees and plants had roots, stems, bark, 

branches and foliage that reached up toward the light. 

But I was coming to realize that the real magician was light itself.

Edward Steichen

One Love. One Peace. Always and all ways.

Postcards from the Fence (1)

: )

One Love. One Peace. Always and all ways.

Taking flight ...

in search of Spring.

She is a little late this year.

Actually she's a lot late.

They're predicting snow today.

Obviously she is lost and needs help.

I'll be back once I've found her.

One Love. One Peace. Always and all ways.