Christmas Trees

I had the idea...

that the moon in the mist...

made the perfect decoration

for these christmas trees

Solstice Blessings

And so, the longest night of the year in the northern hemisphere has passed...  an indrawn breath... a pause... and the year exhales, continuing it's journey around the wheel... the sacred circle...

The morning looked miserable & cloudy so no chance of seeing the moon rise... I sent out my wish that it would be lovely to catch a glimpse, but thinking there was really no chance I wasn't really looking. All of a sudden the moon was there through the trees... a tiny gap in the cloud! I whispered my thanks....

This crescent moon is waning towards the darkness... following the circle of birth and life and death and rebirth.... riding the clouds towards dark moon... a time of introspection and re-assessment, before readying to re-emerge....

The point of moon-rise is moving closer to the point of sun-rise, almost converging..... and just as the winter solstice signifies emerging from the darkness, the clouds dispersed.... rapidly... as the solstice dawn reached out, pushing away all traces of lingering darkness...

I welcomed the golden light into my being as the sun threw tantalizing beams to bounce off the remaining clouds.... light flooding the sky.... I feel so thankful for this sight... for being here, now... feeling the energies in the woods as i waited, swaying to the rhythm of an invisible drum...

Crows made their way  across the wood behind me, and a wren scolded just yards from my feet. A lone magpie seemed to bounce along the tree tops..... (i think you'll like the next pic, rose!).... magpies long tail can be a bit unwieldy at times & he took a moment to find his balance... the centre-point that we too must find to keep our balance in this world.... magpie... black and white... light and dark, night and day... or so he seems...

A fitting message on solstice morn... for magpies feathers have an iridescence, an extra sheen... transcending mere black and white... as this sunrise is about more than night and day...

A spectacular sky as the sun breaks past the horizon... i give thanks for the sun that shines on us all... and i wonder which horizons i can break past too....

Wishing you all the best, whether your year is turning towards light or dark.... may you have a wonderful journey wherever it takes you xx

Sharing with Skywatch

An interview & Giveaway

Oh, how neglectful i have been towards friends in the blogosphere. How swiftly time slips by! I hope everyone is well.... i may have been out of sight, but you definitely have not been out of mind. I've just felt a bit 'computered-up'!

I heard myself telling someone I hadn't spoken to for ages that "I haven't really been doing much" and realised that it wasn't strictly true. In terms of quantifiable output.... no.... but I have read an awful lot.... i've scribbled notes by hand rather than sat at the computer... my etsy shop has had a few sales, but i've found myself drawn in.... getting involved with etsy teams, fiddling with descriptions & listings and stuff like that... and i have been interviewed by the lovely Carrie at CherryBlossomTattoo blog.

There is also chance to win yourself a Christmas prezzie.... part of the fun of the interview is a give-away.... a photograph from my etsy shop. The only snag is it ends tomorrow (Thursday). I promised myself i'd get a post written straight away to tell you all, but.... hmmm, no viable excuses really, sorry about that.

I've often looked at photographs by other people that have been obviously 'photoshopped' with textures & layers applied.... i've always thought that it was a bit beyond me, at least without a great deal of time & effort to work it out (& actually having photoshop would be a help too, lol). But I came across this~ pixlr-o-matic~ which gives free photo effects totally for free! Its sooooo easy & has plenty of wonderful vintage, retro, sparkly etc etc effects.... i cant remember whether there was 2 or 3 layers of texture on the crow above. The main page for pixlr is here... there is free photo-editing software there aswell as the effects.

As you can see, i've been playing a fair bit trying things out!

Yesterday's moon was a lovely waning crescent.... too rainy this morning, but i'm hoping it isn't too thin a sliver to catch tomorrow on the Winter Solstice morn, and of course it depends on the clouds first thing.

Something else i've been playing with is creating effects in camera. I'm loving using long exposures & altering the focal length as i shoot to create surreal, dreamy scenes. I've got loads of these, but haven't got them into the shop yet... it's on my list!!

I've been journeying a bit in those dreamworlds, melting into the trees & flying with crow, so perhaps that is why these appeal to me.... so many layers & shadows.... so many thoughts that seem to hang on the periphery of my mind, one minute so clear, another i'm left wondering what it was i was so clear about....

Perhaps as the year turns and the days begin to draw out, i will be ready to return & write 'out loud' again.... i feel the time is coming. It's funny, there are a couple of others that i have been closer to in the blog world, who also have been silent of late...

Any way.... If you have time & are so inclined do pop over to see carrie's blog. She promotes other etsy sellers with such enthusiasm and her own photography is lovely. Don't forget to leave a comment if you want to enter the draw to win a photo, here, but be quick!

With love... suzi xx