this is for those of you who have no idea what salt lake city is all about, and for those who miss the wasatch mountains

i am always surprised that when i tell

people i was born and raised in salt lake city

they have no idea it even snows here...

well it does. and it IS truly the best snow on earth!

{don't let ceej know i let that secret out!}

holly jo joined me on a little photo shoot 

yesterday morning. i had hoped to get up to the lake...

but it seems that i have already forgotten

how much snow we get here...

needless to say, we didn't get all the way to the lake.

too much snow.

we were not prepared...or at least, 

i wasn't willing to haul five, yes five, cameras

all that way without skiis to bring me swiftly back 

down the mountain.

mt. superior.

such a majestic mountain she is.

i'll never tire of this view.

you can't match the consistency of this snow.

it's perfect in every way.

we prefer it to any other white stuff we've ever skied.

you should come try it. you won't regret it!

isn't holly jo so cute?

she was such a good sport to join me.

we were warm while walking,

but when i had to stop for 20 minutes

to use the graflex

it got cold, cold, cold!

shiver!

holly jo got some photos of me

with all the gear i had to haul up:

the graflex

film cartridges for 4X5's

tripod

holga

polaroid

D90

3 lenses

blanket

extra coat

the view is amazing.

it's like nothing i've seen.

i've decided that little cottonwood canyon

is by far the most grand, yet intimate canyon i've

ever been to.

it's that contrast that gets you:

totally awe inspiring, yet so accessible.

i only took two shots with the graflex

because that's all i could suffer through.

my fingers just stopped working.

loved it.

we took a few polaroids,

but it was so cold

the chemicals weren't reacting...

so we took matters into our own hands,

and breathed our warmth on them.

it worked!

{i'll show you the polas later}

what do you think of my home city now?

i hope you like it.

because i'm smitten in love with it.

{photos of me by holly jo. all other photos by me. ocotober 2009}

too cute!

these are my cute nieces and nephews...

little harry potters and little hermoine

so cute don't you think?

what are you dressing up as?

i'm going to be professor trelawney

for the kiddies...

i think they'll really love it.

botany of desire

did you happen to catch michael pollan on pbs last night?

i haven't read his book 'botany of desire'

but i've read his others.

what do you think?

i basically love what he has to say about our food.

this sweet little apple certainly has us

wrapped around its finger (er, uh, stem?)

these are apples from my mom's

mini orchard.

i have no idea what kind of apple they are,

or where they come from.

i guess it's time to finally find out,

wouldn't you say?

i think i'll go have a mug

of hot cider.

{photos by me. october 2009}

i too want to see it...but i'm waiting for ceej to see it with me

everyone has been talking about this movie.

my first impulse was a selfish one:

i want him for myself...

luckily i immediately caught my childishness

and thought how wonderful it is that there is

such a beautiful film about him and her...

and that more people might become interested 

in his poetry. he is just as much my

favorite as is he.

since this little book came into my possession

a few years ago, i have not been able to go a day without it.

somehow i ended up with my grandmother's

1893 copy of a compilation of his poetry.

what a gift indeed.

when it comes to books, 

i think it is safe to say

they don't make them like they used to.

My heart aches, and a drowsy numbness pains 
    My sense, as though of hemlock I had drunk, 
Or emptied some dull opiate to the drains 
    One minute past, and Lethe-wards had sunk: 
'Tis not through envy of thy happy lot, 
    But being too happy in thine happiness, - 
        That thou, light-winged Dryad of the trees, 
                In some melodious plot 
    Of beechen green and shadows numberless, 
        Singest of summer in full-throated ease.

o hushed october morning mild, thy leaves have ripened to the fall...

did you ever pretend to be a giant worm

burried in a pile of leaves

then beg your brother to fetch grandpa

so he could fish you out?

or try to lay motionless, breathless

while your brother "convinced" your mom

to come outside to see the "harmless" pile of leaves

then he said the secret word for you to jump up

to "surprise" her?

have you ever heard the aspens quake

and shiver their leaves of gold?

have you ever walked home late at night

after studying for hours at the library,

enjoying the darkness for your enhanced smell {breathing in wet leaves and pavement} and your enhanced hearing {sloshy or crinkled leaves}?

have you ever finished reading a novel or a short poem

that moved you to go outside to notice how the earth 

lives, breathes, and beats?

have you ever wanted a season to linger...

to give you one more brisk breeze

or one last bowl of butternut squash soup.

or have you ever grown tired,

seeking change?

have you ever been so grateful

for right now?

it's just all so beautiful,

isn't it?

{photos by me. october 2009. utah}

back in california i had to search high and low for signs of autumn...here in salt lake city winter is upon us

i'm. in. heaven.

fall leaves are everywhere.

and the first snow is upon us.

so glad i came home for a visit

to celebrate my mom's birthday.

oh, salt lake city!

you are a well-kept secret indeed!

i hope you enjoy the photos of took of this

beautiful wonder.

there's nothing like the frost of snow

on leaves aflame!

there's so so much more to show you...

perhaps later today, perhaps tomorrow.

{sad ceej couldn't be here...he lives for snow!}

my mom deserves the best birthday ever!

all of you know how much i love & admire her.

but i'll tell you again.

she is wise, kind, hilarious, 

honest, simple, solid, true.

she has been the best mom i could have asked for...

better than if i could have hand-picked her myself.

and, of course, she's absolutely beautiful.

{this is my mom getting a ride from her sister, connie}

some of the best things i've learned from my mom

are said in this poem written by an ancestor of mine:

learn to like what doesn't cost much.

learn to like reading, conversation, music.

learn to like plain food, trees, brooks, hiking, rowing, climbing hills.

learn to like people, even though some of them may be...different from you.

learn to like work and enjoy the satisfaction of doing your job as well as it can be done.

learn to like the songs of birds, the companionship of dogs.

learn to like gardening, puttering around the house and fixing things.

learn to like the sunrise and sunset, the beating of rain on the roof and windows, and the gentle fall of snow on a winter's day.

learn to keep your wants simple and refuse to be controlled by the likes and dislikes of others.

happy, happy birthday mom!

love you.

i guess i feel a little like harold...due to my obsession with graveyards...

two years ago ceej joined me on my annual
visit to boston.
he took all these fabulous photos of theses graves...
some dating back into the late 1600s!
i love the images...especially the dancing skeletons!

it's totally worth visiting new england just to see
its graveyards. it's oh so fascinating to me...
what hard lives these people lived in the colonies,
but it's all relative, yes?

anyway, love these photos ceej took...
what do you think?