Blue Springs

My friend Tink and her boyfriend Max invited me to Blue Springs. It was a perfect day and a canoe trip was just what my soul needed. 

Flight

I was lucky enough to be able to go to Brazil again. Anyone who knows me is well aware of my aching need to have a window seat. You just can't beat that view. 

During the flight in I was able to capture another plane flying almost parallel with us. 

Beautiful sunrise over Brazil. 

Just before landing in Recife. 

My flight back home to Orlando was unique because it was during the day. Previously, all my other flights had been mostly overnight. I took more photos on the return flight than I had been able to any other time. 

Flying out of Recife just after the sunrise. 

Adorable little ant on the inside of my window. 

A little boy enjoying his window seat as well. 

Happy baby girl giggling in the arms of her father. 

The Amazon River. 

Flying between sunny skies and stormy clouds. 

Lovely popcorn sky.

The beautiful islands of the North Caribbean. 

.

Mandala

Upon entering DRIP's Local Art Night I was surprised to discover a coloring station with a Mandala coloring book. I've been a huge fan of coloring books well into my adult years and I immediately fell in love. I began to color one right on the spot but I also tore out three more pages to work on at home. 

Although I don't normally prefer to work with markers I felt that their vibrant colors would work well with this project. I picked some up and spent hours just coloring. 

The act of coloring is freeing. I had spent the last few months having to move unexpectedly, recover from kidney stones, and argue with three separate companies over unfair charges and refunds. Every little thing was a fight. I could never just come home and relax. I was in constant motion, always battling. There were no breaks. Everything was painful. I spent so much time begging for help and getting so little that I just couldn't bring myself to ask anymore. 

This was the first time I had sat down to relax in months. 

I spent hours putting color to paper. It was a release. It was the first thing I had laid my hands on in months that I could start and finish in my complete control. It could only turn out well. I could work on something and have a finished product that was beautiful. I was making something for fun, not just trying to survive. No doubt it helped me through a dark time. 

I'm glad I have held on to my love of coloring. It is hard to put into words just what it did for my soul. 

Clouds and Power Lines

I captured this majestic sunset while I was leaving work. Beautiful, organic clouds divided by the power lines. 

Red Lilly

Stunning Red Lilly growing in the middle of a parking lot.

Little Ellie

Little Ellie was born on April 5th, 2016 to my best friend Rochelle and her husband Justin. I got to visit her on April 11th. 

Resting peacefully in her father's arms. He told me that she sometimes has a faint smile on her face and loves to kick off her left sock. 

I met Rochelle for the first time when I was six years old. Our parents were neighbors and remember her waving at me through the fence asking me if I wanted to be friends. We were friends for years until my family moved when I was nine. We didn't move more that fifteen minutes away, but for two kids before the age of cell phones and video chats I might as well have moved across the country. We lost touch but miraculously ended up in the same private school half way through the year during fifth grade. We immediately recognized each other and picked up right where we left off. She taught me that value of getting and giving hugs after a bad day and often gave back rubs to the other students on the playground. No surprise she ended up in the physical therapy field.

We ended up in different high schools but went to the same college, where she met her husband. I've had a lot of friendships that have drifted apart over the years but I've always felt close to Rochelle. Seeing her hold her baby girl and realizing how long I've know her brought tears to my eyes. Rochelle and Justin are going to be fantastic parents.

Baby Squirrels

One of my coworkers at the bank discovered some baby squirrels who had fallen from a tree after a storm. He took care of them for two days before taking them to an animal shelter. I snapped this adorable shot of them sleeping together.