Shades of Gray from Grayson Co, TX #860 – OUR HANDS

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I have always been aware of my hands. From an early age as I viewed my hands outstretched in front of me, I somehow felt that the image of my hands would always be there. That one would be able to frame the present through those same hands and measure the passage of time by seeing the change upon the frame.

My hands now carry the scars and memories of my life. As do most everyones. I have always heard that the eyes are the window to our soul, but I believe the hands expose a more detailed view of our story.

My hands are stiffening with age. They carry the pain of arthritis. Having never thrown a punch in my life, I still somehow question how I could even have the grip to toss a baseball, much less a punch.

Deadheading flowers in the garden is about as tough a foe as I deal with.

It is a marvel to find details of life within the wrinkles of time.

What story do your hands tell?…monos en theos…†…jim

Shades of Gray from Grayson Co, TX #837 – A new day, a new start

 

14-09-20water_5597 copy“And suddenly you know: It’s time to start something new and trust the magic of beginnings.”

Meister Eckhart

It is my birthday today and I am trying to present myself with the gift of a new start

remove all the stumbles and falls of yesterday

listen to the dreams,

live at least one of them out

Know that it is never too late

sprinkle one’s self awake

New Years day in the midst of September.

monos en theos…†…jim

Shades of Gray from Grayson Co, TX #774 – FLOWERS, THEY DO CONSUME YA!

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“Nobody sees a flower – really – it is so small it takes time – we haven’t time – and to see takes time, like to have a friend takes time.”
― Georgia O’Keefe

At my previous home, my neighbor had a Rose of Sharon bush. It would cast a shadow of color ever so often but I never took the time to observe. Now I have one in my yard that screams at me in previously unseen colors every time I walk past.

I am taking the time to have a new friend!…†…monos en theos…….jim

IMAGES OF SMALL THINGS FROM THE BIGGEST COUNTY IN TEXAS #737 – WE HAVE DEW!

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“Who would have thought it possible that a tiny little flower could preoccupy a person so completely that there simply wasn’t room for any other thought.”  
–  Sophie Scholl 

I do with that I could say the above saying applies.

But I have done little to slow and take time to just be.

I get wasted whiling time away

on things that seem important

that have to get the done today.

It can be such a burden

letting time, dew, and flowers

fly past, not stopping

just hurrying away!

stop and feel the dew! en theos monos † jim

 

IMAGES OF SMALL THINGS FROM THE BIGGEST COUNTY IN TEXAS #615 – OLD FRIENDS ARE THE BEST FRIENDS

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Stories still to be told, hugs, smiles yet to be given. Cherish them if you got em.

“Age appears to be best in four things; old wood best to burn, old wine to drink, old friends to trust, and old authors to read.”
Francis Bacon

Hug one today. ††† en theos ††† jimwork

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IMAGES OF SMALL THINGS FROM THE BIGGEST COUNTY IN TEXAS #557 – Timewise it only took this light only 8 minutes to travel 93 millon miles

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We went for a walk with our dogs in the cool of yesterday’s evening and were just frozen for a small moment in the beauty we so often walk right past. To think that the light that now refracted through our atmosphere to frame this mesquite tree and reflect into my heart, just eight minutes ago was 93,000,000 miles away. Now that is a moment to ponder.

” When I admire the wonder of a sunset or the beauty of the moon, my soul expands in worship of the Creator.”  –  Mahatma Gandhi

May time deliver you a gift today ††† en theos ††† jimwork

Images of small things from the biggest county in Texas #550 – Time on your hands, time for prayer

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I had no idea as to what this image was going to be when I started to craft it. It didn’t take too long, but I was wasting a lot of time with using my hands. Makes it easier, I don’t have to talk or ask someone for help.  I was setting the self-timer (ah great word for another post) then racing against time framing my hands to get them in focus and before my self timer ran out of time.  I kept missing getting it all together by a tick or two. Just a little off, a little off center, a little off angle.

My wife walked in and I desperately asked her asked for help. Why we men are so reluctant to ask for help or directions. We are always determined to screw things up, waste more time and remain lost, by fault of our own, thank you very much.

I asked her if she would trip my camera for me. It then all fell quickly into place by just by making that one little plea, HELP.

I found way too many time quotes that I wanted to share so you will just have to ask google for help. But three jumped out:

“Time is an equal opportunity employer.  Each human being has exactly the same number of hours and minutes every day.  Rich people can’t buy more hours.  Scientists can’t invent new minutes.  And you can’t save time to spend it on another day.  Even so, time is amazingly fair and forgiving.  No matter how much time you’ve wasted in the past, you still have an entire tomorrow. ” ~Denis Waitely

“Old Time, that greatest and longest established spinner of all!…. his factory is a secret place, his work is noiseless, and his hands are mutes.”  ~Charles Dickens

And my favorite,

When told the reason for Daylight Saving time the old Indian said, “Only a white man would believe that you could cut a foot off the top of a blanket and sew it to the bottom of a blanket and have a longer blanket.”  ~Author Unknown

enjoy your time, tick tock! ††† en theos ††† jimwork

Photos on the journey #477

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DSC_5071 copyAMore beauty & mystery from the desert rain.

The rain does bring out the beauty of the desert. On a morning walk after a rain I found these little beauties in full bloom. I didn’t have a camera with me. I figured no problemo, I would catch them on the evening walk. That evening, same day, there was not one full bloom, nada, nothing, zip. Flowers were closed as tight as a young cowboy’s Wranglers. So being the optimist, I figured them for morning bloomers and I would get them the next morning.

I came back the next morning knowing I would find the field once again filled with these dazzling golden blooms. Most of the blooms, in a 24 hour time, had their blooms  turning into seed pods. I found a few with partially open flowers. By the afternoon the pods had opened and thin black seeds were being dispersed into the breeze.

Always carry your camera, as Paladin ( one of my favorite TV westerns from the 1950’s) HAVE GUN  CAMERA WILL TRAVEL.

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PEZ@U ††† en theos ††† jlawrence

Photos on the journey #469

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Time in a Bottle, one of my favorite ballads from the early 70’s. What would you do with the time that you had saved in a bottle?

I believe that “I’m busy” has replaced the pat answer “I’m fine”. The evil one’s latest ploy is  to fill us with all this busyness that keeps us from doing the things that are of our hearts. We all think we are going to run out of money when it’s a fact, we will all run out of time way before we run out of money! Think about it, then go find so time and spend it wisely.

James Joseph “Jim” Croce  January 10, 1943 – September 20, 1973 was an American singer-songwriter. Between 1966 and 1973, Croce released five studio albums and 11 singles. His singles “Bad, Bad Leroy Brown” and “Time in a Bottle” were both number one hits on the Billboard Hot 100 charts.

Time in a Bottle” is a hit single for singer-songwriter Jim Croce. Croce wrote the lyrics after his wife Ingrid told him she was pregnant with his son, Adrian, in December 1970. It appeared on his 1972 ABC debut album You Don’t Mess Around with Jim. ABC originally did not intend to release the song as a single; but when Croce was killed in a plane crash in September 1973, the song’s lyrics, dealing with immortality and the wish to have more time, came across as if he had had a presentiment. The song subsequently received a large amount of airplay as an album track and demand for a single release built. When it was eventually issued as a 7″, it became his second and final No. 1 hit.After the single had finished its two-week run at the top in early January 1974, the album “You Don’t Mess Around with Jim” became No. 1 for five weeks. “Time in a Bottle” was used as the title for a compilation album of Croce’s love songs.

If I could save time in a bottle
The first thing that I’d like to do
Is to save every day
Till Eternity passes away
Just to spend them with you

If I could make days last forever
If words could make wishes come true
I’d save every day like a treasure and then,
Again, I would spend them with you

But there never seems to be enough time
To do the things you want to do
Once you find them
I’ve looked around enough to know
That you’re the one I want to go
Through time with

If I had a box just for wishes
And dreams that had never come true
The box would be empty
Except for the memory
Of how they were answered by you

But there never seems to be enough time
To do the things you want to do
Once you find them
I’ve looked around enough to know
That you’re the one I want to go
Through time with

 

PEZFULEZFEELIN’@U ††† en theos ††† jlawrence

Photos on the journey #432

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Ah, what a strange weird trip it has been.

It has been a very trying week. We went to Monahans Tx to get several spring sports photos done. With the oil boom on in west TX., if you can find a hotel, you just plain don’t want to pay what they are asking for a place to sleep. A room at a hotel that two years ago cost us $75 now is over $300. So we took our little hybrid  travel trailer and stayed at Monahans Sandhills State Park. A nice facility and it always allows me a reminder of my childhood days in West Tx.

We got there on Sunday for work on Monday. We awoke to the early morning sounds of high wind gust and snow, yes snow blowing in horizontal alignment with the wind. The day ended up being a total wait things out in the trailer and hope we did also go horizontal in the 70mph gust. All work was blown away with the wind.

Tuesday fared a little better and we got one photo session done in an albeit blustery afternoon.

I then awoke at 4:00 am on Wednesday with the flow blown flu. Everything for that day had to be canceled and I slept 20 of the 24 hours. I managed to muster enough to get the trailer ready for travel and hooked up on Thursday and we followed the wind a 100 miles to home.

I feel cheated, I hate to lose that much time, every year the inflation on time seems as disproportionate as motels in West TX.

The wind was a blowing but I never found an answer my friend.

Pezful EZ feelin’ @U ††† en theos ††† jim