{Upstream}

One tree is like another tree, but not that much. One tulip is like the next tulip, but not altogether. More or less like people-a general outline, the the stunning individual strokes. Hello Tom, hello Andy, Hello Archibald Violet, and Clarissa Bluebell. Hello Lillian Willow, and Noah the oak tree I have hugged and kissed every first day of spring for the last thirty years. And in reply it's thousands of leaves tremble! What a life is ours! 
            Doesn't anybody in the world anymore want to get up in the middle of the night and sing?
                                                     -Mary Oliver, Upstream

One of the best things about being "creatively organized" is I have a back log of pictures. It's hard to delete these files even after I've edited and tucked them away. So these huge RAW files sit on my computer til I want to avoid doing work (right now in fact) and I decide it's time to mop the floor and oh yeah...How about I clean out Lightroom. I came across this photograph from a trip to Arizona about six years ago. In general, I can find beauty with most landscapes. With the exception of North Dakota. I can't. I just can't even. I've tried. The desert is an abstract painting speckled with tiny details in unusual places. It's airy, peaceful and majestic. This picture was a favorite, despite the odd crop. I believe I was trying to avoid bees while shooting. And the I'm currently reading Mary Oliver's book of essays Upstream. Which is tremendous and easy to get lost in its pages.