Where: Bradford, VT
When: New Year Weekend, 2010

And now for something completely different

Where: A station on the way to Amherst from NYC
When: December, Christmastimeish

I like the grain and the texture of the windows and the ominously anonymous "Station" sign.

Where: Leverett, MA
When: December 23, 2009

Resting Restlessly

Where: Home
When: February 21, 2009

Home is wherever I'm with you

Where: Home
When: February 21, 2009

Title from the song "Home" by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, which is really fun and bouncy. Here it is being used as the background music for a video Shreve of the Daily Coyote made of Charlie (her coyote), and Chloe (her dog):

Song "Home" With Charlie and Chloe

Where: Central Park, NYC
When: February 13, 2010

Where: Central Park, NYC
When: February 13, 2010

Where: Central Park, NYC
When: February 13, 2010

Where: Central Park, NYC
When: February 13, 2010

Someday Soon

Where: Hudson River Park, NYC
When: November 26, 2009

Walking the dog this morning it was actually, legitimately LIGHT! Hooray!

Snow day!

Where: Leverett, MA
When: December 23, 2009

Ok so this picture has nothing to do with the snow day, but I thought it looked all warm and cozy somehow, probably because yarn reminds me of fuzzy sweaters.

The point is, we got a whole lot of snow today, and they canceled school! So I had a much, MUCH needed day of quiet and rest, and it was fantastic. I got lots of work done, and lots of resting done, and Piper and I played in the snow, I even played the piano which I hadn't done in something like 2 months, so it was just great. Still no camera time though, I'm not sure when I'm going to fit that in, but I have to soon or I'll have nothing left to post here.

In Search of Silence

Where: Leverett, MA
When: December 23, 2009

I've been happy but far too busy this year (although I think the "happy" is directly correlated to the "too busy"), and I'm starting to feel a little worn out. I was spending some time longing for a nice big chunk of silence and inactivity - a weeks worth sounded perfect. But since that is simply never going to happen (and I'd just get bored if it did), I decided to spend yesterday noticing every time there was silence and the opportunity to rest. And it turns out, if I allow myself to focus on the times when I can rest, the times when I don't have to speak or think, the majority of my day can be spent in silence.

The moments of silence yesterday included when I was walking the dog, drinking my coffee, eating my breakfast, sitting on the subway, walking to class, taking a sip of water during class, receiving a massage from a fellow student, eating each spoonful of soup during lunch, walking home, and doing the dishes. All of these silly, regular, mundane things suddenly became luxurious pockets of silence and rest.

I happened to pick up "The Places That Scare You" by Pema Chodron yesterday morning, and read the following, which, while not directly related to the practice I did yesterday, certainly influenced the way that I approached the day. It was on the Buddhist slogan "Train in the three difficulties":

"The three difficulties are (1) acknowledging neurosis as neurosis, (2) doing something different, (3) aspiring to continue practicing this way."

Buddhism, or cognitive therapy? I don't see why I have to choose. ;)

Where: Hudson River Park, NYC
When: November 26, 2009

Sorry I keep not posting every day, this semester has been really crazy for me. I feel like I don't have the time or energy to shoot, so the supply of material for the blog is getting a little low. Word is there's a big snowstorm coming for us in the next couple of days, so I'll try to find time to get some shots during that.

Where: Hudson River Park, NYC
When: November 26, 2009

Cloud Mountain

Where: Leverett, MA
When: December 23, 2009