The Darkest Hour

Have you every woken up in the wee hours of the morning with the answer to something that has been weighing on your mind? That is what happened to me the night before last. 

I have been so consumed with what I have to do that creativity and joy were taking a back seat. So when the answers came after waking up at 4am, I grabbed a pencil and my tablet and wrote them down. 

Later in the morning as I was taking my daughter to work, a phrase came to mind that I knew I needed to put into an inspirational art piece.

On Again Off Again

We have had an on again off again winter here in Rapid this month with a few inches of snow one day and then sunshine and mild temps long enough to melt the snow. The above photo was taken on a gorgeous Sunday afternoon at the beginning of the month.

It was so nice out that I decided I would hike to the top of the hill, or at least try too. This is the view from the path leading to the hiking trail.

This map is located at the trail head and shows the various trails indicated in blue. The pink is the path I took on my endeavor to reach the top.

On one of the hills to the right of the park a beautiful home can be seen on the hill.

The winding path wound along going up then down and back up again, as well as making many twists and turns. I began to wonder if I would ever get to the wooded part of the trail.

It was so lovely and relaxing, even if a bit strenuous. The path I took was one that is mark as more difficult. More difficult than what I am not sure, because all of the ones I saw were marked more difficult????

I was not the only one enjoying the trails that day, there were a number of bicyclists and even one runner. I decided it would be best if I walked on the very edge of the trail and actually moved slightly off the trail when I heard the cyclists coming. I have decided the cyclists were much more courteous than the runner. 

Some said hi, some even thanked me for stepping to the side, and one even stopped and apologized for startling this white tail deer I was photographing. I told him it wasn't a problem and thanked him for getting the deer to move so I could get a shot of it standing. While I had a chance I asked if the trail went to the top of the hill. Much to my disappointment he said it did not, but that around the bend behind the deer was the highest point on the trail.

It may not have been the top of the hill but oh what a view! 

It was such a beautiful day and the hike up had been so very peaceful. I refused to let the rude  runner I encountered on the way down spoil my day. I guess he wanted to run were I was walking on the edge of the path, so as he came up behind me he barked at me to move.

Here we are the following morning, Mother Nature  must have decided we needed a reminder that it was still winter..... LOL

As far as the weather goes Rapid City is actually pretty mild by South Dakota standards. How about where you live, are your seasons extreme or mild?

 

Joining in with a bunch of great virtual world travelers at:

Fabulous Friday Fragments

Oh What a Fabulous Day!

a quick shot from today's walk

The sun is shining and even though I must head to work in a very short time I have enjoyed the warm sunshine! But before I do here are a few bits and pieces of my week. Be sure to head over and say hi to Mrs. 4444's

~ I rarely get really sick, oh sure I get a cold now and then that has me sniffling like a snuffelfuagus  but generally it only last a day or two and doesn't prevent me from my normal routines. I had never come down with Influenza so I never worried about getting the vaccine. But let me tell you after three weeks of battling Influenza A followed by two weeks of complications brought on by having battled that nasty virus, and now on week two into the road to full recovery I am still not completely back to my usual self, so next time the doc asks if I want the vaccine … Hell Yes I want it!

 ~ It has been a great week though.

 ~ I spent a bit of time visiting some of my favorite blogs, although I didn't manage to get around to as many as I would like. I found some good reminders in Jennifer Gresham's article on 10 ways to find Joy.

 ~ The week did have a sad spot though. I learned of "The Thorn Birds" author Colleen McCullough's passing and was very shocked to read about the atrocious obit, that focused on her appearance instead of her many achievements, that was run in an Australian newspaper. She was not only an amazing author but a very accomplished and inspiring woman.

~ The creative juices were flowing resulting in the creation of a new quote-ogrophy piece (photograph combined with inspiring or motivational message) some abstract art and a somewhat spooky bit of artwork.

~ My son sent me this cute photo and story.

So there you have it. That was my week, how was yours?

Drop me a line in the comments to let me know.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Do You See What I Saw?

Going through some of my nature photographs from last week I came across this one and immediately decided it was spooky! 

So of course I decided to make it just a bit more spooky. What do you think do you see what I saw? (click on the image for better viewing)

artwork title: Shadows

Shadows

Fear like a shadow

follows us into the sunlight.

Founders Park, Rapid City SD

Amazing how a beautiful day and improved health changes everything. After nearly a month of fighting being ill, I am finally feeling stronger and the weather was so nice on the 27th that I headed to Founders Park for some nature photography. Not only did I get some beautiful nature shots but I also learn a bit of local history.

This memorial which set at the entrance to Founders Park was erected in memory of two Rapid City police officers who were killed in the line of duty back in 2011. The city had not lost an officer in the line of duty in over a hundred years when officers Ryan McCanless, Nick Armstrong and officer Tim Doyle were all three shot when responding to a public nuisance call. Officer Doyle was the only one to survive the shooting. It is very sad but I only hope that this city can go another hundred years without losing another officer in such a way.

Now for a few of the nature shots. With record high temps in the mid 60's the day felt and looked more like spring than mid winter.

The ice was almost completely melted.

Bits of green was peeking through the dead leaves.

The trees were showing signs of new growth.

It was such a gorgeous day and so very inspiring.  When I took this next photo I had a strong feeling it was going to be perfect for the thought that was running through my mind as I wandered around Founders Park, and I wasn't disappointed.

This last image is an abstract created using two photos taken that day. The first photo was of a section of the burnished steel from the Officer's Memorial. As I would have told my late husband, the steel called out to me and said 'look at me, wouldn't I make a fantastic abstract image?" Later that night it was the sunset the insisted it would make the best abstract. So I put them together and told them to get along. I do think they learned their lesson. (smiles)

Burnished Sunset

Of course today winter is back, but it was a nice respite.

How was Sunday in your city?

 Be sure to stop over at Unknown Mami's Sunday in my City to join in the virtual travel.