Our  Early Morning Walk – Writing Assignment #11

Photo by Lynda McKinney Lambert: “8 Am April Morning.”

^{Did you know April is National Poetry Month?}

^{I decided to occasion EVERY DAY this month by keeping my focus on writing poems.}

 Morning walks are a special time between me and my dog, Mitchell.

I decided recently that I want to photographically record the area where I live, and in particular the landscape around the Connoquenessing Creek in Western Pennsylvania.  This is where I have lived my entire life and the Creek has been a central image every day even when I am not consciously thinking about it.  I plan to do photos and write about the changes as they occur throughout the year. I call this series, “Life on the Connie.”

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Around 8 am, Mitchell waited patiently at the kitchen door as I pulled on my Wellies and slipped into my warm jacket.  As I put her red leather harness on her she lifted one foot, and then the other, as she stepped into it. I snapped on the red leash, and we were ready to leave for a little walk.

We left the house together for our first walk of the day. I took my camera along and snapped a few photos of the landscape, all so familiar to us.

I noticed that the grass in meadow was covered with a fine, light silver layer of frost. There is a quiet beauty in frost that we might miss if we are not paying attention to the visual details of the moment.  I thought, “I know the calendar tells us it is SPRING, but it does not look or feel like it yet.”  It was crispy cold!

I paused to look at some of the details around us.  It will be changing rapidly as the month of April moves forward and if I don’t capture these days with my photos, I will soon forget how special they are.  I’ll be swept away with the unfolding of grass, weeds, wildflowers, and trees by the end of this month, I thought.

Within a few minutes, I heard an owl hooting. Just in case I was daydreaming, the Owl spoke once again. Ah, no, it is real. There truly is an owl nearby this morning. The haunting sounds of the owl, a lyrical moment; it seemed to be coming from somewhere near the creek just beyond our view. I felt like the owl was greeting us as we passed by on our morning journey.

Today’s photos show a world that still looks like a winter day.  By the time we walked back towards the house, I noticed the sun was already climbing up into the sky more than I had realized.  It was already bright and the frost was gone from beneath our feet.

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Walking by Inner Vision –  Journal Assignment #11:

Take your camera outside with you today.

Look around for some little details that you have overlooked but now you are beginning to see them.

Take a few photos of some little details and some wide landscape views that catch your eye today.

When you come back inside, write down some notes about your experience.

Note what time of day it is.

Think about sounds you heard.

Can you recall the breeze, or the scents in the air?

Did you experience an internal dialogue today?

What thoughts were swirling around as you tried to pay attention to the world all around you?

Try to think about what is going on inside your head when you are looking at your world through new eyes.

Write about your experiences as you look at one of the photographs you took today.