The Path

From Buddha to Thoreau to every last painter, poet and photographer, the power of a physical path to represent the journey of life is irresistible. For us, this image, The Path, always brings to mind these two specific quotes:

Pursue some path, however narrow and crooked, in which you can walk with
love and reverence.
~ Henry David Thoreau

“It’s your road…and yours alone… Others may walk it with you, but no one can
walk it for you. No matter what path you choose, really walk it.”
~ Buddha

A Cloudy Draw

When all at once a mighty herd of

red eyed cows he saw
A-plowing through the ragged
sky and up the cloudy draw
~ Ghost Riders In The Sky

The soundtrack of Angela’s childhood includes endless Elvis from her mother and cowboy songs from her dad. During the years that the family lived in Colorado, they often went to chuckwagon dinners under the stars and listened to cowboys sing for hours. The highlight of the night was always Ghost Riders In The Sky. Part ballad and part ghost story, it gave Angela and her sisters goosebumps every time! This photo, with the ragged, fiery sky above the weather-beaten homestead, looks like it might have been taken the moment before a band of ghostly cowboys and their red-eyed herd burst through to drive their way across the endless skies.

Palm Cove

Palm trees and day dreams go together like sandy beaches and piña coladas. This is especially true when the palm trees have been photographed using infrared film. Here, the luminous glow of the palm fronds shelter a well-loved sailboat in a secluded Key Largo cove. This is easily one of our favorite photos for inspiring fantasies of escape. Come sail away with us to our little island paradise!      

The Beautiful
And The Damned

This triptych honors four of Angela’s favorite writers. Tennessee Williams is buried in St. Louis beneath a lovely monument, but he actually wanted to be buried at sea near the spot where a dear friend drowned after jumping from a ship. Edgar Allan Poe lived from 1809 - 1849,
but the dates on this stone note the 26 years Poe lay in an unmarked grave at this location until local teachers raised funds for a proper memorial. In keeping with the morbidity of this life, he was then exhumed and laid to rest beneath grand monument at the front of the graveyard. Finally, there are the Fitzgeralds. The quote on their stone flawlessly describes the turbulent lives of these literary giants: “So we beat on, boats against the current, borne ceaselessly into the past.”    

Multnomah Falls

In Oregon, Multnomah Falls plunges more than 625 feet and has thrilled visitors for more than 100 years. Sadly, this beloved American park was in the path of the fast-moving Eagle Creek Fire that burned more than 48,000 acres of land in the Columbia Gorge in 2017. Fire fighters battled valiantly to save the historic lodge - and even the bridge suffered only a minimal amount of damage. These victories are especially remarkable when seen in the midst of so many miles of scorched trees and devastation. This image, taken a year before the fire, reminds us how important it is to cherish and protect our most spectacular natural wonders.

A Great Calm

He made the storm be still.
~ Psalm 107:29

During a recent visit to the Ingalls family homestead in De Smet, South Dakota, we came across this simple, lovely church. The historic building, while not originally part of the Ingalls property or their lives in South Dakota, was moved here to preserve it and to honor the important place faith had in Laura’s life. In addition to attending church with Ma and Pa, Laura won an award as a girl in Walnut Grove for memorizing the most bible verses. Most significantly though, in her own bible, Laura marked special psalms and verses with notes to herself about the occasions on which they ought to be read. She prescribed herself particular verses for times when she felt discouraged (Psalm 23 & 24), when she was sick or in pain (Psalm 91), when she needed to feel inner peace (the 14th chapter of St. John) and many others. It seemed very propitious, then, that as we approached this small church the skies began to brighten and the storm to still.

Saguaro Moon

Captured on the grounds of Taliesin West, this image reminds us of why Frank Lloyd Wright chose to build his home in Arizona, and also why he built and landscaped the front of his property to jut forward like the prow of a ship. The surrounding terrain - the water, mountains, rocks and cacti - made Wright feel that the desert was like the bottom of the ocean. Eternally drawn to she shapes and textures of nature, his home in the rugged Sonoran valley made him feel as though he were ‘looking over the rim of the world!’ The landscape here inspired much of his later work, as well as that of many of his many of fellowship students.

Angels Of New Orleans

The weeping angel and her sisters give form to the spirit of their surroundings. Mourning the untimely passing of his siblings, New Orleans a philanthropist commissioned the greif-stricken figure in the center. Inspired by W.W. Story’s iconic statue in Rome, the New Orleans monument attracts countless visitors who are drawn by her sorrowful beauty. By contrast, the other two angels have thir wings spread and stand ready to guide the fallen as they pass into Heaven. Truly, these benevolent immortals adorn cemeteries the world over to comfort us as we consider the fragility of life and confront the hopes and fears that are - perhaps - the greatest challenges we face as  mortals.