Nature Shots

Nature shots are my favorite to take. As I have said repeatedly on this site…I am a HUGE fan of nature. The natural world fascinates me…in multiple ways. So much to learn…such a wide variety of avenues you can take to explore and study…unlimited in scope. Many years ago, I asked Father to give me a heart to know, a mind to understand, ears to hear, and eyes to see. For me…I understood, I didn’t know. So many think they know. Arrogance.

One of the things I dislike about arrogant people…they want to vomit out all of their “knowledge and expertise” to me…even when I haven’t asked for it. They love to show and tell people how smart they are. My dad and I always have a saying we say when they walk away…they don’t know what in the Hell they are talking about. 🤣

I often wonder what arrogant people will think when they meet Him face to face. While here on Earth they thought so highly of self…then to finally meet the Creator…see self as they should have all along…man…can’t imagine that revealing. I think that would be horrifying. 😳

Father used to spank me regularly while in obedience training. At first, I was horrified by who I was as He revealed the truth to me…about me…compared to who He is. Rough stuff there. Truth can be SUPER painful. 😩

An Idea

Eventually…I had this idea pop up in my mind. Him. If I could see myself as He sees me…through His eyes…that would set me free from any distorted vision of myself and the pain associated with my inadequacies as a human.

I asked Him…show me who I am to you. How do you see me? Show me what you see when you look at me. Give me your eyes to see me…so my vision isn’t distorted.

Vision

The vision came. He gave me His eyes to see myself compared to Him.

I was about 5 or 6 years old I would say. I was sitting in His throne chair. It was huge. My feet couldn’t touch the floor. I was swallowed up in that chair as a small child. (Think Goldilocks and the Three Bears… Dad’s chair.)

Father then put his hands around my ribcage and picked me up…lifting me up out of the chair and setting me down beside Him. We were standing together…Father and daughter. He took my hand, and we started walking together hand in hand. While I was seeing…I was hearing. He was saying to me…you are my daughter. I AM your Father. You are the student. I AM the teacher.

Ahhh…Ok. Gotcha! That settled it for me.

I know nothing unless my Father and Teacher teaches me.

This is why He wants us to come to Him like little children…with a heart and a mind to KNOW…I don’t know.

Illinois

I grew up in Illinois and lived there for years until I moved to Indiana as a single mom with my kiddos. For several years now I have been a nomad…call it living in the Wilderness. Much like the Israelites did many years ago. I have been living out of boxes and luggage…then when Holy Spirit tells me it is time to move…I move. I have been wandering around homeless waiting for my knight in shining armor…my Husband…LIFE partner.

For part of my time in the Wilderness, I moved back to Illinois. I lived in a friend’s spare apartment. Tiny home. I have affectionately called it my little cabin in the woods.

These pictures were taken while living there. One day I decided to wander around and practice taking photos of anything that inspired me. My friend owns a sawmill as he is a carpenter and a farmer. It is a large property and had a ton of interesting things for me to take snapshots of.

I love all things wood. The smell of wood is just delightful. So fragrant in nature.

My friend has a thing for cats…a heart for them.

This little kitten was sitting on a wood pile. LOTS of wood piles to sit on. 😜 I thought she had a sweet face.

I grew up with cats. Outside cats. My dad was adamant…no animals in the house. I so get him. 😉 THE FUR!!!!!!

Animals

I love animals…all breeds and varieties…wild and domestic. Huge animal lover. BUT…I would prefer to NOT have them inside my house. Call me lazy…I don’t want to have to clean up after them. I have enough work cleaning up after myself. 🤷‍♀️😳😉

This picture of Tonto…is with his buddy Choco. When I would take walks…Choco and Tonto always tagged along. I was amazed I caught this picture while Tonto had all four feet in the air. Crazy cool man! Super stoked about it. I think it looks cool with his feet up and his tail curved and pointy like it is.

Poor Choco was old. I felt sorry for him having to put up with Tonto. Tonto was still a pup and wanted to play 24//7. Choco was old and wanted to rest. 😂

I like to imagine what the animals are saying…I always thought Choco was saying…child…leave me alone. You are annoying. Go away. 🤨

Landscaping

My friend’s wife loved landscaping and plants. She had spent a lot of time planting a different variety of perennials and annuals in a few gardens in the front yard. As she kept it maintained…it was pretty. I enjoyed looking at all the plants and the objects she placed there for added interest.

In this photo of the lens ball, it is sitting on a bench in one of the gardens. I am always trying to find something to shoot using the lens ball…and find something that looks good or interesting.

I saw this bench and thought I would pull my lens ball out and try taking a photo of the garden through it. They always come out inverted so I flipped the photo right side up and this is what I have.

I like it. I opened my aperture to get the blur outside of the ball…focusing in on only the landscape within the ball.

Having moved so much in the last few years…IL, IN, CO, and MI…I am grateful to have photos from each state as a reminder of my wilderness journey.