Monday of the fifth week of Lent

It was a frosty morning. I knew I'd stopped at the right place for the morning even before I parked the car at Herrick Lake. I had real difficulty deciding which of three photos to use today, but this set of reflected branches won. It is also the wallpaper on my computer now, replacing the frosty windshield from the first week of Lent.

As I walked around on frost-crunchy grass this morning, I thought about what a blessing it is that this Lent, my discipline is to do something that is healing for me. Spending five or ten minutes out in nature - taking just a little time out - is such a gift! I've had a number of Lents where my penance was certainly not something I would have chosen - like last year, when I got to spend the first half of Lent with my arm in a cast. This is MUCH MUCH better...

Sunday of the fifth week of Lent

Two more weeks to Easter - and as you can see, we have a spring snow. Fortunately for us, the band of heavy snow (7 inches or more) missed us, and we have mostly a coating of slush. I didn't know the forsythia were in bloom until I went out to look around. Dave told me that forsythia were commonly used as funeral flowers in the past because they bloom so early - if the ground was thawed enough to dig a grave, the forsythia was likely to be in bloom.

Saturday of the fourth week of Lent

My Secular Franciscan fraternity had a morning of reflection today at St. Patrick's church on Crane Rd. I've always loved the stained glass window in their Eucharistic chapel (above). As we reflected on the Passion, I was drawn to the ornaments that seemed to evoke the crown of thorns.

I was happy to learn that one of my friends there and her sister were both enjoying this Lenten project.

Friday of the fourth week of Lent

Thursday was a long day - the only time I had was in the morning and the weather then wasn't conducive to much of anything. Friday was long too, but at least I stopped at Herrick Lake in the morning. Not a beautiful day, but it was good to just stand by the lake for a couple of minutes and listen to the birds.

Wednesday of the fourth week of Lent

This morning was beautiful, after a stormy night. Even though it was ten degrees colder than when I went out yesterday morning, I knew I had to get out and enjoy the early morning. I even went for a longer walk than I planned - and saw a bluebird! That is a special occasion for me!

I saw the dwarf iris above when I went out yesterday, but opted for the crocus as a more appropriate symbol of spring. With the raindrops/dew on it, there was no real question it was "meant" for me to photograph today.

Tuesday of the fourth week of Lent

It was warm enough (and dry) this morning for me to start the day with my "coffee walk" to Limestone Coffee & Tea, a little over a mile from the house. Of course, I took the camera along. There were a lot of crocus coming up; this was the best example near the sidewalk at a time when there wasn't a lot of wind. Good thing I got out then...it's been raining a lot today.

Monday of the fourth week of Lent

Last night, I was driving home from work and the gym, after sunset, looking for photo ops. (It was far too dark and gray in the morning.) I kept looking at trees backlit against the remaining light in the sky, but none were in places where I felt comfortable stopping. So, I took this...in my front yard. Since I was aiming the camera up, the first picture had part of my face in it. I thought that was fun, but not fun enough...I liked this better.

Sunday of the fourth week of Lent

Sundays are surprisingly difficult days to step aside and photograph something. We are busy with other things and I tend to be busy WITH other people (spouse, in-laws, etc.) which makes it more difficult to just take 5 minutes out, particularly late in the afternoon (early on Sunday I am either sleeping or getting ready for church). This Sunday, though, my father-in-law asked if we could put gas in his car (with a walker, it is very difficult for him). On the way back from the gas station, I took this.

Saturday of the third week of Lent

Catching up after another busy week...yesterday, ironically, I almost didn't take any pictures because I was at a photography workshop all day! This workshop gave me some good ideas, but it also reminded me how far I am from being "professional" in my photography. That's OK , I can take what I learned and use it to make better quality pictures when I am being "serious" about what I'm doing...but I can point and shoot too.

While the above has no merit to speak of as art, it DOES show something important: these are the daffodils coming up in our garden. Spring officially started on Friday (when it was in the 20s in the morning)...the daffodils sprouting are a better sign than the calendar.

Friday of the third week of Lent

I had to go to the office on Friday (I usually work from home then). I planned to stop at Herrick Lake to look at the world on the way to work, but I realized I wanted to HEAR flowing water. So, I went back to Warrenville Grove and listened to the DuPage River go over the dam for a couple of minutes...and took this.

Thursday of the third week of Lent

Today was off to a bad start when I stopped en route to work at one of the parks, and realized my camera was on my desk at home. That was about the last time I could think about photography for the day, until I was driving home after a doctor's appointment and dinner. I knew I would be working when I got home...so I thought of something I'd read about - "drive by" photography. So, this was taken out the window (along with several others, but this did the best job of capturing SOME sort of city scene with a little bit of motion). At least I tried something a little different, even if it isn't much of a picture.

Wednesday of the third week of Lent

Today's photo seemed to need to be converted to black and white to convey the abstract "tree squiggles" I saw. It's a good thing I stopped at Herrick Lake on the way to work - not only did I get a few minutes outdoors listening to the birds and walking in the woods, but I had no opportunity the rest of the day to do much of anything. So, taking time out - even 5-10 minutes - was a gift.

Tuesday of the third week of Lent

I'm not too satisfied with this, the best of three photos I took on the way home. Probably the most interesting aspect of it is that this is a "wetland" very close to a designer outlet mall. At least in this shot, it looks like we're out in nature, not a few feet from a bank and a block or so from an interstate AND the mall. At least I am continuing my "project". And...it was a beautiful day, over 70 and sunny. Fantastic for March - it won't last, but it's a promise of things to come.

Tonight I stopped by our church to visit the Blessed Sacrament. What caught my eye was the light shining through the stained glass window on the windowsill. Usually you don't get to enjoy stained glass from the outside.

Third Sunday of Lent

Today was an absolutely beautiful day. I was also out all afternoon for a fraternity meeting up in Crystal Lake. I took a small detour on the way home and found a wetlands with an overlook and nature trail, but that will provide future entertainment - by then I had frozen food in the car and needed to get home (plus it's too early in the season for it to be very interesting). It was nice to get out for a couple of minutes and listen to the birds.

After I got home, we went for a walk - it was still plenty warm enough at sunset. We stopped and watched a beaver in a nearby retention pond (judging by the damage, he's been there for some time). We saw wood ducks along with the mallards down by the river (not far from where the photo above was taken), and a white duck keeping company with a pair of mallards. The birds are singing louder every day! I saw a tulip coming up - first one of the season. Some of the maples are starting to bloom. It's good to see all these signs of spring...at least this project IS getting me to pay more attention!

Saturday of the second week of Lent

I didn't go out in the early part of the day (too cold) and then we were away most of the day...so I looked around our back yard at sunset. I looked up at our biggest maple tree and liked the way the trunk and branches looked, so here it is.

We had another sign of spring today - many, many people out and about. At Border's, the cashier attributed the lines to the weather improving. Having an extra hour of daylight at the end of the day (and lengthening days every day) sure doesn't hurt either.

Two weeks into Lent...four more to go.

Friday of the second week of Lent

Well, that "45 degrees" predicted for today didn't happen, but it was warm enough to walk down by the Fox River. The sun even came back out while I was out, which was a bonus. Today I felt as though I spent enough time to start "playing" past the obvious "get a photo for the project" type pictures. I took some photos of trees with various bark patterns, but I liked this semi-abstract picture the best. We probably won't have much more ice...but it's going to be in the low 20s tonight, so ice isn't gone yet.

I noticed green leaves sprouting up in shallow water. It was the most green I've seen so far this year! We continue moving - slowly - toward spring.

Thursday of the second week of Lent

Thursday mornings are tough for me. We have our weekly team meeting at 8AM Thursday (to accommodate, as much as possible, our teammates in Bangalore) and I usually want to be in the office by 7:30 or a little after in order to get coffee and get organized. Yesterday, though, I changed my route to work to go by a "photo op" - Herrick Lake. Perhaps more important than getting a photo or two (though I like this one a lot) was hearing a woodpecker hammering on a tree...and seeing my first robin of the season, chirping on a tree outside the parking garage when I got to work. It was bitterly cold, but there were still signs of spring.

I am starting to find fault with my "process" for this Lenten project. 5 minutes and a couple of photos a day? That isn't much "work" - and I'm not exactly going outside my "comfort zone" photographically (visit www.klickfamily.com/vickie to see what I mean). Admittedly, with the amount I've been working lately, it's an effort to do this much on a daily basis. The daily (or most days) part is the discipline, the challenge. If I weren't doing this project, I would have missed all this beauty that is available on a daily basis.

It's supposed to get up to 45 degrees today, and it's sunny. I need to get out for a walk...and prepare for my actual Friday post.

Wednesday of the second week of Lent

I am playing catchup on Friday, taking a day off (could be viewed as fasting from work) after a hectic couple of weeks. Thanks to stopping on the way to work, I did actually find a few moments on Wednesday (and Thursday, soon to come) to photograph something. This is the west branch of the DuPage River again, at Warrenville Grove (home of the ice bells and the flooding from a couple of days earlier). The river was still flooded when I took this, but at least the water wasn't higher than the dam any more. A day or so earlier, you couldn't see where the dam was except for a little extra turbulence in the water.

My view is, whatever you get done early in the day can't be undone by what happens later. Too often, what I put off until later (be it exercise, photography, whatever) doesn't get done - "stuff" gets in the way. On the other hand, it is nice (like today) to sleep late and not be in a rush to get out and do anything.

Tuesday of the second week of Lent

Today was another day of rain and gloom. There was some light in the sky to the west as I left work; I finally found a spot that showed a little light with fewer power lines and other items at the old Eola Rd. entrance to Fermilab. Then the rain closed in the rest of the way. On the other hand, the buds are getting bigger on the trees (but it's good they haven't leafed out yet; tomorrow night it's supposed to be 12 degrees).

The brightest spot for today was seeing someone I last worked with 18 years ago, who will be becoming a Catholic at the Easter Vigil. I'm planning to go into Chicago for his Baptism. What a special, wonderful occasion that will be! I feel as though maybe that's part of why I haven't rejoined the choir this year; instead of being committed to singing at our church, I can be part of another special, unrepeatable celebration.

Monday of the second week of Lent - between rains

The spot where this photo was taken is close to where the ice bells were last week. They were over near that bridge near the top of the photo - the bridge that is mostly underwater. After ~3 inches of rain this weekend, there isn't much ice to be found - but plenty of water! I didn't get any pictures on Sunday - too rainy and gloomy. Fortunately, I stopped at Warrenville Grove on my way to work today - not much in the way of photo ops by the time I was headed home. The rain is already starting again tonight.

Even a Lenten project like this is subject to "fasting," in the sense that I can't make this project take priority over other important things - church, doing things with family, working, all of that. It is good to learn how to make space for a project like this where I would have thought there was no time and opportunity. Even when I haven't been able to take pictures, I think I'm noticing the changes around me a little more - the birds, the weather, the plants (soon).

Speaking of plants, I learned yesterday that the witch hazel I photographed in the wet on Saturday actually has one branch that blooms in the fall and the rest blooms in the spring! I also learned that we have another spring-blooming witch hazel that has orange flowers instead of yellow. (The latter is immortalized in the "ice leaf" on my home page, www.klickfamily.com/vickie.) It's good to learn something new about the world around us - or even about our own gardens.

Saturday of the first week of Lent

Today is NOT much of a day for photography - first we had thunderstorms interspersed with weak sunshine, then it just became dark and rainy. I went out in drizzle to bring in the mail before it got COMPLETELY dark, camera in my pocket. Today is the first day I've actually deleted all the other photos I took (few though they were) - this one is heavily cropped. HOWEVER, this one is significant: this not-terribly-attractive flower is the first flower of spring (at least in our yard). Not the crocus, but the vernal witch hazel.

At least, despite the weather, there is another sign today of the new life to come.

I always wonder what it's like to observe Lent and particularly Easter in the Southern Hemisphere, where it is fall instead of spring. It helps me to have nature reinforce the spiritual seasons!

Friday of the first week of Lent

This morning really seems like spring - it was about 50 and foggy when I went out for my first morning "coffee walk" of the year (been too cold and snowy to walk down to Limestone Coffee & Tea since December). I really wanted a nice walk since yesterday was 12 hours of work and not much else - so my Lenten project lost a day. (I knew it would happen sooner or later...) I had just taken a photo of a duck on the retention pond near the house when it decided to take off - so I missed that but got this.

By the time I came back, most of the fog had burned off and the magic was gone. I love the early mornings when the birds are singing - the plants are waiting for more consistently warm weather yet, but the birds think it's spring!

Wednesday of the first week of Lent

What a different day today! It was warmer (mid-40s) and sunny - a nice day for a real walk outside, without needing to be completely bundled up. But, as you can see, the ice is still hanging on - today's view is from the edge of the Fox River near my home. What I didn't include (yet) are the other signs of spring I saw: more geese, more ducks, a few walking on the ice in the backwaters, but mostly swimming, splashing, and interacting with each other. There were human signs of spring, too: a family with fishing poles, including a playful puppy.

One thing I thought about on my walk is how often I get wrapped up in my own thoughts, even when my stated goal is to be more aware of the gift of the world around me. It's hard to stop the internal monologue and just pay attention...

Tuesday of the first week of Lent

Today I saw ice bells! This is the first photo from the "Lent project" that has an obvious name. I guess ice is the theme of this first part of Lent...at least it's something GOOD about this cold late-winter weather.

It was a relatively frustrating day at work and of course I hadn't done anything about a photo. I thought of a place to stop and relax in the last light of the day - Warrenville Grove Forest Preserve, along the DuPage River. There were lots of nice ice formations, and THEN I saw the bells. Cool!

This project is certainly giving me the opportunity to see many beautiful things that I wouldn't have taken the time or trouble to seek out, between work and weather.

Monday of the first week of Lent

Sometimes these Lenten ideas seem great when you haven't started Lent yet. This one would be a lot more fun if it were actually SPRING instead of 24 degrees and breezy. But I still think it's something of a success when I walk around our yard and find something like this. The color and texture of shelf fungus comes in infinite varieties; I have probably walked by this many times without noticing the subtle varieties of color that you see when you get closer.

My husband has a degree in horticulture, along with computer science. He told me that you only see fungus like this on a tree if it's rotting inside. In this case, it was clear (this part of the tree is hollow!) but sometimes the fungus is the only easily visible sign that things are falling apart on the inside. What about us shows what's really going on inside?

First Sunday of Lent

I thought I wasn't going to have a photo for Sunday - we spent the afternoon and evening celebrating my mother-in-law's birthday. When we got home it was late, dark, and cold. I decided to play for a few minutes and looked in the china cabinet to see if there was something I could shine light through. I found a lovely glass paperweight I bought in North Carolina (goldhagenartglass.com/) and put it on a big flashlight.

I had trouble deciding which photo I preferred, one that showed the tulip shape or the mandala-like round one from above. As I looked at them, the round one won. I like the sense of peace and completion it has.

Thinking about the world differently

As a side note, here's a website that can make you think about things differently:
http://www.thephotographicdictionary.org
Some of the word/photograph associations will definitely stick with you!

In a way, this is "conversion" - turning your habitual ways of thinking and association around.

Saturday after Ash Wednesday

My Secular Franciscan fraternity met Saturday morning. One of the questions asked was what we were doing for Lent. I felt moved to share this project with my fraternity (which, in turn, led to this blog). I appreciate that others are interested in seeing the results of this! Someone else had a similar experience with her spiritual director pointing in the direction of her creative talents as a practice for Lent.

This photo was the result of a combination of planning ahead and accepting a "nudge". I was out shopping for my mother-in-law's birthday present, and knew I would be near a marsh that could be interesting. However, I had a gift in the back seat and didn't want to stop long. I felt that I should really stop anyway, and I was glad I did. When I walked around the retaining wall and looked down at the water, I couldn't figure out what I was seeing - it seemed so strange to have the ice on one level and the water well below it! I was grateful to just SEE it - it was very interesting and beautiful.

I believe that the Holy Spirit's inspirations make use of our preparation, but we have to be willing to leave some room for the unexpected. As someone who likes to plan and likes to have her plans come out as intended, that can be a challenge...but over time, I've found that creative endeavors, in particular, work out a lot better if I do my homework, but leave some space for the Spirit to move. Whether it's photography, speaking, or writing, I'm often surprised by what comes together!

Late in the afternoon, I was back at the riverwalk where I had been on Wednesday. It wasn't a time to stop for photos...but the trees and branches seemed to have chandelier prisms of ice attached to them. Beautiful!

Friday after Ash Wednesday

As you might expect from the big "oops" in my last post, Friday was not the best day on record. We spent time getting the wet car cleaned up (hopefully all has been successful). I had a lot of work to do, too, and the weather wasn't exactly conducive to being out and about.

Midafternoon, when the sun was at least out a little, I took a break and took the vegetable trimmings out to the compost heap - a job I don't enjoy doing and postpone as long as possible (which, in the winter, is quite a while). I took my camera out with me to see what there was to see. The frozen birdbath attracted me.

I tried several pictures to see if I could shade more of the birdbath so you could see through the ice to the leaves better; this was the best one. In a sense, I'm in the picture, since I'm shading the part you can see through.

One of my other Lenten intentions was to go to Friday afternoon Mass. I didn't make it. I think I should try to do the things I want to do "extra" earlier in the day, so work, meal preparation, being tired, etc., doesn't get in the way.

Ash Wednesday

After meeting with my spiritual directory the Monday before Ash Wednesday and jointly coming up with the idea of photographing my way through Lent this year, I was excited when I woke up on Wednesday morning. I had ideas of photographing something at church, appropriate to the day. I was ready early and thought I would go to church and pray before Mass. As I passed through downtown Batavia, I decided to spend a few minutes walking along the river before going to church. I soon discovered that the trees and branches in the water were adorned with dangling bits of ice. The photo above captures it the best.

I returned to the same spot for another walk (exercise is good too!) late in the afternoon. It had been about 50 degrees for much of the day and the ice was gone.

I felt as though I was given the gift of seeing this beauty to start Ash Wednesday, by listening to the little nudge to go and walk before Mass. (And, yes, I did get to church in time to pray Morning Prayer before Mass started...)

Thursday after Ash Wednesday

I was wondering what I would find to photograph the Thursday after Ash Wednesday, as heavy rain and fog were predicted most of the day. Going out to my car to leave for an early morning meeting, I saw hard frost (and it WAS hard, I tried to scratch it with my gloved hand and didn't make a dent). Getting into the car, I saw the sun through the frost...and realized that God had given me a "photo op" to start the day.

One of the benefits I think I am already getting from this exercise is being more aware of the opportunities and the beauty all around me. Ironically, later on Thursday I was reminded how UNaware I can be; I got home in pouring rain and ran for the house, not noticing that in grabbing the car keys, I had activated the remote for my husband's car...and lowered the windows. Oops. I didn't know I could do THAT...and I sure wished I hadn't.

So, the lessons of Lent begin (obvious as they are, I clearly need reminding!).