Weekly Review

The weather has been DIVINE lately (high of 82 today, unreal fall mountain weather!) resulting in lots of outdoor time and photographs.

Last week Tobias came into town with one of his coworkers and we all spent Saturday at Pearl Lake State Park. It was very laid-back due to recovering illnesses. We spent a significant amount of time in the hammock. I think I have had my life's greatest naps in that double nest hammock. Hammock cuddles are the best.

On Sunday we decided to hike to an old uranium mine by Fish Creek Falls (an uber tourist site of Steamboat). It was the perfect short hike. While the uranium mine was anti-climatic it was so nice to be outside and the elevation gain gave way to stunning views. I also took a moment to attempt a selfie... a difficult task with the current lenses on my DSLR.

I've been trying to bike as much as possible this week. The last few photos are from a visit to the Botanical Garden. While many of the flowers are beginning to die the baby trees are doing so well. Aren't they adorable?! The core bike path here is beaming with yellow leaves and I love it! The fall equinox is this upcoming Tuesday, get ready people! I'm excited to weave the equinox into my upcoming yoga classes.

Have a beautiful weekend! 

P.S. Did I mention I depart for Indonesia in LESS THAN A MONTH!

Photo Inspiration // Rebecca Litchfield

I found Rebecca's work through Instagram the other day and decided to take a deeper look. Aren't these photographs stunning? One of the reasons her work resonated with me is because of my fascination with abandoned places, they contain so much history and mystery. While I was studying for my BFA I spent a lot of time photographing abandoned sites. In the grand spectrum of things, Colorado is a relatively young place. Another reason why the deep history portrayed in Litchfiekd's photographs is of interest to me. There is also a sense of rebellion that fills the soul when you step onto an abandoned property that has a clear sign saying "Private Property, Do Not Enter". The lighting in Litchfield's photos is always soft and illuminates in the perfect places. Rebecca has traveled extensively throughout Europe photographing abandoned sites. Check out her webpage here to see more of her stunning work!

And, although this is extremely vulnerable for me, I've decided to post some of my attempts at documenting abandoned places..... Oh how I miss printing film!! (all photos shot with medium-large format cameras)

Monday Mantra 04

Courageously Vulnerable.

"Sensitivity is a sign of life. Better hurt than hardened. I bow to those who keep their hearts open when it is most difficult, those who refuse to keep their armor on any longer than they have to, those who recognize the courage at the heart of vulnerability. After all the malevolent warriors end each other, the open-hearted will inherit the earth."

~"Ascending with Both Feet On the Ground" by Jeff Brown

Elena Brower, one of my favorite yoga teachers, posted this excerpt on her Facebook this morning and it totally inspired me. I'm getting ready to go teach myself and I intend to pass this message along. It is so much harder to take the armor off than to keep it on. But, there is so much reward in opening up and allowing yourself to be vulnerable with people. I'm a highly sensitive and empathetic being, one of the reasons I believe I'm so called towards healing people, yet I still struggle with this concept. When I get upset I immediately retreat and shut myself off from the world.

This week it is my intention to be courageously vulnerable.

Inhale: Vulnerability.

Exhale: Courage.

Happy Monday beautiful!

Between Lenses // Silence

I am so excited about this blog post! While reading Shy's beautiful blog a few weeks ago I stumbled across this blog hop. This photography challenge is hosted by Trina and Tara, and I am so grateful for their creative birthing of this collaboration. I feel that participating in these challenges will be a good way for me to harness my creativity. It also makes me a little nostalgic, reminding me of photography assignments in college.

This month's challenge was to capture silence. Below is my interpretation and explanation.

 

Silence, it's a tricky word to capture. In my mind, a shallow depth of field directly correlates with silence. There is so much space and unknown within that place. I took this photo one morning while watering my plants. Mornings are sacred to me. One of the reasons being that they are filled with silence. Watering this lavender plant is a morning ritual I associate with my slow, soft, silent filled mornings.

My life has been filled with silence lately, maybe too much. Living alone has led to this lack of noise. It seems to be eating at me, aiding in my loneliness. Maybe it's just this week. I'm trying to look towards the silence as a teacher: reminding me to breathe and respond, rather than react to life.

If you feel inspired, join in the monthly challenge. It's a beautiful way to cultivate creativity and discover new blogs!

P.S. TGIF!! Have a gorgeous weekend. I'm hoping to get outside and shed off some shit that seems to be sticking to me from this past week.

Seek Adventure / Pingree Park

Sorry for the horrible iPhone zoom quality on this last photo BUT it's a moose!!

This past weekend I went to visit Tobias in Pingree Park where he is teaching environmental education. Pingree is a part of Colorado State University (where we both graduated) and it piggyback's Rocky Mountain National Park, along with multiple wilderness areas.  If you can't tell from these photos, it is beautiful. On Saturday we hiked for 7/8 hours and only saw 3 other people the entire time. We decided to hike to Mummy Pass and summit "the mummy". In the 4th photo, with the sign of RMNP, you can see the mummy's head. There is no clear trail so we scrambled up the scree field, watching our every move.

Although it has been lonely living in our apartment without Tobias I am so proud of him and happy that he has this amazing opportunity. It's amazing how much environmental exposure these children are receiving and I know it is inspiring them to love mama earth.

P.S. How cute is his cabin?!

Juice Cleansing

This past Monday I started a 3 day juice cleanse with a local company. I'm currently on my last day and can honestly say the past three days have been some of the slowest of my entire life. Maybe that seems dramatic, but the cleanse has made time move very slowly. This is the first fast I have ever done before and it has not been nearly as glam as people make it out to be. The first day was hard. I went to work and starred at my coworkers food as I missed the sensation of food between my teeth. Day two was not so wonderful either. The real detoxing began and my stomach was upset all day as my liver detoxed. Now here I am, day 3. I'm currently hungry but will leave soon to go receive my super cleanser, afternoon juice, and night juice. 

Cleansing has forced me to be present. I've been somewhat of a hermit this week because I do not want to be around food, it would be too hard. It's amazing how many social situations, especially in my life, relate to food. I love to cook, and with other people. But, the cleanse has been a time to step back and "clean house". I've been doing a lot of work from home and spending time resting, allowing my body to heal itself.

It's incredible the amount of crap that invades the food we eat. Tomorrow I will begin eating food again. I can't wait to chew! Although all I can think about is bread and cheese, the first few days off the cleanse I will be eating raw foods. Fruits, veggies, and good fats.

Many people have asked me why. My answer: to clean my body and give it a chance to repair. I am not a nutritionist (hence, the reason I'm not doing the cleanse alone), but I believe the energy and intention we put behind such actions to heal our bodies is powerful. I found myself eating poorly and craving sugars, a sign that something was wrong. I also found myself feeling yucky and knew it was time to do something dramatic. Another wonderful part of this cleanse has been doing it with other people! The power of community continually amazes me. The owner of the company is SO knowledgable and the other ladies cleansing are so supportive. It's be so nice to relate to these ladies over the past three days.

Have you ever done a cleanse? Planning on one for this fall? There are so many different types of cleanses! To learn more about the cleanse I'm doing look HERE.

hey, September!

My life lately: the last august hike, the latest read, yummy kitchen meals (yahoo for peach season! & carrot bread made from garden carrots!), harvesting lavender and other herbs right now in hopes of making winter teas, macro lens play, editing this gorgeous wedding.

Hello September, I kind of love you. You bring about change and remind me to be thankful for the sunshine. You are the month that 4 of my soul sisters were born (yup, my mom and three girlfriends were all born in september!). You turn the aspens that gorgeous yellow.

This first week of September has been a little crazy. I'm experiencing time management issues with my freelance profession (ie. editing photographs and hustling to finish a book illustration deadline). BUT, I have made the intention to spend more of my time outside and with friends. Next month I go to Indonesia! So crazy. Therefore, I'm soaking in as much Steamboat loving as I possibly can. And holding onto those last tiny bits of summer. It is so short here. Another mighty lesson from the mountains: Appreciate the summer season, it is short, but sweet for certain.

Thanks for sticking around while things have been quiet on the blog, I'm getting back into the groove!