Black & White

...The road is long

the memory slides

to the whole of my undoing

put aside

I put away

I push it back to get through each day

and all I feel is black and white

and I'm wound up small and tight

and I don't know who I am ...

~Sarah McLachlan, Black & White

It's a black & white kind of day. Not sure why, but it is.

We took this photo this summer on a camping trip. You can hardly tell from the photo what time of year it is. Maybe that's one reason why I like black and white photos so much -- there is a real timeless quality to them. One that you don't always get with color.

Feet Planted Firmly

Hope you haven't been missing us too much these past few days. After posting something for one month straight, we've been easing back into posts. (To our defense we've been a little sluggish because of the heat).

I've been thinking a lot lately about home; and by home, I mean home as a place. Turns out where you live doesn't matter as much as who you live with and by. Part of the reason I've been thinking so much about home isn't because we're planning another move. Quite the contrary, we're planning to plant our feet firmly on the ground, just as I mentioned in the title.

My parental units, however, are moving. This is what has got me thinking so much about the meaning of home. Will I miss visiting my family in my childhood house? Yes. Will I still drive by the house on occasion to see how it's changed? Yes. Will I miss the house? No. I won't miss the house. I don't see the point in missing an item. I'll still have the memories made in that house and I'll still have my beloved family. (Admittedly, I did take multiple photos - film & digital - of their old home. Got to have something to refresh my mind someday!)

I've come to an age-old conclusion as I've been thinking about home: Home is where the heart is. Doesn't matter where it is, how long you're there, or how much stuff you have inside - I'd be nothing without having others in it to make you happy. What's home for you?

Are we there yet?

I want to make this photo into a postcard set. These two dalmatians remind me of an old couple driving together. Don't ask me why; although, it may have something to do with their facial expressions.

This photo was taken right outside of Franklin, TN. I wish I could remember the name of the park, but when it comes to me I will link to it. We were taking a walk in this park after exploring downtown Nashville all day. As pm and I are walking to the trail head we see these two dogs. Well, allow for me to rephrase - we hear these two dogs. They were barking super loud; it was so loud, in fact, that you could hear them through the closed windows. I think they were making so much noise because their owner had decided to drive with them to the park only to leave them in the humid vehicle until he/she returned. Torture! [Side note: Why even own animals if this is how you are going to treat them. Dogs get excited about going for walks. Leaving them in the parking lot while you enjoy nature hardly seems fair. It'd be like going to an ice cream parlor and not ordering anything, but then having to watch everyone else enjoy it in front of you.]

This photo was snapped in a moment of silence. Once pm took out the camera and pointed it at them they stopped barking. They must have been curious as to what was going on, or wanted to be sure they made the perfect pose. (Which they did!). Once the shutter closed the barking continued.

Hope you enjoy this one. I also hope I was wrong about their owner and these two guys got their walk in too.