We Are the Moon- Digital Art by Tracey Grumbach

Men are like the earth and we are the moon;

we turn always one side to them, 

and they think there is no other

because they don't see it- but there is.

-Olive Schreiner

I was in Havre de Grace, Maryland Sunday evening. I was there for a meeting of all the co-op artists of Arts By the Bay Gallery and to drop off my new work for the show that opens on Friday night. As I pulled around the corner to the side parking lot, I glanced up, toward the water, and saw the supermoon hanging just above the tree line across the Susquehanna. I knew immediately that I had to take a few minutes to walk to the water. There was a very basic, primal voice that was calling me to the edge of the shore. As I reached the lapping water on the edge of the river I was immediately sad I didn't have my Canon 5D Mark III with my 400mm lens. Oh, how I would have loved to shoot this beauty of a moon hanging so brightly, reflecting off the water, using the compression of the long lens to make that moon seem even closer. But, alas, I only had my iPhone at my disposal. I took out my phone and waited for the boat to cruise into the frame before snapping this image. 

Back at home, I used my apps and software to create this digital art piece from the original image. The original image was actually very different and didn't quite convey the feeling I wanted it to convey. I am happy with the final product and am thankful that I at least had my phone with me to capture that moment in time.

Here's to a wonderful Wednesday. Keep smiling and rocking on!

xo

Columbia-Wrightsville Bridge

We build too many walls and not enough bridges.

-Isaac Newton

If interested, you can find the history of this bridge here. I suggest taking a minute to check it out because it has quite the history!

Have an amazing Sunday.  xo

Rock Hopping

Drawn to the water
Wanting to be held in her bust
Weightless
Free
Floating.

She calls to me
Luring me closer
But I am a creature
Of the land.
I must perch here upon the rocks.

Susquehanna Sunset

As I was driving the John Deere this Friday night, trimming the fenceline of our fields, I looked up and noticed the sun was setting over the treeline and I caught my breath. The stunning beauty of the cloud formation in the sky, the dusky oranges and yellows and pinks seemed to hover in the air...watercolors sliding through the sky. At that moment, I was so glad to be alive and witnessing the quality of the light, that I turned off the tractor and just sat, watching. The next thing I noticed was the high pitched chee of the barn swallows who were skimming the grassline of the fields, catching a late dinner of insects, filling their bellies with protein for the long night ahead. I knew I couldn't sit there on the yellow seat until dark...I had a job to finish before I lost all the light, but I was so thankful to have taken that two to three minutes to just be present in my environment.

Then, Sunday evening, after a trip to the Conowingo Dam and the Union Hotel with my youngest children, my husband was driving us back home over the bridge when I hung myself precariously out the passenger window to grab this glorious sunset on my iPhone. It was breath-taking. The summer warmth, the low-in-the-sky sun, the reflection in the water...just perfect. And I remembered to be thankful again. And present. And aware. It is in moments like these when I am surrounded by nature's splendor that I feel the seeds of hope blossoming in my gut. One day I will be better. One day. Until then, I will grab on to these stolen minutes of being completely present in my environment and waiting for the next sunset.

Hoping you all had a wonderful weekend and are beginning the week with some gratitude of your own.  xo

Water Under the Bridge

I've been gone a few days...not physically but mentally.

When the pain gets bad and I get frustrated, I withdraw and am not good company.

But, I have a renewed attitude today and I am hoping to have a better day physically and mentally.

Today I am thankful for my Lyme Literate Doctor.

I had a check up with him yesterday and it felt so good to be heard.

It felt so good to be validated.

It felt so good to have hope and a plan to move forward.

I haven't had that in over 2 years until I met him.

He is the only one that has looked me in the eye and said, "I believe you and we are going to fix it."

Isn't that what all of us want?

Just to be heard and believed and given hope?

The next time you find yourself listening to someone, 

try to really focus on hearing them.

Read their facial expressions and their body language.

Hear their worries and then tell them, "I believe you.  How can I help?"

Trust me, it will make their day.

Here's to a better day...and if not today, then tomorrow will be.

xo

Guiding the Course

I found it fascinating last night at dinner that when I asked

my children what they were grateful for that day,

my 6 year old daughter wasn't familiar with the word "grateful."

I had to explain what it meant to her using other words she knew

like "thankful" and "glad."

Obviously I have not done a good job of

teaching her to be thankful for the things she has in her life.

The good news...she is young and I can now work on it with her

every single day.

Yesterday I was thankful for the veterinary service my cat received

after he got bitten by an unknown predator over the weekend. 

He was unable to use his back leg due to the bite

and the subsequent infection.

The infection was trapped under his skin, which as a result,

was starting to die.

He needed surgery to put in drains to save the leg and his life.

He is home now and resting 

(a bit uncomfortably with that cone around his neck!)

but resting, nonetheless.

Have a beautifully blessed day, everyone!

xo