photography Archives - Page 4 of 6 - Dominique Hurley

Life by Design: When Symbolism Speaks

July 9, 2015/in Intuitive Services, Life By Design

I thrive on the power of symbolism. It’s how my intuition speaks to me.

My job as an active listener is to first spot those symbols. Then I can interpret them as they relate to the questions I’ve asked the Universe.

Some symbols, like the butterfly, are universal in nature – common for people of various ages and cultures.

Others, however, are quite unique to our life experiences. That’s why we’re the best ones to truly know what a symbol means to us. Learning to trust that is very empowering.

Heres’ an example. A trail of breadcrumbs will mean something quite different to someone who grew up with the horrific fairy tale of Hansel and Gretel than to someone who used to spend every Sunday with their beloved grandmother taming the ducks with them.

When I do an intuitive reading, I basically take you on a recorded 30+ minute guided visual journey through a mini-movie filled with symbols that your Guides give me. Because the story and symbols are unique to you, it’s your job to interpret them, using my worksheets. This is fulfilling transformative work if you’re willing to do it.

Find Out More About Intuitive Readings

What Symbols Speak to You?

It’s also helpful to add the power of symbolism to your home and work environments.

Take a look around. What are your walls saying to you? Does your art support you in this chapter of your life? Does it inspire you? Does it keep you stuck?

If you’re experiencing a time of transformation, for example, what would help you?

How about the birch tree above? Does it remind you to accept the natural cycles of life? Does it invite you to let go of what no longer serves you? Does it encourage generosity and non-attachment?

Or would you resonate more with a colourful butterfly – celebrating freedom and beauty after its challenging stage as a chrysalis?

Explore the power of symbols in my new online shop. Which paintings speak to you right now, in this chapter of your life? As you look through the galleries of images, pay attention to your feelings and your energy levels?

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Life by Design: Meditation Your Way

June 30, 2015/in Guided Meditations, Life By Design

“Teachings” from the Connection Collection – available on canvas and paper.

What comes to mind when you hear the word “meditation”? How does your body react? Some of you may be feeling instantly more peaceful, but I’m sure others may be feeling guilty, fearful, or turned off in some other way.

The benefits are countless, however, so finding a style that is right for you is definitely worth it:

healthier body, mind, and spirit
stress reduction
increased happiness
calmer mind
mood stabilizing
pain control
improved learning
creativity
and more

Meditation Styles

The trick to meditation is finding the style for you. There are many religious and non-denominational types of meditation out there to explore. Here’s a great post describing 23 Types of Meditation.

“Namaste” from the Connection Collection – available on canvas and paper.

It doesn’t have to be traditional or organized though. Some people turn washing the dishes into a meditation – I’m not there yet… I do, however, love contemplative meditation in nature, walking meditation, and the meditative states that I achieve through painting and nature photography.

Like with yoga, this means trying a few styles out before finding the perfect fit. Then all you need to do is practice, practice, practice.

Keep reading for my bonus meditation.

Learning to Meditate

There are also many ways to learn to meditate.

These vary from intensive training retreats, weekly classes, video & audio sessions, and open community gatherings. Look online to see what’s available in your area or ideal travel destination.

Here’s something you might like. Deepak Chopra & Oprah Winfrey are about to start one of their popular 21-Day meditation experiences, this one focusing on gratitude. You get access to an online recording every day, starting July 13th. Click here to sign-up.

My Exploration into Meditation

Vipassana

I once did a 10-day silent Vipassana meditation retreat – they’re free (donations welcome), they’re all over the world, and provided exactly what I needed during a transition time in my life.

It was amazing! Well, that’s not entirely true. Day 2 and 3 were sheer hell as I experienced the workings of my mind in a way that made it clear that it was all in my mind: fear, anxiety, judgment, taking everything personally, etc. After the full realization that my experience had nothing to do with my environment or the other meditators, I felt pure, blissful freedom. Well worth it!

“Kwan-Yin” from the Connection Collection – available on canvas and paper

I continued the practice, one hour in the morning and one hour at night, for more than a year until my angels told me it was no longer serving me.

Creative Visualization

One of my favourite kinds of sit-down meditations is a guided one that opens up my inner vision and helps me connect to my body, mind, and spirit. These can be for healing, relaxation, getting in touch with inner guidance, etc.

Would you like to try one?

I asked my Higher Council for one that would help you let go of whatever no longer serves you, manifest what does, and connect to your team of Divine helpers.

The recording is 26 minutes and you can download it. Click here to sign-up.

I channel one of these as an opening meditation whenever I do an Soul Energy Portrait Experience. It’s co-created with my client’s team of Divine Helpers and can serve them for years to come.

Painting Meditation

“Divine Union” – original and reproductions available

Yes, creativity can be a meditation, if you let go of the “how-to”s and especially the “how-not-to”s. When I made dots on “The Law of Vibration” for 16 hours, contemplating how we’re all energy sending energy into the world, I was definitely in a meditative space.

Painting is my teacher – in self-awareness, in letting go, in unconditional love, and now in deeper universal truths through guided visualizations.

My finished paintings and photography can then act as portals to the universal energy flow and meditative states for those willing to enter.

Your Turn

What kind of meditation works for you?

How has meditation helped you?

Please share in the comments below.

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Life by Design: Walking, Walking, Keep on Walking

June 25, 2015/in Life By Design, Uncategorized

“One Step At A Time” from the Treedom Collection. Now available as a print on canvas or paper.

I love walking! It’s been such a huge blessing in my life – physically, emotionally, mentally, spiritually and socially.

Walking in the city connects me to humanity, to the pulse of a culture, to history, and to architecture (like in Vienna last year).

Walking in nature, my favourite, connects me to Source, to Mother Earth, to my Higher Self and to my intuition.

While walking, I can think things through and let things go. I can reach meditative, contemplative, or appreciative states much more easily than at home.

I also get great ideas when I’m walking. It’s the best time to rehearse speeches, repeat affirmations, work out lessons, receive guidance, or just breathe.

Where do you like to walk? Do you prefer walking alone or with friends? What does walking help you with? Please share in the comments below.

The Walking Monk

Earlier this week, I participated in a series of events with Bhaktimarga Swami, the Walking Monk. So far, he’s walked across Canada 3 times, either starting or ending here in St. John’s. He’s currently getting ready for a walk across the United States. He does this to raise spiritual awareness – his own and that of others along the way.

On Monday, he shared his “Tales from Trails” – stories about his insightful and often breathtaking adventures, including interesting encounters with grizzly bears and fellow humans. Listening to him, I couldn’t help but acknowledge how much walking contributed to my own spiritual growth over the years.

On Tuesday morning, a group of us joined him for a walk around Quidi Vidi lake and through the village. Would you believe I had my hat and gloves? We are getting a few nice summer days here and there, but it’s still near freezing at times too. Still, I’d rather it be on the cool side than too hot.

That evening, we gathered again for an evening of universal truth, kirtan singing, and dancing. I love these Sanskrit (an ancient Indic language) call and response chants – I usually sing & dance to 3 of them on my mini-trampoline in the morning to start the day off on the right foot.

The Work-At-Home Walking Challenge

For the past several decades, I always chose to live within 30-60 minutes walk from where I worked or studied. When I could, I’d make sure that nature trails or parks were on that route. Being a destination walker who dislikes crowded buses and has never owned a car, I had no problems walking 1-2 hours a day in every kind of weather to get to work, but things are different now.

As an artist and entrepreneur working from home, I’ve had to push myself out the door and even borrow the neighbours’ dogs for motivation. I know how important walks are for me, but I rarely made the time this past year.

Listening to the Walking Monk this week has reminded me of how much walking is essential to my well-being.

St. John’s not only has an amazing network of nature trails within the city (including one a few blocks away that leads to our biggest park), but is surrounded by the famous East Coast Trail that follows the coast of this gorgeous island.

It’s time to hit the trails. After a year as a happy hermit, I am committing to walking more.

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Trees, Trees, Transformational Trees

May 12, 2015/in Photography Projects

Are you a tree hugger? Have you ever tried it? Trust me, it’s transformational.

The next time you’re feeling frenzied, worried, or stressed, hug a tree. They have the amazing ability to suck that right out of you. Just visualize your troubles being shot right down, deep into the ground, where that negativity gets transformed into something useful.

Trees also appreciate it when we give them our love and attention. Next time you walk among these standing people, tune in to see if any are calling for your healing hands, gratitude, or simple greeting.

Like with any relationship, a little mutual caring, or give and take, works best.

Glorious In Every Season

Trees are so beautiful in all seasons. I’m equally drawn to their spendour when they’re bare of leaves as when they’re in full bloom or radiantly green.

They’re always true to their nature, never aspiring to be anything else than present in the moment. What great teachers.

Believe it or not, it snowed here last week in St. John’s. Yes, it’s May, but weather does what weather does. I don’t mind. It simply is.

We also had a couple of sunny days, when I went walking without my jacket, hat, and gloves. I’ll admit, that was great!

I’ve started taking my neighbour’s dogs out for walks – a true win-win. They motivate me to leave my computer and connect to nature on the nearby trails.

I have yet to see a bud on a tree, but it’s exciting to know that the treedom is waking up. After a long and necessary dormant phase, they’ll soon be singing again.

Inspiring My Heart & My Art

As you know, I often paint trees.

“On the Forest Floor” – 12″ x 36″ – Acrylics, tar gel, gold and pearl mica, stone, on gallery-wrapped canvas (no framing necessary) – $845

Well, I spent a whole day this weekend choosing and editing photographs for my Treedom Photography Collection that I’ll soon be adding to my online shop. They’ll be available as prints on canvas, fine art paper, and metallic paper. Can you imagine some of these as large canvases in your home or office?

I may not have been walking through the forest this weekend, but I sure felt the transformational power of trees through these photographs.

I look forward to helping bring that energy within the concrete walls of cities everywhere.

Daily Inspiration on Facebook

Not surprisingly, many have been inspired by trees.

I also created a series of inspirational image slides this weekend with quotes from other tree-huggers (I’m assuming). I’ll be sharing one a day on Facebook in June.

With Facebook’s new algorithm, however, it’s important to Like, Share, and Comment for these to regularly show up in your News Feed. Out of my nearly 700 fans, only about 30 get my posts.

What do Trees Mean to You?

Until then, I’d love to hear from you in the discussion below. Do you have any uplifting tree-hugging stories? What do trees symbolize for you?

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Snowy Photo Walk

January 11, 2015/in Photography Projects

They’re not joking when they advertise that Newfoundland has crazy weather. I woke up with a fright at 3am on Saturday morning because of the 120km wind gusts we’d been warned might lift roof tiles. It sounded very dramatic out there. When I woke up again at 5am to the sound of rain hitting my window, I emailed my friend Leslie to cancel our walk and went back to sleep.

When I got up at 7am, the snow angels in the backyard were all but gone – instead, it was a very slushy and soggy jaunt down the lawn to feed the ducks before starting a new painting. After my first layer, however, I looked out the window to see a glimpse into the magical world of fluffy white snowflakes. They were coming straight down. The wind had completely stopped.

So I contacted my friend Leslie, who is also a photographer, and we headed out towards the ocean in her little Honda Fit, which was thankfully equipped with quality snow tires. The world was thick with snow again.

Here are a few of the shots I took in-camera, including a zoom shot at the end.

Of course I had to play a bit in Photoshop to duplicate and layer images.

My favourite is this one, using the wallpaper at the restaurant we ate at afterwards to blend into the scene. It reminds me of my current style of paintings.

I so enjoy spending time with my friend Leslie Bridger – she’s an inspiring woman who recovered from a near-fatal brain injury ” with vast knowledge…about life here on earth, about eternal life, about the changing role of humans, about our ability to heal ourselves and about the true Divinity and perfection of every living thing on this planet, amongst many other things.” She is offering great things to the St. John’s community, including weekly S.O.A.R. (Soul Optimal Awakening & Retrieval) meditations as part of the AWE project (awakening wellness everywhere), a more global project with Glen and Sandra Rose. Here’s one of their video offerings. Enjoy.

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Body Sculpting: My Friend Lori Reddy

November 26, 2014/in Photography Projects

I got an email from my friend Lori Reddy at the beginning of October asking if I would be willing to do a photo shoot of her shortly after she had fulfilled one of her long-term dreams: participate in the Newfoundland & Labrador Amateur BodyBuilding Association (NLABA)’s Figure category of the Physique, Figure & Bikini Championships.

Congratulations!

Not only did she follow-through on her goal with rigorous training and disciplined eating (even turning down my housemate Orinda’s famous chocolate-chip banana loaf!), she placed 2nd in the Figure Masters division, 3rd in the Figure Tall division, and was voted most photogenic overall by Judi Stone, the official photographer for the national bodybuilding competitions. Wow! Here’s a photo from Saturday’s championships. I couldn’t make it as I was teaching intuitive painting at the Festival du Vent, so thanks to Jim Costello for allowing me to use two of his photos.

Lori Reddy (left), Tina Power (middle) and Nathalie Shea (right) Photo by Jim Costello – www.facebook.com/jim.costello2 & www.facebook.com/pages/Costello-Newfoundland-Photography/151239261659907

Who is Lori Reddy?

Although some know Lori as a savvy business person who used to work on Wall St., I’ve known her as a visual artist, musician (she played the flute on the Yagull album that I featured in my Spirit Calling Card videos), and hoop dancer. As you may remember, we painted two murals together – one at Shakti Yoga Mount Pearl (see photos – now a dance studio) and one at Shakti Yoga on Torbay Rd. (see photos -now Yoga Kula Coop). I’ve also organized a few art exhibitions with her, and she participated in the very successful Art To Go online auction that I organized as part of my Vienna Visionary Art Scholarship fundraising efforts. Remember her now?

The Photo Shoot:

Although I’ve trained as a professional photographer (one the many chapters in my lifelong learning journey), people-photography is far from being a passion of mine. I simply don’t have a thick enough skin to hear people criticizing themselves (“I’m so fat…”, “That’s not my good side.”, “Look at all those wrinkles!”, etc.). I much prefer being in nature or traveling with the camera. Trees are simply happy to be …

Sunday, however was fun. And with digital editing, I didn’t even need all those extra off-camera flashes and lighting umbrellas I got rid of years ago.

Plus the pressure was off – Lori’s prize as most photogenic of the 100+ participants there that day is a photo session with a local photographer. Great! I was free, therefore, to do the kind of work/play I enjoy.

My painting back-splash worked well as a photo backdrop (with a few extra layers of white cloth to hide the many paint stains). I wanted white as my plan was to blend photos of Lori with a couple of her paintings that I also photographed that day….

and some of my own art photography (mostly from my time overseas in 2013/14). What you see here is the result of 6 hours of creative work after the photo shoot.

Why this post?

I asked Lori if it would be OK for me to blog about her story and share my photos of her. For me, this is a story of courage, determination, and following one’s heart despite the many challenges and judgements she may have faced along the way. It’s also about reconnecting to lifelong passions – something I’m a big fan of.

I may not be into body building or rigorous exercise of any kind, but I can tell you that there were a few lazy mornings when I just had to remember what she was up to in order not to skip my morning restorative yoga and mini-trampoline dance routine. After all, I no longer walk 10-20 hours a week as I had done most of my life and now benefit from Orinda’s great cooking on a regular basis.

In Lori’s Words:

I asked Lori to write about her experience for you. Not only was this a whole new world for me, but as I said before, her journey itself was inspiring for me in many ways, and so I imagined it would be for you as well.

“I started lifting weights when I was 17 and loved how I would actually get sore – this would tell me that I worked a muscle to the point of it tearing and needing to repair which meant growth. Eventually, I started to buy fitness magazines in order to further research which exercises I could do for certain body parts (I was obsessed with getting biceps initially LOL) and then became very fond of the fitness models that were featured in the various issues – most notably Mia Finnegan and Monica Brant. It wasn’t until 20 years later, at the age of 37, that I considered entering into a competition. I had visited Mexico in February of 2014 for a month, and upon my return I started to put on a little weight from not being as active. I needed a new goal and decided that preparing for the competition in November fit in just perfectly.

A friend recommeded her online coach who I signed up with for my “offseason prep” – offseason prep is the period of time that you spend building and sculpting your body prior to trimming down (which is known as the period “contest prep”). This worked for a
couple of months, but I really felt that I needed to be coached by someone who I could sit down and speak with (my online coach was from the west coast in the US). I then decided to sign up with Kristian Alexander (owner of Inshape Fitness on O’leary Ave. in St. John’s), who is a friend and former highschool mate. Kristian worked with me during the late stages of offseason and then coached me through contest prep in both diet and fitness regimes.

My days looked like this – rise at 4:30, gym by 5:30 with cardio/stretching on an empty stomach. Home, shower, eat, work. Eat, then gym again around noon for weights and stretching. Eat again. Back to work, eat some more. During contest prep I would be back in the gym again in the evening for a second cardio session – then back home to eat twice more before bed. That’s 6 meals in a 12 hour period. PHEW. Small frequent meals meant no snacking and a steady source of energy throughout the day to keep blood sugars from tanking. During contest prep, my meals would consist of egg whites, sweet potato, oatmeal, cod, tuna, chicken and green veggies. No dairy, sodium, sugar, oils…..just bland food. Funny how you look at food as fuel only vs. enjoyment when you are so limited to what you can eat.

The hardest for me was seeing progress SOOOO slowly as I had already been
working out consistently and eating healthy. It was hard for me to shock my system. I also found it difficult during offseason training, as I was putting on muscle mass and gaining some fat as well – I felt HUGE at times. But I kept telling myself, this is what I am supposed to do – and I have a coach for a reason!! Listen to him! I also heard this said numerous times: “trust the process” – this is so very very true.

The other part that I found to be difficult was to not compare myself or my gains (or losses for that matter) to others. People post pics of themselves, their slender lean physiques (washboard abs!!!) on Facebook, Instagram – showing how much progress they have made. Looking at my own progress at times, I would find myself discouraged – why wasn’t I seeing the same results – then I would talk myself out of it and regain focus as to what I should be doing, not what that other person was doing! Communicating with my coach during times like these was super important to help stay on track.

Lori Reddy and Whitney Matthews Photo by Jim Costello - www.facebook.com/pages/Costello-Newfoundland-Photography - and - www.facebook.com/jim.costello2

Lori Reddy and Whitney Matthews Photo by Jim Costello – www.facebook.com/pages/Costello-Newfoundland-Photography/151239261659907 – and – www.facebook.com/jim.costello2

The day of the competition and waiting to get up on stage was also challenging. By this point I was anxious, excited, hungry and TIRED. But the moment when my number was called and I lined up with other competitors – at that moment it all felt worth it. I now had a calmness that came over me as the moment was finally here where I was able to display my hard work and dedication to the world and judges. I was smiling ear to ear and thought this is my one moment to shine so give it 200%. And I did.

I placed 2nd in the Figure Masters division, 3rd in the Figure Tall division and won most photogenic overall.

Will I compete again? Who knows. I am taking it one day at a time. Was it all worth it? 200%. I learned so much about myself and the process over the last 5 months that I would not have learned any other way.”

Congratulations Lori!

and thanks for the art & inspiration…

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Nature Break – Photo Walk in Chapel’s Cove

September 20, 2014/in Newfoundland & Labrador, Photography Projects

I can’t believe I almost said no. Glad I didn’t though. You see, it’s often challenging for me to transition from one state to another, especially when I’m focused on a project. It’s rare, however, that that I’m not absolutely thrilled to get out of the house and into nature. What a blessing I did this week – especially since I haven’t done this kind of thing as much this summer as I’m used to. Sure, I’ve walked through Bowring Park and downtown, where I stopped at The Rooms to look at the view of the harbour on one day and went to sit on the dock another to watch a cruise ship leave St. John’s. But without a car, I haven’t headed out of town very often since I returned in July.

Truth be told, with so many fulfilling projects in my painting studio, I’m definitely going through a hermit phase. Since I started painting full time, I’d say I average a 60-hour work week. I’m often in the studio by 6am and stay there until 10pm. What can I say. Time flies when you’re having fun.

Anyhow, I’m so glad I said yes to a ride out of town this week. My housemate and her sister were going blueberry picking and asked if I wanted to come along. Winters can be very long in Newfoundland, so the mild sunny weather alone could have been enough to get me up and out the door. The thought of walking by water with my camera & tripod, however, were what really pulled me out the door.

While the sisters reveled at the abundance of blueberries on a burnt-out wooded hill by the ocean in the Town of Harbour Main, Chapel’s Cove & Lakeview (about 30 minutes out of St. John’s), I walked along the road from the ocean and past a series of ponds (lakes, really) all the way back to the main road. Although I had more than one lens, I shot everything with my 70-300mm. What beauty! And what a great picnic too- Orinda had baked ciabatta bread that I had lathered in pesto and filled with roast chicken and organic romaine lettuce! I also had one of her famous spelt bran, wheat germ, flax seeds & blueberry muffins with me … just in case.

When I got to the main highway 5.5 hours later, it was getting dark. I sat on a unique bench at the end of someone’s driveway for an hour, listening to the sounds of nature and neighbouring households, but then thought it best to knock on a door to ask to use the phone to see what the girls were up to. By the time they came to pick me up, we all had lots of stories to share. Thanks Charmaine & Orinda and thanks to the folks of Harbour Main, Chapel’s Cove & Lakeview! I invite you to experience this beautiful part of the world through my eyes.

Dominique Hurley_Chapels Cove_DLH_7429 copy

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Dominique Hurley_Chapels Cove_DLH_7564 copy

Dominique Hurley_Chapels Cove_DLH_7837 copy

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Things are Looking Up – Vienna’s Architectural Details

February 20, 2014/in My Travels, Vienna - Life and Tourism

When was the last time you took a walk and only looked above ground level? It’s amazing what you can see above the storefronts of most cities – but especially here in Vienna. I had noticed many of these architectural delights before, but certainly not all of them. Wow! Every day I notice new things, and since I often vary my route to school, the surprises are endless, even after 5.5 months here. Plus looking up is a nice change from the endless streams of dog urine on the sidewalks that can’t be helped in a district without grass…

Wednesday’s route went along Burgasse all the way to the historic core, past the Volkstheatre, the back of the Natural History Museum, and through the Imperial Palace grounds to my school in the Palais Palffy. It normally takes about 35-40 minutes, but today it took a little more than an hour. I could have spent a whole day around the palace, but had to rush and got to school as the 10 o’clock bells were ringing. Trust me when I say that this is just a sampling… (one that filled up my free media storage space on this blog – I do like to share!).

If you click on one, you can then proceed through them at full-screen. If you’re a subscriber, you can click on the blue title in this email to go to my blog page, where the photos are displayed in a gallery.

stroller ramp

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Vienna City Hike #3 – Hameau

February 16, 2014/in My Travels, Vienna - Life and Tourism

panning with the camera

Yay! It feels great! Not only did I get out on Saturday morning for a 3.5+ hour hike after spending so much time crossed-legged on the floor painting this week, I’m back on track in terms of doing Vienna’s Hiking Paths in order. That same part of my brain that likes to finish one book or project before starting another feels much better now that I’ve done City Hike #3 – Hameau. If you’ll remember, I had skipped it to do the much shorter Hike #4 on a cold day when I had very little energy. Then again, I haven’t done 1A, right next to Hike 1 because I’m saving it for when the grapes are growing again. Somehow, my brain has no issues with that.

This hike was truly blissful! I left at 7:30am after making a huge batch of organic curry soup (cauliflower, butternut squash, brown rice, lentils, celery, carrot, spinach, ginger, and garlic. I’m glad to report it’s a good batch – thank goodness because I have enough for the whole week!). I’m an early bird, so I don’t mind leaving right after sunup – it simply meant no hiking buddies like when I did Hike 2. I enjoy my own company, though, so I didn’t mind that either. It was worth it so I could take advantage of the warm sunny weather (3-9 degrees during my hike) and still get 7.5 hours in at school with the rest of my class. The forecast was rain for Sunday.

dancing with the camera

Highlights:

The starting point to all these paths is in the city, accessible by public transportation. In addition to seeing all sorts of gorgeous buildings on my way to the trail heads, I get to walk through very different neighbourhoods than mine before entering nature. For this hike, I took the U6 subway to Alser Strasse and then tram 43 to the end stop at Neuwaldegg (17th district).

These trails are all well marked – you just have to keep your head up, but out of the clouds, so as not to miss a sign and end up on one of the hundreds of intersecting trails that go who knows where. I’m glad to report that I didn’t have to do any backtracking this time. The only tricky part was finding the first sign from the tram station – if you don’t have a smart phone with Internet access, it’s a good idea to write down the list of landmarks so you can ask someone. One sign informed me that I was about to enter Black Mountain Park (Schwarzenbergpark) – part of the Vienna Woods Biosphere Reserve recognized by UNESCO in 2005. Very promising!
For the first hour, you’re mostly walking on sidewalks and paved trails. Then you hit the dirt paths – where you can connect more directly with nature and encounter less people. I like the variety and have felt completely safe on all these trails. That’s quite the blessing!
I certainly didn’t need my headphones – the song of the birds, the wind, and sheep made an amazing soundtrack to gorgeous sights and colours – even in the winter. Have you seen the movie “August Rush“? It’s my favourite and celebrates this kind of music.

original – in camera backlit wonder

in-camera motion

mirrored
I so enjoy finding creatures and figures – in tree trunks, roots, and sometimes while playing in Photoshop afterwards.

mirrored image – forest spirits
The namesake for this trail is Hameau, a rain shelter with a history (badly translated by Google, but decipherable). I reached it at the top of the hill at about 10am and enjoyed my organic snack from Denn’s: lactose-free yoghurt carrot cheese; wheat free bun, golden carrot. It kept me going until my late lunch at Vapiano’s: pizza – not lactose or gluten free, but so good once in a while.

She wasn’t a young woman!

The Lowlight:

This wasn’t a big deal at all, but I nearly wiped out twice near the end of the trail where there had recently been some tree cutting – the tracks of the heavy machinery in the mud and all the branches made it a bit more challenging to walk – not a huge inconvenience and only for about 15 minutes. I’m actually more grateful that the rest of the trail wasn’t as muddy – it’s been an unusually dry and warm winter I’m told.

I made it to school by 12pm, even before the teacher, and had a very productive day working on my painting. As for today, it’s a home day. A bit of writing and photo editing, a bit of studying, a couple of loads of laundry, a movie or two, and perhaps more cooking. Life is good indeed!

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Lunchtime Stroll

February 10, 2014/in My Travels, Vienna - Life and Tourism

I brought my lunch to school today, as I most often do, but this time I decided not to stay in the classroom to relax or to keep on working. Instead, after I finished eating, I went for a half hour stroll around the neighbourhood with my iPhone camera. What a neighbourhood it is! Thought I’d share as I got quite excited – not having walked in that direction for a while. I even stopped into my friend Donnalyne’s favourite confectionery / café to buy myself a Florentine (a childhood favourite) in honour of my friend Cheryl’s birthday in St. John’s. Happy birthday Cheryl! It was delicious!

P.S To see them full-screen, click on the first and then you can click on the arrow to make your way through the gallery.