the creative exchange

the state of my mind can change by day or by night.   by minute or by hour.   sometimes the state of my mind can be consistent and level.   other times it can take a swirling waltz around the dance floor.    the state of my mind can be a giggle or a cry.  it refuses to be pinned down.    when i was years younger i tucked these words away in my mind's suitcase, to be unpacked when needed..................

Things to Think

Think in ways you've never thought before.
If the phone rings, think of it as carrying a message
Larger than anything you've ever heard,
Vaster than a hundred lines of Yeats.

Think that someone may bring a bear to your door,
Maybe wounded and deranged; or think that a moose
Has risen out of the lake, and he's carrying on his antlers
A child of your own whom you've never seen.

When someone knocks on the door,
Think that he's about
To give you something large: tell you you're forgiven,
Or that it's not necessary to work all the time,
Or that it's been decided that if you lie down no one will die.
~ Robert Bly ~


we're into the final act in the play of january.  it's been a month of contrasts ~ warm/arctic, rain/snow, sunny/gray, freeze/thaw.     up down, all around.  

looking out the window this morning, what remained of our snow is gone.   the mercury took a steady climb throughout the night.   just two days ago the small bubble of my world was frozen solid, and there were jewels of january strewn about.

on my windowpane

early morning mist dancing over the warmer waters of lake michigan

drops dressed up naked branches


in little more than a week we will be saying adieu to january.    it has not been harsh, but kind and gentle this year.   the biting blow of arctic winds were less common, and replaced with a whispered frost.   

january is so much more than a month on the calendar.    january is a state of mind.  


thanks for taking a look at my photos today.   i'm linking up with lovely Lisa over at the creative exchange.    slide on over there and spread some love.    happy monday everyone.   sit long, talk much.