Photos: Around the ranch

Photos from around the ranch the last couple days of May, nearing the end of springtime.

Fertilizer and flowers  May 2016 Lif Strand

Yes, yes, it's just cow poop and bindweed, but it really also is the circle of life, isn't it?

Springtime reeds  May 2016 Lif Strand

The cows kept eating down the reeds over the winter, but now that there's a little grass for them they're letting the reeds alone.  There's just something about the water and the color and the angle of the sunlight that gets me every time.

Koko:  Places to go, things to do  May 2016 Lif Strand

My Arabian stallion, SE Kokopelli Kid.

Photos: From the ranch

Here are a couple photos I took on a hike the other day

Mamas and babes May 2016 Lif Strand

Kelsey  May 2016 Lif Strand

(Click on a photo to see a larger view)

Photo: View from Laura's

Evening view at Laura's May 2016 Lif Strand

Laura lives about four miles from me and on a hillside rather than in a valley.  Because the hill crests above her house her "horizon" is higher up than mine and therefore the sunsets look different than mine do - but they're just as amazing.

Of course they are - this is the Land of Enchantment. How could any photo of the place be less than amazing?

The camera I'm using these days - a Sony DSC-W830 Cyber-Shot - can take panoramic shots like the one above. This is a new-to-me feature and I like it.

The photo is 1000 pixels wide but the blog column isn't.  If you click on the photo you can see it in full. I think it's worth a look.

In Praise of Me

Well, really, I deserve praise. I believe that the bad things that happen in my life are the result of my own choices.  It's therefore logical that the good things that happen in my life are the result of my own choices, too. That means when I'm happy, it's not good luck - it's the result of my good choices.

And I am happy, so why shouldn't I get a pat on the back for it?

You don't have to answer. I'm telling you: I do. Especially since it's so easy to not take credit where it's due.

Here's a little truth that applies to all of us. It's really easy to get on our own case. We've all done it, haven't we? Nobody gives us as hard a time as that little voice in our own heads that just won't shut up. But there's no reason that little voice couldn't be reprogrammed to sing praise instead of the crap it has been spewing.

There's good reason to make the effort to reprogram, too. When you reprogram that little voice, you set up a positive feedback spiral - not a loop, but a spiral. A lovely spiral that just builds and builds over time, till one day out of the clear blue sky you look around you and go "yippee" just for the sheer joy of living.

So, here I am, happy. I love where I live. I love the work I do. I love being in love with my life, and so I'm giving myself a pat on the back for choosing to be this way.

No small part of my happiness is the result of the choice that brought me here to my little part of New Mexico. I love my tiny, half-finished house, I love the valley it's in, I love the critters that live around me (domestic and wild). I just love the hell out everything about this place - not just the good stuff, but wind and flood and drought and bugs and rodents and all. Not because the hard things are so wonderful, but because it's all an adventure if I choose to make it so.

And I do. Because it makes me happy.

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On a related topic... it makes me happy to share photos, too.

My treasure trove May 2016 Lif Strand
When you're in love, everything around you becomes beautiful and precious

Last week a Facebook friend wrangled me into accepting one of those photo challenges to post a nature photo each day for seven days. And given that the photos of nature that I used are of course of places around me that I love, I enjoyed posting them immensely. So.... I"m going keep sharing my nature photos, though probably not every day - I don't want it to become a chore, after all.

Think of it as my choice to contribute to the beautiful and the positive in life. I'm not going to challenge you to do the same... oh wait. Yes I am.

Please choose to make choices that contribute to the beautiful and the positive in life. We'll all be happier for it!

Thank you.