Painting Bliss

Walk the Loop

 

 

One can not explain the connection to a place they may have. Perhaps it's just  a love for what's there or the feeling you get when visiting... but I feel in my heart a place you feel connected to means that somehow over time and space... perhaps a past life, you had a reason to love this spot and once again love the same place but without knowing exactly why or how.

For me... this is and has been the Liberty Loop. It's a 2.5 mile walk around a large marsh area (Audubon Reserve), where a plethora of different bird-life resides and flourishes. Egrets, herons, swans, geese, mallards, bald eagles, hawks... and well my list could go on and on of  the feathereds to be seen. Turtles... my favorite small aquatic creature perch on mounds of grasses, logs, and rocks. They mull around in depths of water that are just low enough for them to feed and wander... like a toddler in the shallow end of the pool, perfectly delighted to be doing their turtle thing.

 

 

I walk this place regularly and feel at peace. My feet take the pace of the beats thumping throughout my ears from my ipod that plays emits bands such as The Paperkites, Xx, and The Staves. This place isn't meant for anything too loud or demanding... it deserves a background set for heartbeats... not drumbeats.

 

The Liberty Loop changes by the day and season. Not only by scenery but by wildlife. My place is a place for holding hands, walking silently, and smiling at the giggling children running up on geese.

I can think clearly at the Liberty Loop, feel deeply there, and find a rhythm and space that I need to feel what I need to feel. It's a place I try and not answer texts, return emails, or even touch my phone at all unless it's related to changing a song.

 

 

Everyone needs a place to go, to feel in, to breathe in... everyone needs that serene banquet of earth and sky and feathers.

 

 

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Turtling Season

First Hike of the Season!

 

 

Fair weather, warm sun, and a Sunday happened all at once yesterday. It was a recipe for adventure and the chance to breath in the damp scent of earth and snow. Spring has started, clocks have been changed, and the sun is allowed to stay up past it's curfew. I'm here. Right here. I'm waving a flag that says "WELCOME" and putting out my thoughts of sandals into the universe. Soon it will come, and I am ready. We all are, aren't we?

It wasn't a terribly long winter. We did receive more snow than we have in many years prior but I enjoyed it. Winter is snow. If it's going to be cold and bitter, in my book it might as well let out some pretty white flakes. There comes a time though, somewhere between New Year's day and now that I grow inpatient with the storms. This year I am thankful for March coming in like a lion, because now I can look forward to it slipping out like a lamb.

Our first hike found us on a portion of the Appalachian trail. With all the snow melted at home we expected it to be the same only fifteen minutes away... but to our surprise it wasn't. More than 6 inches remained on the path. We were prepared though with warm layers and snow boots. The snow was soft and slushy where the trail had been flattened. It took on a slightly yellow hue from the rotting autumn leaves below. I thought about how painters usually use variations of blue to add shade while painting snow... but it's not blue in the shadows at all. The true color presents itself in shades of grey and a grey toned lavendar (artistic mental note). Truly lovely it is.

 

 

The trees that held their pale yellow butter colored leaves all winter shivered in the light breeze. Each little leaf shook like it had been set a vibrate. I told everyone to stand still, be silent, and listen. The sound that presented itself was that of a mexican maraca. Sort of like rice in a tube being softly flustered.

Nature's music.

 

 

Over a small man-made foot bridge ahead we were bestowed a beautiful sight...

 

 

The trail/woods were quiet except for the ten minute stint when my almost three year old son decided he wanted me, and cried for me from the hiking pack upon daddy's back. A little reassurance that I would hold him soon, daddy playfully teasing him with a stuffed cat, and we were back on track. The snow was perfect packing snow from the temperature lifting. I thought about if we had prepared a little more (gloves) we could of built a snowman right on the trail to greet other hikers on their own adventurous journey. Food for thought in plans for next year.

Signs of spring could not only be felt... but also seen, even with the 8-12 inches of snow on the forest floor. Greening moss, last years fern and rhododendron bushes were conjointly brightening.

 

This was a short hike to start us off. Many more hiking experiences are on the horizon. Between mountain, hill, and tree trunk we will take nothing but photos and leave in return, nothing but footprints. We are ready... or rather my husband and I are. The kids will warm up as we move along. The complaints of "my legs are tired" and "are we done yet?" will replaced with "where are we going to go today? and "it's hot, will there be waterfalls to go into?". This is the stuff families are made of. The stuff our family is made of. Activities unique to you, us, each other. We are an outdoors family. We crave wild open spaces and gifts from nature to feast our eyes upon.

Life is right outside your door and I want my children to always realize that.

 

 

New to Shop and New Work

 

Yesterday found me scanning, perfecting, and listing a bunch of new work in my Etsy shop! Not to mention (okay I'm mentioning), that I moved a few older pieces into a sale section. I would love to keep them, but I would love even more for them to be enjoyed in someones home.

So take a trip on over to my shop and take a look at all of the new art I have been creating. I have really been working whole heartidly. I feel like I am really coming into myself, and hope it shows in the new work. Thank you and much artistic love! Here is just one of the new pieces available in my shop.

Watermark does not appear on actual piece.

 

"It was Written"

8x8

Watercolor, gel pen, ink, and pencil

(Oh! and LOVE)

 

 

 

Once an original sells I will then offer the image as prints.

Enjoy your Sunday and see you tomorrow!

 

Paintingbliss Etsy Shop

 

Dreams Goals and Hopes for 2013

 

My Week Through The Eyes of Instagram 12/9-12/16

 

"Life is all about timing... the unreachable becomes reachable, the unavailable becomes available, the unnatainable become atainable. Have the patience, wait it out. It's all about timing" ~ Stacey Charter

 

If you enjoy my photography on Instagram and would like to follow me, you may do so...

@Paintingbliss

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My Week Through the Eyes of Instagram 11/18-11/26

 

This was a great past week! It began with a happy visit from a dear friend who lives in York (UK) and ended with the holiday that brought us lots of family time. Hugs, smiles, and lots of jokes were shared... but most of all love. Only one visit out geocaching with my family and most of them were hooked and it led to our first snowy winter hike! A parade to see Santa arrive, dinner out with my brothers and their girls, and Traveling is always exhausting, but always worth it.

If you enjoy my photos, are on Instagram, and would like to see more of my work... you can follow me

@Paintingbliss

Thank you!

 

Autumn Hikes and Crunchy Leaves

 

 

Autumn just might be the most beautiful time for a hike. The crispy leaves on the trail crunching beneath your feet and the colors atop your head cascading down in the breeze. It's not hot, there's no sweating... and you can just take in the beauty before you.

 

 

This weekend we hiked up the New Jersey side of Pochuck Mountain which was so much prettier than the New York side. Amazing how two sides of one mountain can be so very different, but they were! From 11:30am to 4pm we were on the mountain exploring, geocaching, hiking... and just enjoying being together and with some very good friends of ours that share our passions for hiking and caching.

Some secret lakes in the middle of nowhere were a welcome surprise. I imagined how quiet and serene these lakes would be had it only been one person and the lake. How incredibly small you would feel in a such a big world.

 

 

 

An old foundation got my imagination rolling. From thoughts on how creepy it would be to live in the middle of a mountain with a stone foundation with no sign of civilization around all the winter long, to who lived there? why? and for how long?

 

 

 

After a long day of hiking I was tired, and ready for a nice cold drink. The perfect ending was a trip to the orchard where we all sat and split some cider. Another great hike... will it be our last for the season? I could say yes, but part of me feels probably not.

 

Hiking HighPoint Monument Trail

 

 

As it's getting colder I'm not sure how many hikes are left in our future for the season. We definitely want to venture out for some snowy hikes, but I know with little ones and little legs it just won't be plausible on a regular basis.

 

 

This past weekend found us on the Highpoint Monument Trail located in the Highpoint State park of the skylands region - the highest point in the kittatinny mountains. The trail was a little more than we thought it would be in both length and steep terrain. Not that we mind, as all of our hikes this season have been a steep climb, but this trail was full of little oddly angled rocks and tree roots so watching your feet was an important task.

The views were breathtaking to say the least. We could see the winding Delaware river like it was an oil painting stolen from the Hudson River Museum. From far away you could see every roll of every mountain with their changing leaves. I loved to see the river wind between them and flow under a double arched bridge. Nature and all it's beauty. I was amazed at how in a world where all it seems is urban to urban just how much of this area is still uninhabited. I was not only amazed but comforted... it felt good knowing we hadn't gotten to it yet and that the town below looked so small in a valley so big - in a world so big!

 

 

At one point on the trail while over looking the scenery we actually found ourselves on the edge of a storm that never came. From the top of our point we could see the whole storm unfold, hear the thunder and watch the line of rain come across the giant lumps of earth. It was something that only hiking could bring you to.

 

 

Oh and there were some surprises... right in the middle of the trail at one point laid a huge boulder of qaurtz just chocked full of crystals!! It must have rolled down off of the hill cause it was right there to be stepped around. To my great delight I found a few hand sized pieces just right for carrying. We now have a piece as a book end. It was a long walk to carry not only a 2 year old but a huge chunk of quartz, but I was truly happy to do it. While collecting our beautiful pieces of earth I also was able from the main boulder jimmy out with two tiny sticks a perfect quartz crystal of the tiniest perfection which I plan to make into a necklace of some sort or another.

Then there was an amazing moth I have never seen before. It looked like it was covered in feathers and had only black white and orange as it's colors. It's wings had the feeling of duck down as I coaxed it onto a stick for better viewing.

 

A giant tree who against all odds grew to amazing size and strength, tangled and reached it's knotted gnarly arms to the forest canopy searching for light.

 

 

Hand placed steps from the natural world around us...

 

 

It seems as October 1st came yesterday, nature knew it to be so. If there was any time bit of humidity left in the air, it turned into a crisp snap yesterday. The bite of fall is here, the I need a light jacket or hoodie to make me cozy and warm in a breeze that blows papery leaves in my path. It's the comforter on your bed again and socks on your feet... the smooth acclimation from heat to cold.

 

 

 

 

Hikes and Shrooms

 

 

For the past 3 weekends every weekend we have done a great family hike, and the last two hikes have been on the Shawangunk Ridge Trail in Greenville New York. The first time we went up part of the way only to come home annoyed with not going at least to the line where New York meets New Jersey... so the following weekend we trekked up and up then down a bit and found the state line where we explained to our boys exactly what the little cement marker was and what it meant.

 

 

This trail has been our favorite by far/hands down and mostly for it's beauty. The thing that grasped me the most on the trail was the beautiful array of fungus. The trail when it wasn't jagged and rocky, was beautiful fluffy and thick bright green moss. Not just one kind of moss either, all different kinds. Some that looked like carpet, some that looked like a miniature pine forest, and in one spot live peat moss! You know, the stuff that's dried and bagged in your local craft stores? Yup! and it's so much more beautiful in person! It is so white compared to other mosses, sort of demands attention.

 

 

Between the mosses, emerging from the earth below, were these amazing multi-colored mushrooms. I mean you hear about mushrooms of multiple colors, but you never really get to see them! As amazing in color was the variation in species. There were so many different kinds, shapes, and sizes!

 

 

And ready for this one? I bet if I licked this one I would of spent the rest of the day lost in the woods seeing the meaning of life... or atleast little green men! Now, I made no alterations to this photo... this was the true life color of this mushroom.

 

 

And if that wasn't enough, there were red mushrooms with white spots! Just like the kind in fairy tales... at one point I found myself standing in a semi-circle fairy ring made up of pink fungi! I joked with my boys that it was a good thing it wasn't a full circle otherwise the fairies could of trapped me ;)

 

Tiny little mushroom red

With the spots upon your head

Growing small on mossy bed

From the earth you are fed

Through the forest we are led

Out of house with you instead.

 

Also on this trail were salamanders a plenty! You would see one below your feet, pick it up... say hi then put it somewhere else. It was a ton of fun!

As you can see I'm a site seer. Hubby always goes first cause he's on a mission, then usually my middle son and then me and the oldest in the back who stop to oooh and ahhhh, photograph and say "look see!" That's the rule when we hike, if your site seeing... get in the back and I'm happy to be there yelling "Wait! I'm coming, wait for me!"

 

 

Hiking is a part of who we are as a family and I'm happy to start the boys off so young on something so awesome. To bring them close to nature and teach them that you don't need to go out and blow a ton of money to have fun. Just pack some subs from your local deli, backpack it, and get your feet moving.

Hope you enjoyed the photos and that I didn't overload you, but there was so much beauty to share!

 

 

My Week Through the Eyes of Instagram 9/9-9/16

 

Another week bites the dust and I still can't say I'm sorry to see it go. Another rough week led to a quiet ending which was more than fine with me! Here's hoping your week was filled with love, laughter, and fun!

 

It started with a some Geocaching, hiking, and a view of the Delaware River...

 

Then school day monday walking to the bus stop with pretty nature things to see.

Time in the car for the boys, crochet, and some flowers at the park waiting for school pickup.

Date night, mexican... soothing the stressed out soul with a few pina colodas.

Farm market, Heirloom Tomatoes, and Canning...

From blond to brown, a garlic bread beard, and a false alarm ER trip where I yelled at a nurse.

Crochet in crafting in preparation for my November craft sale.

Farm fields and a wonderful hike that led us to the state line where NY meets NJ.

 

Time and time again I am led to my one of my favorite quotes, and it's so relevant right now as I feel a bit like I'm walking upside down. Thank you for your patience with the blog. I usually blog each evening in preparation for the next day but lately when evening comes I'm exhausted and snuggling on the couch with my family seems like the very best medicine.

 

"Life is what happens when your busy making other plans"

~ John Lennon

 

As always if you love my photography and seeing my Instagram photos you can follow me on Instagram via

@Paintingbliss