Archives
“On even the coldest winter days, the warm glow of the beech leaves radiate with a warmth that makes my very soul glad. I cannot help but smile with joy when I am blessed to be among them.” – Ed Lehming I’ve posted about the beauty of beeches in the winter on many occasions, yet I continue to find myself drawn to them. They provide me an inexplicable sense of joy in… Read More
“The forest has so many beautiful gifts to share. Seemingly simple things, like fungi can be wonderful when we take the time to appreciate them.” – Ed Lehming As the snow has melted away, some of last year’s buried treasure has emerged and I’m constantly amazed at the things I have missed. Having walked this particular trail dozens of times in the autumn, somehow I missed this colourful Hen’s Tail right next… Read More
“Seasons blend and confound, spring is fall and fall is spring; my senses are overwhelmed by the shear beauty of the confusion.” – Ed Lehming I spent most of the day out on the trails yesterday. The forecast was for milder than usual temperatures and the day exceeded expectations. I spent the day outdoors in a long sleeved tee shirt, with my sleeves rolled up. The sun shone brightly above and had… Read More
“Bright sunlight streams from above as the spring sun rises higher into the sky, it’s light intensified by the remaining snow and ice. I stand. transfixed as nature reveals its beauty, yet again.” – Ed Lehming I stood in this spot for close to half an hour, simply drinking it in. I noticed the bright sunshine filling this scene from the trail and stepped into the forest by a few meters to… Read More
“Even the most mundane can become a thing of beauty, if we but expect it” – Ed Lehming Surprisingly, this is my first post this year and the first in over a month. That’s highly unusual for me, but I have found myself terribly uninspired lately. I’m finding the lack of face to face interaction with people is affecting me in ways I had not expected, being a largely solitary and private… Read More
“Flowers bring to life even the dullest days” – Ed Lehming The first day of May, in the midst of pandemic lockdowns, and I am blessed with the beauty of a single blossom from a Gerbera that I somehow managed to coax through the winter. It’s been a bit, no, actually very distressing to not be able to get out and photograph local wildflowers like I have in the past few years…. Read More
“The world is indeed full of peril, and in it there are many dark places; but still there is much that is fair, and though in all lands love is now mingled with grief, it grows perhaps the greater.” ― J.R.R. Tolkien In these uncertain times, the Tolkien quote resonates with me. There are so many things that are fair, and there are more and more every day. I’m making it my habit… Read More
“Simple beauty can be found anywhere, you simply need to be receptive to it.” – Ed Lehming Spring is slowly pushing out the cold and damp that has been so dominant here for what seems like months. With the warming air more and more wildflowers are beginning to show their faces. Fading now are the forest dwelling spring ephemerals which are being replaced by the taller and more colourful field flowers. The… Read More
“When you can take pleasure in the simple beauty life offers, then you are truly blessed.” – Ed Lehming Often, even the most mundane things draw my attention. Though I have stood on rugged vistas and surveyed sights that have left me in awe and speechless I’m still fascinated with the very simple beauty of my everyday surroundings. In this case, a single small red berry hangs from a vine in the… Read More
“Beauty is subjective, yet there are times when even the simplest thing can bright joy to our lives.” – Ed Lehming One of the many reasons that I spend time outdoors hiking and making photos is the sheer joy of seeing something breathtaking in what many would consider mundane circumstances. Many of the trails I’ve hiked, I have hiked hundreds of times and yet, almost every time, I see something new and… Read More
“Heaven knows we need never be ashamed of our tears, for they are rain upon the blinding dust of earth, overlying our hard hearts. I was better after I had cried, than before–more sorry, more aware of my own ingratitude, more gentle.” ― Charles Dickens On January 2nd, 2019 the world, for me, became a bit less joyful. On reviewing my Facebook feed yesterday evening, I noticed that an old friend, Blair Koski-Klien,… Read More
“We went down into the silent garden. Dawn is the time when nothing breathes, the hour of silence. Everything is transfixed, only the light moves.” ― Leonora Carrington The light in Iceland is incomparable, it possesses a magical quality and softness that simply pervades everything. I think, in part, is was partially due to the time of year, late October, when we visited. The sun never gets up very high and wonderful shadows… Read More
“We are now in the mountains and they are in us, kindling enthusiasm, making every nerve quiver, filling every pore and cell of us.” ― John Muir It feels a bit odd using a John Muir quote here, because they know the mountains he is referring to, namely the Sierra Nevada of California and Yosemite National Park. Yet, his words ring true in these mountains as well. On this day, my son and… Read More
“I promise you nothing is as chaotic as it seems. Nothing is worth diminishing your health. Nothing is worth poisoning yourself into stress, anxiety, and fear.” ― Steve Maraboli Some strange things happen when plants are stressed. One of those is a switch to dormancy and loss of the chlorophyl that gives the leaves their green colour. The result, is fall colours and shedding of leaves. In one particular patch of forest, some… Read More
“To the people who love you, you are beautiful already. This is not because they’re blind to your shortcomings but because they so clearly see your soul. Your shortcomings then dim by comparison. The people who care about you are willing to let you be imperfect and beautiful, too. “ ― Victoria Moran If I don’t point it out, do you see it? I tend to be a bit harsh on myself when… Read More
“The world is indeed full of peril, and in it there are many dark places; but still there is much that is fair, and though in all lands love is now mingled with grief, it grows perhaps the greater.” ― J.R.R. Tolkien I’ve always loved this Tolkien quote, and I’ve now found an image to pair it with. Given all the dark news we hear about in our world, the brightness and beauty… Read More
This is another impromptu iPhone abstraction. A quick hike today put me in a forest just past it’s prime, yet spectacular in late afternoon light. I would have ventured longer, but was pressed for time. The brief break from the day refreshed me and I am so grateful to have this wonderful conservation area so close to me. I plan on heading back for a more in-depth and extended hike, as the… Read More
“Each time I see a beautiful sunset or sunrise, I have to pinch myself because I can’t believe that I’m awake and not dreaming.” ― Anthony T. Hincks Every now and then, you just have to pull over, enjoy, and take a picture. In this case, I was returning from closing down our camper for the season, it was later in the day and I spent about fifteen minutes driving west, into a… Read More
“You are imperfect, permanently and inevitably flawed. And you are beautiful.” ― Amy Bloom I’ve been saving a quote for some time, waiting for the right image. Well, the image presented itself a few days ago. As I’ve said in a few posts, butterflies seem to be scarce this year, Monarchs even more so. I think this whole season I’ve only seen a handful. This one was simply too wonderful to resist, despite… Read More
“Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul. “ – John Muir Simple beauty will suffice for me. In this case, a brightly coloured Box Elder beetle, one of many insects partaking in the bounty of nectar within this patch of Canada thistles I’m spending a lot of time with. Soon, they will fade and… Read More
“A garden should make you feel you’ve entered privileged space — a place not just set apart but reverberant — and it seems to me that, to achieve this, the gardener must put some kind of twist on the existing landscape, turn its prose into something nearer poetry.” ― Michael Pollan Many years ago, my mother brought me some columbine seed from her home in Vernon, BC. She referred to them as… Read More
“To only see ‘death’ in death is to somehow assume that death itself is a barrier so abrupt that God Himself is halted by it. To see ‘life’ in death is to understand that death is a sprawling horizon to a new beginning that God created long before death ever thought to show up.” ― Craig D. Lounsbrough Finale, is the only word that came to mind as I viewed this final… Read More
“Just keep hope within you and your path will be lit.” ― Isabella Poretsis It’s spring in the northern hemisphere and the flowers are blooming, or getting ready to bloom. So, flowers are constantly in my life. I certainly am not going to run out of subjects to photograph. This beautiful pink hyacinth reminds me of its presence through its marvelous aroma. It permeates the air with sweetness so unique to hyacinths…. Read More
The appearance of things changes according to the emotions; and thus we see magic and beauty in them, while the magic and beauty are really in ourselves.” ― Kahlil Gibran I really struggled to find a quote that complimented this photo. It’s such a contrast. These tulips have been the subject of my photos for a few days now, and I watched them mature and slowly fade, yet, to me, the beauty… Read More
“Our days are spent…, Time withers and fades, Yet, for he who has perception Beauty, yet remains” – Ed Lehming Tamron SP AF 90mm f/2.8 Di Macro 1:1 (272ENII)@90mm 1.0 sec, f/40.0, ISO 200 High Resolution Image on 500px For more images like this, please visit my Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/EdLehming or my website (some images available for purchase) http://www.edlehming.com
“I KNOW A LITTLE PUSSY” I know a little pussy Her coat is silver gray She lives down in the meadow Not very far away. Though she is a pussy She’ll never be a cat. She is a pussy willow. Now what do you think of that” – Author Unknown Finally, a taste of spring, though still store bought, it focuses my attention on something other than snow and ice, which I… Read More
“I love tulips better than any other spring flower; they are the embodiment of alert cheerfulness and tidy grace” ― Elizabeth von Arnim Spring is still playing hide and seek, but the local grocery store has a nice selection of spring blooms, including these lovely pink tulips. At first glance they appear to be such simple things until you get up close and notice all the beautiful structure. I also enjoyed the… Read More
“The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today. Let us move forward with strong and active faith.” ― Franklin D. Roosevelt This is the continued documentation of a lily I recently purchased as it opens. Hopefully, at some point soon, all three blossoms will be opened. As you can see on this image versus yesterday’s post, the second blossom is now starting to open and the… Read More
“There is no mundane dimension really, if you have the eyes to see it, it is all transcendental.” ― Terence McKenna The view from my back window yesterday afternoon, as the birds returned for a feed. I posted several images of other local birds in late December and the simple chickadees, who are frequent visitors, were omitted. I began questioning myself on that. Why was I ‘editing’ what I shared? Is the humble chickadee less… Read More
“Nature is pleased with simplicity. And nature is no dummy” ― Isaac Newton A very simple subject today, a single carnation blossom. I’ve actually avoided photographing it as I felt I could not bring out the texture of the ruffled blossom. But, in the right light and with a bit of patience, I was able to produce an image that I was pleased with. This is what I would classify as a… Read More
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