2018 Review through the Lens: D6-D13

”When we build, let us think that we build forever.”

-John Ruskin

Boy…has this been a week. I don’t know if any of you feel like this right now, but it’s hard for me to tell if I’m coming or going. Every day has been packed, and this season always seems to culminate in a conundrum of my kids going off the rails coupled with the heightened anxiety of “getting everything done” and, oh yeah, I almost forgot, a little joy splashed on top.

As I’ve not been able to find any time to write over the past week, I’ve kind-of fallen behind on my December Photo Challenge. As someone who finds accomplishment and productivity comforting, I was feeling a little down about that. But I’m also that same someone who loves to pull the long thorn out of my side, punch a hole in the blunt end and, from that, create a needle to thread for use in a more purposeful way. So my slack over the past few days, I decided, has actually given rise to the opportunity to share some favorite photos that I was struggling with as I went back through my files.

Remember my spider from D2 of the Photo Challenge? Well, on that same lake trip I photographed this diligent little Titmouse, feverishly working to build a nest down inside one of the posts of our dock. This little bird literally worked on his project for hours, flying away and gathering items (from who knows where), returning back again and again to dive down into the hole. It was one of my favorite captures of the year, but I just couldn’t decide which single shot photo to post. Problem solved. Now I GET to post all 8 of my favorites so that you can see his entire process. Thorn…meet needle.

It got me to thinking, too. That’s what I’ve been doing this past week. That’s what we’re all doing…every week, every day, every minute, in almost everything that we do. If you are purposeful in life, you are building (just like my little friend here). When I meet with my son’s teacher about working to correct a behavior issue and we follow through with a plan, I’m building…building in him. When I teach my toddler how to peel the slices on an orange or top a pizza for the first time, I’m building…building in her. When I counsel someone who is struggling in a relationship, or I give someone a gift just to say “thank you,” or I pay for the person’s coffee in line behind me, or I take time to have lunch with my husband and just talk, or I volunteer teaching kids how to grow something in a garden, or I approach my clients with thoughtful advice, I’m building…building in all of them.

Just yesterday I had a conversation with a friend about how the reality is that 90% of my life isn’t even about me. That’s how we get off in the weeds as human beings. We live lives consumed with the lie that life is really about “us.” It’s not. It’s about the sticks and the twigs and the shreds of paper and the bits of fluff that we desposit here and there, along with the string that somehow ties something together within someone else. It’s when you begin to view yourself for the builder that you are, that you truly begin to live.

So press onward, my builder friends. Just keeping flying and collecting and depositing in the places and in the people that need you most. For, after all, life itself first begins with the nest.

All the best,

A. J.

All Content Photos by Amanda J. Schulz

[Check out Day 5 of the December Photo Challenge here.]

2018 Review through the Lens: D1

”The gull sees farthest who flies highest.”

– Richard Bach, Jonathan Livingston Seagull

 

Today is the first day of December. Unbelievable, really. Where has the year gone??? For the past several Decembers, in the spirit of the holidays, I have usually participated in some sort of Facebook® photo challenge…Day 1: Snap Something Red…Day 2: Find a Candy Cane…you get the picture (no pun intended). Now that I’ve gotten this blog off and limping and spent almost a year with my camera, I thought it would be fun to move my photo challenge here and share some of my most favorite outdoor shots from 2018! Many of these have not yet been posted on this blog, and several have not ever left my personal archived albums. I will share one photo each day with a fun fact or short story. Just a quick, easy way to pay tribute to some amazing experiences that I’ve captured and to give us all an opportunity to count down the last few days of 2018 together.

As you prepare for this holiday season, I wish you, your family and your friends the merriest of times, no matter where you live or how you choose to gather and celebrate. And may we all remember our lives as blessings and this planet as the greatest of gifts. Full hearts, everyone.

 

All the best,

A. J.

 

“Wind Beneath My Wings” (Ring-billed Gull in flight; White Rock Lake, Dallas, Texas. January, 2018.)

 

I shot this image during one of my first practice sessions on capturing movement. Each winter the Ring-billed Gulls migrate south to our North Texas area, spending the season around our lakes and streams. This species nests and breeds along the northern borders of the United States and well into Canada, with each bird tending to return to its nesting site and often its mate. Once nearly eradicated in the late 19th Century by hunters, conservation efforts established during the early 1900’s have allowed their numbers to now measure into the millions. Birds reach full adult plumage at about three years of age.

 

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