what i hope to do with mine

I don't think that taking pictures - good, compelling, beautiful pictures - requires much talent. Rather, it requires an eye and good, compelling, beautiful natural scenery. We are blessed with an abundance.

Recently coming across a group who's mission statement I could not agree more with -  

Our mission is to further environmental and cultural conservation through ethical photography.  We believe that awe-inspiring photography is a powerful force for the environment, especially when paired with the collaboration of committed scientists, politicians, religious leaders and policy makers. We plan to replace environmental indifference with a new culture of stewardship and passion for our beautiful planet.

            -International League of Conservation Photographers

postscript. i have a million thoughts running through my head, but no current way to articulate them. 

also, many pictures to post.

sweetland

A Brotherhood of Man

Imagine there's no Heaven
It's easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today

Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace

You may say that I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will be as one

Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world

You may say that I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will live as one 

Off the Grid: Life on the Mesa

Drained from school, work, and being social all week, I curled up on the couch last night looking to zone out on some science/environmental documentaries to watch. I stumbled upon this list: Ten Environmental Films you Can Watch Online. 

I just finished watching Off the Grid: Life on the Mesa. Assuming it would be a film about some sand-hippies living in a ecovillage in New Mexico, I was convinced otherwise within the first minute of the film.

There's a trailer on YouTube, but I don't recommend watching it - it paints the inhabitants of the community as crazy, violent dirtbags. Instead, it's an interesting take on community and freedom. In one part of the film, a group of runaway teens began stealing from the community. Instead of calling the cops or responding with violence, a council with the teens and elders of the community meet to discuss ramifications. The film also touches on love, water resources, drug-use, post-traumatic stress, guns, and living off the land. A little over an hour long, I highly recommend checking it out. 

nomadic tendencies

A couple of months ago, on the heels of our last road trip, I was already getting the urge to go again. This idea of sticking put is irking to me - I simply feel like I'm missing too much by staying in place. Instead, I wish to sell all of my STUFF, horde the books and trinkets that I love at my mothers, and pack the rest in the car and GO. This time though, instead of leaving for a couple of weeks or a month with half the trip focused on getting home, I want to go back to my nomadic tendencies.

When that word - nomad - hit me, I felt like a genius. I'm going back to my roots, my ancient roots. I would become a new nomad like no other!

Except there are others. Lots of others. With lots of websites devoted to the idea of the New Nomad - a term I sadly did not invent. Many sites, like Nu Nomad, Laptop Hobo, and Business Backpacker focus on ways you can take your business, forcing you to rely on technology and wi-fi access to continue to support yourself. Photographers, travel writers, and bloggers are all technology-dependent travelers. There are also people who have terribly boring-sounding jobs like "database consulting,"  "affiliate marketing," and "freelance translation of technical documents"

And that's not a bad thing. However, I dream of a much more fluid lifestyle. Staying around for more than a day or two and seeing more than just the Golden Gate Bridge, Central Park, or Disney World. I want the freedom to come and go as I please. Work to feed and shelter myself and have the rest of my time as my own. This seems a harder ideal to maintain, albeit not impossible.

Couch Surfing: Connecting travelers with, duh, couches.
WWOOFing: Volunteer opportunities on organic farms around the world, in exchange for room&board
HelpX: Similar to WWOOFing, although the opportunities are more varied.

Other interesting sites worth checking out
Vagabondish
Nomadic Matt
Matador Network
Thrilling Heroics

And for the ladies
Do It While You're Young
Wanderlust and Lipstick

reliving the past

speaking of daydreaming.

 remembering being sixteen, staying up too late,
daydreaming even then.

oceanfront sunshine

&on the flipside, this is what I daydream about everyday.

 feets near the water, covered in sand

surrounded by blue skies, blue waters and palm trees.

&if memory (see: images) serves correctly, 

southern california made me so terribly happy

frozen

I think I've always been cold. Not emotionally (although ex-boyfriends could argue that, as well), but rather physically, literally cold. As the leaves fall, I remember. In the winter, walking the frozen streets, I fear I will never know real, true, all-body warmth again. Even once inside, wrapped in a blanket and drinking hot cider the cold permeates my bones.

I feel it, too, in the summer. It's then when I know it must be true. Riding down University Avenue in the blistering sun, temperatures reaching far past 90. Sweat dripping down my back, a breeze brought on by a passing truck brings chills throughout me. Immediately I recognize the cold, the pain, the unbearable desire to just be warm.

corn&soybeans

Also spent sometime on the land, with corn and soybeans.

flooded waters

Spent a couple of days on the Minnesota and Redwood Rivers. 

Heavy rain has fallen in the past week and both rivers were at high water.

Undoubtedly tragic for residents of river towns, but I smile crossing over bridges nearly underwater, looking over waterfalls roaring down. 

Our mother's lifeblood is flowing wild.

Minnesota River

Redwood River