Wow, I’m still catching my breath from vacation and haven’t fully unpacked when BAM…it’s the first day of school.  And, not just your average going back to school day.  I mean we’re in the big league now,  Middle School.  I had a form to drop off,  so I waited until after the morning rush.  The drive to Middle School passes right by our old elementary school.  Before I knew what hit me I’m getting all teary eyed, sad and sentimental.  Oh brother, how am I going to handle college some day.  This parenting stuff is exhausting and thank the good lord for my hairdresser and hair coloring.  I’ve got lots of wedding stuff to blog, vacation pictures and two weddings this coming weekend.  I’ll get up to speed soon.  Today I’m just trying to catch my breath.  Did I mention that my son is on the travel soccer team now and that we practice three times a week.  Who knows how we’ll ever get homework done.  I think that it’s time to really join the ranks of “Soccer Mom” and get a carpool going so that I can still have a life.

This is the second year that my Karate Dojo has held a Karate camp.  Deer Lake Scout Reservation in Killingworth, Connecticut is 253 acres of gorgeous woodlands, fields, trails for hiking and two lakes.  It is a beautiful environment to immerse ourselves into Martial Arts training.  It is an intensive program where students gain further insight into the mind/body/spirit connection.  It is challenging physically, emotionally and we earn a greater understanding of patience, respect and appreciation.  The camaraderie grows deeper as we all push ourselves together.  It’s quite an experience and It makes me grateful that I discovered Karate the way that I understand it now.   Although I go primarily to train, I try to take some pictures when I can.  This year I also shot a bit of video,  so perhaps I will have a fusion project to work on in the future.   We were up at 5:30 AM stretching for a 6:00 run everyday.

We’ve had some serious rain here in the Northeast.  Today was a steady rain all day and although we had no wind, we lost one of our century old trees.  It is partially in the river so I’ll have to remove it vs. let it rot on the forest floor.  Oh the joys of living in the woods. I’m just grateful that noone got hurt and that my house is still standing.   I love my property and I guess I’d better since it will cost approximately a family vacation to remove this tree.

Across the bridge even the lake side has rough water.

As we have moved past the vernal equinox and Spring is official, it occurs to me that I have quite a few Winter projects that I never came close to starting.  Maybe my to do list is a bit ambitious.  I think that I feel more comfortable in having lots of ideas for projects to tackle than no list at all.  So I decided to get a bit of a jump on my garden clean up.  A lot of it should have been done last Fall but whatever.  I now have clean garden beds that are waiting for mulch and barely waking up.  The ground here stays cold through March and then suddenly in late April and May, everything is in bloom and needs weeding already.  In as much as I need to be patient with my garden, I can still find plenty to do indoors.  I found these Holga shots that I did a while back in various gardens that inspired me.

After yet another snowfall this past weekend, it looks like we have finally begun a relentless big chill here in the northeast. We are expecting sub zero temperatures by Friday. Wretch!!! I definitely hate the cold. However, there is no denying the beauty of a sunny day after an ice storm has hit. Waveny Park was the place to be on Sunday. Kids come from near and far to go sledding here. The hill is not the largest around but the tiered property makes for great jumps in the right weather conditions. Add in the expansive fields and trails for cross country skiing and even I get into it. I love this old house. Waveny House is where my husband and I got married. I’ve been hanging out there since I was in high school, so I am really nostalgic about the place. I shoot here often and my son plays Soccer on the fields from early Spring to late Fall.
I am loving my new Canon 5D Mark II!! I had to finally bite the bullet and upgrade to Photoshop CS4 and Lightroom 2, as the previous versions did not support my new cameras digital files. I have a lot of new technology to learn, and a good excuse to stay in when it’s bitter outside.