Regatta

re·gat·ta (r-gät, -gt) n. A boat race or a series of boat races. [Italian dialectal, a contention, regatta, from regattare, to contend, perhaps from recatare, to sell again, compete, from Vulgar Latin *recaptre, to contend : Latin re-, re- + Latin captre, to seek to catch, frequentative of capere, to seize; see catch.]

I am now a three year veteran of this wonderful thing called a regatta ... but NOT as a sailor!  I am the one capturing the images.  I loved this definition and word origin.  Capture.

These beautiful crafts capture one another.
The Center (a non-profit behind this particular regatta) captures support.
I capture pictures.
The lake captures me.

I love how everything smells like the lake when I get home.  I don't want to wash anything!  The nostalgic side is so strong.  It brings me back to the land of 10,000 lakes and growing up in Minnesota.

While I am too tired to be eloquent, I did want to make sure I shared at least one adventure of my own.  This is one of the highlights of my year!  Even Miss M looks forward to it and now has two years under her belt as my sidekick.  Thanks to one of our boatmates who was playing sneaky paparazzi (and of course she would, she "IS" the media!), I actually have a photo to share!  (Yes, that is me as the scarf-wrapped, photo-snapping masthead.)

The Thaw

Yes, I still have a few discoverable icicles on the underside ... but life is fast and furious, and spring is here, so before long the thaw will have absorbed the daggers that threaten to dislodge and pierce whatever lies below. 

Today? I am thankful for friends who breathe warmth into my atmosphere and inspire the flow of thought that frees me from paralyzing anger.  It sounds more ominous than it is.  But I am contemplating the value of melting rather than splintering.  That moment of a satisfying, icy shatter probably only affects my own soul.  Forgiveness is hard.  But unforgiveness is harder.

Love The Earth

Sunset on Mount Scott, Oklahoma from Ingrid Williams on Vimeo.

I've been so inspired recently with a couple of videos (below) that are a little like my style of still photography that I decided to try my hand with a little handheld unit while on my surprise birthday vacation.  THEN ... I heard about Imogen Heap's Love The Earth film project and decided I'd see if one of my little clips might be worth sharing.  So ... what you see if my first ever attempt at capturing the beauty of nature via video.  My original inspirations are linked below, but I AM CHOMPING AT THE BIT to create now.  Not just the images and the moments that breathe behind them ... but creating the music, too.  Maybe my heart really can find some footing to revive itself musically!


Around Venezia from Icam on Vimeo.


Un jour de printemps from Icam on Vimeo.

Morning Moments

I think we have started a tradition ... Labor Day Weekends at Camp Tallchief. The first was an attempt at a family birthday weekend with J, but it didn't go over that well with him! He is not my nature boy. Now that he is in Ohio, I have to admit that being at Camp Tallchief is kind of my escape. It's been a year, but it is still so hard to think of my boy being elsewhere.

Time out for a happy birthday message ... To my J, I truly do hope it is a great day for you and that it is celebrated well out in Ohio. My heart always wants the best for you, more and more as each year approaches! I LOVE YOU and always will.

Year three, and we had K's family as visitors a couple of times. WONDERFUL! And the serenity of waking with the horses? PRICELESS. I have to admit that it is tempting to volunteer to be the wrangler (though my horse days are decades behind me) and live out here endlessly!

Senior Photos

Getting my cousin's son to smile was a rare moment ... accidental, actually! Isn't he handsome? It's hard to believe these kids grow up so fast. True to form, even though we were hiking all over to take his photos, the girls weren't far behind (and I had to snap a photo). It just makes me laugh!

Sister Scouts

Sister Scouts ... a whole troop of Brownies being introduced to camping by their older "sister" Girl Scouts. It was a beautiful overnight and I don't think any of the girls wanted to go home!

My goofy valentines ...

Icy Fascination

We woke up to ice today. Naturally, it's only a matter of time before the camera emerges. This little ice drop fascinates me ... it looks like miniature fireworks inside! What I love about days like today is mostly because it's a wonderful excuse to light a fire and feel cozy (even if I am still working on things in the meantime). The kids love the thought that if the weather gets worse, they might get to do this for a few more days instead of going to school!

Click on the photo below more photos from the icy storms in Oklahoma:

Icy Mornings

Minnesota Sunflower

The real deal ...

Lucky Girl!

My little helper was happy about being out at Girl Scout camp all weekend. Now that her mother has certain assignments that involve being out in nature, she feels pretty lucky to get in on special things ... but when you can find a REAL horseshoe? That seals it! You're a lucky girl!

Mountain Rainfall

It's so amazing when you can see things like this from the clouds!

Purple Mountains Majesty

I always thought that line was poetic, but not all that real ... purple mountains majesty. As a child it stuck in my mind and gave me more of a dreamy, eloquent imagination. But I was going through my photos tonight. Purple mountains! This one was from a trip to Anaheim last year. Those colors really are there! Sometimes I'm amazed to see what colors are present in the light. They're not always evident at first, but those subtle shades can spring out and surprise me sometimes. Sometimes monochromatic, sometimes like a rainbow. Light is somewhat magical. It's one of those things that makes my mind go "TILT" when I stop to think about it ... all those colors just waiting in something supposedly without color? WOW.