Lost and Found

Last year was the first time when I tried to grow vegetables. Without any previous experience, I purchased mostly starters and two bags of green bean seeds. I thought I could get a jump-start with starters. I planted the seeds though I did not think that I could grow anything out of seeds, not my kind of patience. As it turned out, other than lettuce, I barely harvest much of anything. The only thing growing like crazy is the green beans, the one I started with seeds.

This year I furnished more photography gears and also had more exposure to wider ranges of photography.  My Honeysuckle was doing very well last year. The plant was prosperous and the flowers were popping one after the other all season long.  I took quite a few shots and was thrilled with the results. I had my mind set to take better images.  The plant is now more mature and buds are everywhere. I smile at it every day since spring sun started to pour on the ground.  But the buds remain buds for quite some time.  I grew curious and came close to check on them last week. There were small green spots all over the buds. With my Marco Lens zoomed in, OMG, aphids invasion! I took care of the buggers, but the buds did not bounce back.

I cut out all the infected buds from my honeysuckle plant, and I don’t expect to see any new growth for a while. Well, what’s next?  Photography has become my daily routine. If I don’t shoot something in a day, I feel that I cannot call it a day.  My eyes were back to my Verbena which is full-grown and beautiful. However, the purple flowers are so tightly bonded that I could not get what I wanted, a simple and clean shot. Before hitting the ‘delete’ key, I hit the black and white conversion key, and here they are. The black and white colors have taken away the complexity that I don’t care for.

Walking down the path by the river, I was drenched by park sprinklers.  Wet and cold, I was about to complain and I found myself stepped on a patch of poppy flowers. They are everywhere by the path, and I usually don’t look at them close. Today we are all drenched. They are happy but I am not.  I glance at them the second time acting undefeated… and at that moment, I saw the droplets. I snapped a shot which has turned my dismay to a smile:

My husband and I were looking for some place up high, like the top floor of a high-rise building or a hilltop to take some bird-view like shots. We eventually landed at the top of Skinner Butt. But the area was fairly small and we could not find a good spot for the photo that we have in mind. While we were ready to hop back to the car, I spotted this beautiful church building standing. I have never known that there is such a beautiful church in Eugene. My husband identified it as First Christian Church where we tied our wedding knots.  Isn’t that interesting?

What I am learning here is to take one day at a time. Enjoy each new day that God has made. Cherish every moment of a day and embrace the unexpected, either positive or negative. We may not always have our wish fulfilled, but the loss of something seems always to lead us to something else, and from there we found something new or we were lifted up to another level of understanding or appreciation.  Expect the unexpected.