Wandering...

I remember my parents taking a "Sunday drive" every so often...and while I am certain it was their way of getting away from us teenagers for awhile, it was also their way of exploring, wandering, finding quiet hidden gems in the areas where we lived. 
My husband and I wandered a bit last Sunday, on our way home from a beautiful wedding on the North Fork of the Salmon River (Congratulations to Ryan and Ashleigh!).  We wandered, in fact, so much that we took the same road several times, up and back...not because we were lost (*ahem*) or because our GPS didn't know where the heck we were (*ahem*) but mostly because we were just wandering...!  We saw a part of our state we'd never really explored before; incredibly desolate and unusually beautiful country in North Central Idaho.  And we met some nice people who own and operate a great little gem of a hotel/cafe/store/gas station in North Fork, Idaho called the Village at North Fork.  Incidentally, they also catered the wedding and it was so yummy!
Here's hoping we all have time to wander in our lives, to discover roads less traveled, meet new people...and that we always return safely home.

Faces.

I love these faces.  They make me happy.  And sad.  All at once.

I am planning to host a gallery of Images from Burma this Fall at the Art Walk...stay tuned!

It's Summer, in my heart anyway...

...and we have some pretty exciting things going on around here!  I love summer, and it seems like it might actually be arriving afterall!  I especially love all the opportunities we get to travel, see people and places, and play outdoors!

We recently just returned from a quick trip to Corvallis, Oregon, home of the Oregon State Beavers, where we sat proudly in the stands of Reser Stadium to witness our daughter's college graduation!  Yay Allison!!!  We were/are so proud...a bit emotional...and overwhelmingly happy!

We followed graduation with a fun wedding shower for Stephen & Allison and then followed that with a group dinner and then a rowdy bachelorette party!  I am getting way too old for long days like that, but nevertheless, we all had a great time!  I am so entirely thankful that there is so much to celebrate, and so many great family members and friends to help us celebrate!

As a result of the crazy, busy, fun, chaotic summer ahead I have decided not to take on any NEW portrait clients for the summer months, to allow me a little breathing room, a little more play time...and a chance to catch up our fine art photography!  I finally updated my Heart & Soul Images webpage, but it's been almost a year since I've updated our Mike & Kris Ryan Photography website and we have some really great work to share!  So, stay tuned!

As for me, I have some packing to do...let the summer fun begin!

Looking for a suitable caption for this silly photo...

"The guy down the street has really let his place go..."
"For rent, a cheap fixer-upper..."
"Our neighbor is a real animal..."

Mike and I wandered a bit last weekend, and came across this little shack of an abandoned house that I thought might be fun to photograph...and then this little guy came out the front door...  Actually, there were several calves inside...and their moms standing outside hollering at them to quit goofing around!  It was a funny scene.  Only in Idaho!

Just words this time.

Nothing is so strong
as gentleness.
Nothing is so gentle
as real strength.

- Frances de Sales


I read this the other day, in a book that mostly collects dust on my bookshelf as I never seem to have time to read...why is it, by the way, that reading is such a guilty pleasure...? Why can't I curl up with a good book without feeling like there is something else I should be doing?! The never ending to do list looming somewhere on the kitchen counter...! And yes, I have even tried to outsmart that guilt by putting "reading" on the list, but alas, I am not fooled!

I digress...I loved this quote!

Oregon Coast!

A spur-of-the-moment trip to the beach this past weekend proved to be the perfect way to celebrate Memorial Day. Remembering lives past and honoring the future always seems more relevant to me when surrounded by the sound of crashing waves and the sight of those dramatic coastal horizons. The chance to reflect is never more accessible than when you are walking, a little bit aimlessly, eyes down towards the sand, wind at your back, the sound of waves a constant rumble...

I love the Oregon Coast.

(...and I love my new iPhone, with the cool photography apps I've found too! This picture was taken with ShakeItPhoto and then collaged with Diptic. So fun!)

Storms.

I had a restless night last night, listening to the winds howl and the rain collide against the bedroom windows. I keep checking the calendar, to see if it really is almost June...and yet there is snow in the forecast? Yikes!

And then I began thinking about the days and nights we spent with the Karen people. We were fortunate to be there in very mild weather. No rain. No winds. It was warm and mostly sunny, and our only concern was overheating a little bit on our short walks through the jungle. Even the nights were lovely. Cool, but calm and relatively quiet.

That isn't how it always is there for the people trying to live their lives there. They, too, have to deal with nights like last night, where the winds are whipping and the rains are beating down...only they do it in their modest huts, on their dirt hillsides... And I am certain they do it with the same admirable grace and humility that they manage in their everyday lives.



We brought a few little gifts along on our trip, mostly for the children; books and crayons, dolls and small toys…and we spent most of a day sitting with these two young girls, sisters, in their family's home. They sat quietly with us, all day, drawing pictures, getting their nails painted, and playing with a few little toys, all the while listening to all the talk around them about the enemy that threatens their very existence. How do those girls sleep at night? I stayed up last night, worried that my new planter wasn't going to survive the storm…and then worrying that these beautiful young girls won't survive the storm that surrounds them…

I am going to update our website soon, I promise…and I am going to include a gallery of images from our trip with Partners. All proceeds from any print orders in that gallery will go toward their goal of "free, full lives for the children of Burma."

iPhone obsession!

My daughter says I am kind of obsessed with my new iPhone...(maybe that has something to do with all the photos of her cat I've been sending her!)  I say, "well, yea, I am!"  I love it!  One of the things I love most about it is all the amazing photography apps...many of them FREE!  In a world where we sometimes obsessively concern ourselves with the "reality" of digital photography, me included, it is really fun to be able to let go a little and play with these ingenious, creative tools. 
I took this photo with my iPhone using an app called Hipstamatic, which I love.  It features different "films", including that old school grainy look, and different lenses and flash capabilities too.  And then, after my dog walk, sitting on my stoop, I tweaked it a little more with a free app called Instagram, which adds to that vintage feel. 
It's fun to play and to be creative, whatever your tools!  (...I am feeling the need for a fresh box of crayons...wanna color, Allison?!)


Spring in the Tetons?!

The interior roads opened up in the Tetons a couple of weekends ago so we thought we'd take full advantage and spend a couple of nights in our mobile "Yurt."  Ya know, Springtime...  We had visions of baby animals out in abundance, Spring flowers in bloom, warm days and cool nights...  Well, we might have been just a few weekends early, as it snowed.  Not only did it snow, but there was a lot of snow, particularly in the North end of the park.
We did catch sight of some of the park's notorious creatures; bison, elk, coyotes, moose...and lots of birds, like these, trying to shake off winter!
Looking forward to our next trip up to the Tetons...surely the flowers will be blooming...?!

Idaho's State bird...the Mountain Bluebird, and...

...a Western Meadowlark.

If you are in the market for a great photographer....

 ...and you live anywhere in the vicinity of the Portland, Oregon area...check out Aaron Courter's website and blog!  Okay, so I am a little bit biased because this is my beautiful daughter and my handsome future son-in-law, but really, Aaron did an amazing job!  Not only did he create great, fun images, but he also captured a bit of their personalities, which is so important in a really great photographer!  (And, they said, he was a lot of fun and easy to work with too!)  He is shooting their upcoming July wedding too...I can't wait! 

Mother Nature.

It was so nice of Mother Nature to provide my favorite color in the sky on Mother's Day (kind of a purple-y haze)!  Okay, so I probably would've prefer it not to be in the form of a crazy, blowing snow storm, but hey...it was pretty cool nonetheless!  



Happy Mother's Day, and other thoughts...

Some people prefer not to think about sad things, ever...and while I certainly see that as a valid perspective, desirable even, I have never entirely been able to manage it for myself.  I have had sadness in my life, as most have.  And once in awhile, when the sadness creeps in, uninvited, I am required to acknowledge it, and to allow it to linger awhile in my heart…because, after all, sadness is usually a result of loss…and feeling loss is a result of loving…and love...well, you can't beat love, can you?

And so today, I am honoring the memory of my beautiful Mom, on Mother's Day weekend...and the memory of my Dad as well, who was always there for me.  It is a beautiful Spring day and I wish you both were here!  Actually, I wish we were all at the beach, with a campfire in the sand, and cold beers...frolicking...but that is another story!

Honor your Moms this weekend, wherever they are!  In doing so, you are honoring LOVE!
 

This is the face I see in my dreams....

Yellowstone in early Spring.

Some of the roads opened up in Yellowstone this past weekend, so we took the opportunity to get away from our computers and to-do lists and headed up and into the park to see what, if anything, was waking up from winter!  Hard to tell, in some sections of the park, if there were any critters roaming about as the snow level is still really high in places...in fact, in those areas, it was a bit like driving in a snow tunnel!  But, we saw plenty of bison, deer and elk, several coyotes and even a few wolves.  We also spotted a good sized grizzly heading out along a foothill (sorry Travis, that we couldn't find one for you in the Tetons)!

The best part was trying out our new rig, which we call the "Yurt".  It's our new home away from home, and I kind of fear our retirement digs...!  It's a really cool conversion van...called a Sportsmobile, with most of the creature comforts of home!  If you see us around, be sure and say hi!

A few of the Karen children we met along the way...

I feel as if I have this burden and I don't really know what to do about it, or how to deal with it...not just yet anyway.  My burden is this...that I want you, because you are reading this, to care about these children as much as I have learned to care about them.  I want you to worry with me; about their health, their education, their families and their future.  I want you to see them as your own children, or grand-children, or nieces and nephews, and see that they deserve so much more than what they currently endure.  I want you to empathize with the life they are living; in such poverty it is almost unimaginable to those of us with full bellies and full closets, with the freedom to go to school and to go to the store and to sleep peacefully every night. 

And yet, I am without adequate words to explain to you what it was like to meet these children; to hear them sing and laugh, and to hear them speak in a language I didn't understand but yet could easily comprehend with their smiles and giggles.

It was heart-warming and heart-wrenching all in the same breath.

These are a few of the Karen children we met, living in refugee camps and hide sites along the Salween River...

Have I told you about the children?

Many of my friends and family have called or sent me emails about these posts, "what an experience", "how can I help", "I didn't know...", and I am so glad if my posts have touched you in some way.  Please don't hesitate to ask me questions, give me a call or email me, and please let me know if you are interested in helping these beautiful people in some way.  Please also check out Partners website where there is lots of information and a really great, easy way to donate online.

If photos affect you, pull at your heartstrings, as they do me...well, brace yourself. 

In the next week or so, I will be sharing a few photos of the children we met on our visit to the IDP sites and refugee camps.  These are children who have only known a life of fear, of running from a monstrous enemy.  These children have lost grandparents, parents, aunts, uncles, cousins, siblings and/or friends in this "conflict", and every one of them still has a child's spirit alive inside of them. 

They love to play and learn and be silly!  They love to be held and appreciated and valued.  They love to sing and dance!  They love to feel handsome and beautiful.  They love candy and surprises!  They giggle when they see themselves in pictures!  They squirm when they are tickled!  They say please and thank you (dah bloo) and have beautiful smiles.

They deserve a healthy childhood of peace and security.  Don't you agree? 

Wedding Day!

Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Spicer!  And thank you, for allowing us to be a part of your wedding day!

Home.

We woke up in the morning to the sounds of the jungle waking up; roosters crowing, babies crying, fires crackling and Tokay's calling for their mates (a large gecko!).  We had a cup of hot Birdy coffee, rolled up our bed mats and mosquito nets, and then the hut started to fill...with newcomers... 

New to the camp, these people had recently found themselves, once again, fleeing from the Burma Army.  They ended up here, at this camp, with their families...trying to make a life, starting over, with nothing...trying to survive.

This woman had traveled with and was caring for her nephew, who had lost both of his parents and his sister, due to the Burma Army's activities.  I wondered what she was thinking about, staring out that doorway...

Oddny was "interviewing" these newcomers to the camp.  Where did they come from?  Do they have families?  Were they run out of their village?  How many times?  When?  Did they lose people in the attacks on their village?  The stories were painful, repetitive, heartbreakingly sad.  To imagine the life they have been living...well, it's unimaginable really. 

She was also inquiring as to their needs, to see what void Partners can help to fill.  Do they need clothing, tarps for shelter, food, medicines, school supplies, training...yes, to all of the above, especially to food.  Many of these newcomers to this camp came because their families were starving, trying to sustain themselves in the jungle.

Appreciative, they were all so appreciative of even the smallest things we could offer. 

And then Oddny asked this man, the one with his face resting in his hand, what he wanted, what he needed.  His answer was heartbreaking...and telling. 

"We just want to be able to go home," he replied. 

I don't know what the future holds for these people, displaced from their homes and their livelihoods.  I wish I could assure them that change will come, in their lifetime, that the oppressive government currently ruling their country would step down or some other entity would step in and stop these human rights abuses...but I can't.  I cannot assure them that they will ever be able to go home.  But what I can do is write these stories, publish these images, talk to people, write to people in power, raise money to help them feed their children, and I can educate people, make them aware of what is going on in Burma.  I can speak up for these oppressed people.  I don't want them to feel forgotten.  I want them to be able to go home.

The ability to fly...

It was kind of a birding weekend, last weekend.  We saw plenty of four-legged animals in the Tetons (everything but a bear!) and we saw lots of feathered creatures waiting out what is hopefully the last bits winter...  (It is snowing like crazy right now, so maybe the end of winter isn't quite in sight yet....?!)

Have you ever asked people, if they could "come back" as any animal, what animal would they be?  A lot of people say some kind of bird, right?  I am sure it is the idea of flight...what an amazing kind of freedom that must be...  My husband, for example, always answers that he would come back as an eagle...in the United States, of course, as eagles are a national symbol and therefore protected from human predators!  It doesn't hurt that eagles live in incredibly beautiful places, like the Grand Teton National Park, or Alaska...either of those places are where he would choose to live! 

In any case, thinking about eagles...makes me think about freedom...and makes me think, again, about the Karen people we met, the IDP's of Burma...many of whom have never known freedom...  Imagine that, never knowing freedom...in fact, knowing only a life of oppression, terrorism, fear...

Tomorrow I will write more about those amazing people...today I am appreciating my freedom!

I went to the mountains...to breathe...

I am a lucky woman with pretty fantastic opportunities…

One of those came this past weekend, the chance to head to the hills, or rather, to the mountains, the Grand Tetons to be specific, to hang out with some wildlife and nature, and a couple of wonderful guys (my husband and my nephew)! Another great opportunity came when my husband, who was driving, was turning the car around so that he could get a nice photo of this red-tailed hawk… Well, his camera (he has a really nice, long lens) was resting in my lap as he turned the car around, and the hawk was getting kind of jittery…so, I caught this as he flew away…

Serendipity! Thanks honey!