I'm lichen it

It's bad when you carry a pun around in your head for over a week. And you'd think that would be time enough to change your mind about using it. But no. I have called this post 'I'm lichen it'.

These are photos I have taken during the past couple of weeks on my walks with Meeko. It's amazing the treasures you can find, even in a relatively barren winter forest.

I like how interactions on the internet can subtly change us or alter our perspective. I'm grateful for the international band of creative people I follow whether on their blogs, Facebook, Etsy or Twitter. Lisa Solomon is a California-based visual artist and professor who seems to have a million creative projects on the go. I know her mostly on Twitter which seems kind of weird to say. :) One of her projects that struck me with its simplicity and beauty is her 'look up and down' series of daily photos she posts on her Tumblr account. If you start thinking and looking that way, for instance while walking your dog or doing one of the other routines in your day, you start to see things that you might have missed.

And I can't look at lichen or fungi without thinking of Margie, which I mean as an absolute compliment and I think she will understand that. (Some don't feel that way. Emma asked me why I take photos of those 'things'.)

So here are some of my 'ups and downs' from recent forest walks.

A gorgeous wasp nest that was so high up in the trees, I had never noticed it. It looks like some sort of exotic hat.

Meeko accidentally disturbed a flock of mourning doves so they flew up into the trees giving me a photo opportunity. They spend most of their time on the ground. They are such beautiful birds yet are so goofy in terms of their behaviour. I love them.

A very ordinary cement block that seemed very beautiful with its cracks, texture and snow cover.

And here's who I see most often when I look down:

We had more snow overnight. Heavy, thick snow. Meeko doesn't tire of it. I am less enchanted by it these days. Spring on my mind. In between winter walks with my faithful companion, I've been working on paintings and will do a more art-related post soon.

Don't forget to look 'up and down' this week!