signs

"Life is one big road with lost of signs." - Bob Marley

Today's one word prompt is sign. For fun I did a little experiment and went to my photo stream on Flickr and did a search for "sign".  I was actually surprised by how many signs I have photographed through the last few years. Many of them really speak of where I live.  I might not have to give you an exact location at all, but  by looking at my photos I bet you could easily put a place to the signs.  I like that, how the signs around me speak of "home" and place.  My place in this big world. My signs mostly wooden & weathered by time and the sea. 

What "signs" do you see?

Share a sign with us all today.

Don't forget our new one word hashtag #ssdecember. 

treasures

“First I smell that smell and am overcome with a sensation of elation. Like a tight faucet turned open, everything floods from me. I scan the view, take a deep breath, and inevitably utter, "God, I love it here." I stride quickly to where the sand is still wet from the previous tide and then, and then I am gone. There is no thinking, just being. I have no awareness of time or of myself. If I am searching for glass, it is rote, with no more or less consciousness than a jellyfish searching for sustenance. It is not mindlessness or oblivion, as I am wholly aware, but in a way that preempts any reality outside of the moment. There I am seaweed, I am water, I am stone, I am fish. I am a grain of sand, warm in the sun. I am reduced to nothing, but part of everything. I am home, I am free, I am one with the sea, I am the primordial me, and the glass is just my excuse to be there.”
― S. Fields

I collect (and photograph) many treasures. Living near the coast, most of my treasures are gifts of the sea.  Feathers, beach rocks shaped like hearts, a few sand dollars, tiny starfish, and of course sea glass.  Finding these tiny pieces of glass, smoothed by time and sands, feels like finding a bit of magic.   Each piece unique in its beauty. My family has a favorite little cove we go, we have coined this cove "sea glass beach" for the bounty of these particular treasures you can find there. We just plunk ourselves down in the rocky sand and sift handful after handful of stones to reveal these tiny pebbles of glass.  It is truly meditative. Even my little ones will sit and sift with me. We weave stories of mermaid's tears, and lost pirate jewels. We stuff our pockets full, not feeling greedy at all since each time we go there is just more and more to find..  We bring them home, wash them and then place them in one of several glass mason jars strewn along our mantle and windowsills of our home.  Little glass gifts of the sea.  Thank you ocean.  

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Today's one word prompt is "glass", perhaps you have some tiny glass treasures like me, or maybe you will pour yourself a glass of something good today. Click and share your "glass" with us today.  Tag your images #shuttersisters.

weekending by W*mina

Today's featured image courtesy of W'Mina. She shoots images like this with her Olympus and spends her weekends kayaking, running, and exploring Austin, spending time with her family and, when no one is looking, sneaking in a nap like her dachshund. You can find her at Flickr  as gottarun  and on Facebook.

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Ah, the weekend. And a three day weekend for many of us living stateside. You know what that means; sleeping in, eating a leisurely breakfast, reading the morning paper or your favorite blogs. Okay, I know that might be going a little overboard. You might get a little of that but maybe your weekends look all together different. Whatever the case may be for you, you've gotta eat a little something in the morning, right? Before you either start your busy day, or curl up for a mid-morning snooze, you've got to serve up some breakfast. And that is exactly what our word is for today. Breakfast.

We've got a brand new list of One Word prompts for September. Wheeeee! But since we've got a word a day each day, there's no One Word this month. Because we're crazy like that. In other words, each day, you'll get your word to shoot for, to visually translate in any way you'd like. And since we're cutting out the One Word, we're going to go really simple and begin using #shuttersisters as our forever hashtag. It's simple, easy to remember and it's got a nice ring to it.

So, we will spend our weekends here like we used to, getting back to featuring your weekending shots or your photo essays right along side our daily word prompts. It's like photographic multitasking.  If you've got something to share for our weekending series (a single shot or a photo essay) please send it over. So yes, this is a little change up of the best kind. A little rest and relaxation along side some creative encouragement. What could be better than that? Nothing really, except maybe blueberry pancakes.

Breakfast anyone?

the great outdoors

After five well-deserved, care-free days on a family camping trip, it was too much of a challenge to pick a single image that summed it all up. The great outdoors has so too much to offer; especially when time in this kind of picturesque locale comes only once in a while.

The thing about a trip like this is the simplicity of it all. There's nothing required except the ability to take it all in; one deep breath in and one breathtaking view at a time.

With summer still fresh in our minds (and hearts) my guess is you've got some lovely images in your recent archives you can share today. Or perhaps you're communing with nature as we speak. Whatever the case may be, today we are celebrating the great outdoors. Share your shots with us and tag them #sselevate.

what are you cooking?

I love cooking... Do you? This is one of my favourite salads coming together.

Can't wait to see what you've cooked today, tag your images with #sselevate & share with us the feast on your table.