Note: Photography is a path to mindfulness for me, a meditative and grounding practice that prompts me to slow down and notice the world around me. May these images offer you a space to pause, a respite in your perhaps busy day, and a reminder to take a moment now & then and notice what's going on in the world around you.

~~~

We just got back from spending eight nights at a favourite cottage in the woods, by a lake. There was no TV. For the most part the only sounds were the wind in the trees, the birds, the rain, Cassie breathing gently, and mosquitoes.

I could have easily done without the sound of mosquitoes.

Rainy and cold, it was not the entirely blissful week I imagined I would spend lounging on the dock eating potato chips, but it certainly had its blissful moments: the sun and the mist after the rain; morning walks with D. and Cassie; meals taken in the porch, with a view on the lake; the call of the loon; visits to TWO used book stores; meandering drives through country back roads; many naps and a LOT of reading; and an evening spent with our cottage neighbour, a 90 year-old author with a personal library that makes me swoon. As for potato chips, several bags were thoroughly enjoyed in the sheltered comfort of the screened-in porch.

For it all, I am grateful. Today I miss it. Re-entry is choppy.

Below are a few favourite snapshots.