Pretty Pictures

Wildflower along Coldwater Creek, Mammoth Lakes, CA. August 2013

A former co-worker of mine at the Museum – the Curator, actually – had a sign hanging in her office that read in big, block letters, “Pretty pictures don’t change anything.”  Although in theory I agree with her, my silent response was always, “Yeah, but they sure make us feel better.”

After indulging my passions of travel and photography for seven weeks in Spain and Morocco, I am now back at home… with not much to do.  A job I enjoyed, although incredibly stressful at times, is gone and now the process of figuring out what to do next have begun.  I know it will be OK in the end.  I have a sneaking suspicion that this will be a turning point for me and am thinking about my options, including going back to school and, in fact, learning one of those “in-demand” careers that I can take to Spain with me in a few years.  As I look at all the different curriculums, I have to laugh at the courses I’d have to take. “Pre-Calculus? At my age? Physics? You gotta be kidding me!!”

Iris in bloom at the Maui Botanical Gardens, May 2013.

But when I begin to feel overwhelmed by all the decisions I have to make, I’ve found that playing with my photos – editing them, making them beautiful - never fails to cheer me up.

Wild Iris at Point Reyes, CA. March 2014

Yes, Ann, they are not going to change anything.  They are just pretty pictures…but they sure make me feel better.