Slow down and look around

It's funny how you can find beauty in things you least expect if you just stop long enough to look. In the past several years, I have really come to enjoy photography with my digicam. But when I started photoblogging, I really learned to slow down and also to look around and see things I missed before b/c I was so busy to notice things that have always been in front of me.

This flower shot turned out so lovely to me. It's become one of my favorites. The color, clarity, everything. And what's funny is that it is what most people would just call a weed. And it was among lots of other weeds and some flowers in an overgrown lot. I am really glad I am learning to stop and to see things with new eyes.

When I saw this again today (it's my wallpaper on our laptop but I don't use this laptop often), it made me pause b/c I was thinking about the Patterson family. They lost a son last week and the community lost a local hero. The beauty of this flower makes me think about all the wonderful, heartfelt memories people have been sharing here in town about Ty Patterson. My heart really goes out to them and I only wish I had a chance to know Ty. I just wanted to pay a personal tribute to this special young man and to say that our community mourns his loss but we will do what we can to support his family. See my Seguin blog if you want more information.