August Break 2016 :: FAIL

It was inevitable, really. I know me. All high hopes and 'I can do anything' in the beginning, quickly giving way to "what was I thinking?"

What was I thinking? 31 photos in 31 days? Too much stress. Yes, I am an overachiever. Yes, I am a rule follower. Yes, I am a perfectionist.

Here's the thing. I was spending so much time on thinking about what to photograph, editing the photograph to get it just right, uploading the photograph to the blog - nearly half my day was shot! After 3 days I knew this was not going to work. This was supposed to be a break, not work.

I started to feel guilty. I had 'signed up' for this, after all. I am not a quitter!

But I quit. I did. And now I'm here to confess.

Being the type of person that I am, I find it very difficult to bend rules. So doing only a portion of the assigned themes was completely out of the question.

All or nothing.

So, I quit. Not intentionally, either. Day four was just a stumper all day, and when day five rolled around, I couldn't move on. 'Sweetness' tripped me up, and then the whole thing went south.

Next year I might give myself permission to do just the Sunday theme, or every fourth day, or only colors, but for this year I close the month early with a FAIL.

But, a lighter heart ..... letting go of all the worry and owning my failure feels good.

Lesson learned.


©2016 Anne Faulkner | it came with the head, All Rights Reserved

03. Handwriting :: August Break 2016

“A letter always seemed to me like immortality because it is the mind alone without corporeal friend.” 

― Emily Dickinson

A collection of handwritten letters. And a photo of my grandmother, who wrote them. 

©2016 Anne Faulkner | it came with the head, All Rights Reserved

02. Leaf :: August Break 2016

It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see. 

~Henry David Thoreau

The clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness.
~John Muir

I'm part wood nymph. I require mountains and warm, dense
patches of moss to thrive.
~Vera Farmiga

Only spread a fern-frond over a man's head and worldly cares are cast out,
and freedom and beauty and peace come in.
~John Muir

©2016 Anne Faulkner | it came with the head - All Rights Reserved

01. Morning Light :: August Break 2016

The sun is but a morning star. 

~Henry David Thoreau, Walden

There is a robin sitting on a nest on my front porch. You can almost see her through the curtain opening.

The front porch as the sun climbs into the sky for the day.

The front garden, bathed in morning light.

One of my garden angels, illuminated by the morning rays.

©Anne Faulkner | it came with the head, All Rights Reserved

8.1.16 {re}Launch

I'm excited to re-launch my blog. I've missed it. It's my way of checking in with myself and getting some stuff out into the universe. I've been thinking about it quite a lot, but always seemed to get distracted when it came time to actually sit down and write.

When I learned of Susannah Conway's August Break challenge, I knew the time was right. A photo a day? Just a photo? Sure! I can do that! And it will be a way for me to get back into the habit of blogging regularly.

I don't know where I'm going, but I'm going somewhere .... why not join me? Adventure awaits!

See you tomorrow!

©2016 Anne Faulkner | it came with the head, All Rights Reserved

August Break 2016

I've been away for a while. A long while. I've thought about coming back, even have a half dozen unfinished posts hanging around. Every time I thought I was ready to make the commitment again, something pulled me away. I know it was FEAR, is fear, fear of opening up, spilling my thoughts, being vulnerable. Writing from the heart is often monumentally scary. It had been percolating inside me for ever so long - to get back here. To get back to me. 

I have been through so much in the past year; growth, stagnation, indecision, grief, frustration. Almost too much to write about. Didn't want to sound all whiny. Or pompous. Or just plain nuts. Best to keep that sort of thing bottled up, you know? NOT. 

When I learned of Susannah Conway's August Break I knew it was time to come back. One of my loves, my great pleasures in life is photography. I'm not great (so I've been told - story for another day) but I enjoy it. I thought, what a perfect way to get my feet wet, again!

This is what Susannah says:

 "This is a community project that has no real rules – the idea is to simply take a photograph every day for the whole of August. That’s it. Pause, look around you and shoot what you see. Live inside each moment. Pay attention to what’s there. If it’s the summer where you are it’s a lovely way to be present to the moments that will be gone before you know it. If it’s the winter, what better way to liven up your day than with a creative project to play with? :-)

You can use any camera. You could shoot every day or every other day or just on weekends. You can share your photos or just enjoy taking them without sharing. You can start and not finish. You can join in at the end. Anything goes!"

So, I'm IN!

I'm excited, hope to see you around the blogosphere!

Until next time ......