Learning--Blogging and Landscape Painting

Thank you for your positive response to the last post. Today, I am posting a related article, also a repeat of a post from this past May. I hope you enjoy it and promise something brand new next time.

Did you learn something new today? Whether simple facts or complex new abilities, new learnings enrich life, keep us mentally and emotionally young, and just plain add fun to our creative everyday lives. I am a compulsive learner on many levels and love to gain new insights and skills. Some of my most rewarding learnings have followed attempts to understand or do something I assumed I would not do well. Taking that risk is stimulating, sometimes humbling, and always enlivening (at least in the long run), no matter what the result is.

This blog is one example of a personal learning adventure. As a minimally computer-literate person, I faced a steep learning curve in order to begin posting. Those of you who are computer-adept would have found my approach hilarious, involving everything from perusing library books to asking friends to viewing on-line video how-tos. Numerous notes and lists later, I took the heart-pounding dive off the . . . well, so far, what I have done is probably analogous to slicing into the pool from the edge; this is hardly the high dive of blogging. However, it represents an achievement for me, both in learning the basics of blogging and in publishing the thoughts and adventures of an introverted self for y'all readers.

I wonder: If blogging had been simple for me, would it have been as rewarding as it is now? In time, I hope to advance to more variety in format and to including appropriate links for interested readers, and more! (Note: I have learned to insert clickable links since I wrote this--progress!) It's a shame you can't all watch over my shoulder to chuckle (in the nicest possible way, of course) at my ongoing efforts in techno-communication. Truthfully, the process is not always fun for me, but my small triumphs are satisfying--and, hopefully, are also beneficial flexing for my maturing brain.

Oh, about the photo above, you ask? A few years ago, I took a wonderful painting course. Awkwardly wielding an artist's brush for the first time since elementary school, I discovered a whole new source of creative expression and satisfaction. With zero expectation that I would produce anything even worth keeping, I was astonished to like some of the paintings I made in the class. Now, that's a sign of a world-class teacher! I'll describe that learning adventure in future posts. In the meantime, you can view an effort from about a year ago--my response to exploring Big Talbot Island (see a recent post about that unique beach below).

Question of the day: What new learning adventure intrigues you? What fears keep you on the side of that pool? Why not give it a try?

Exploring--Right Near Home--Return to Big Talbot Island

I hope you will indulge me as I repeat a couple of posts from the beginning of this blog. Since there are many new readers (and most readers, I suspect, do not read all the posts going back to the beginning), I will occasionally repeat a post that has generated some interest. Welcome back to Big Talbot Island State Park.

Wherever we have lived, I have enjoyed playing tourist near home. It doesn't cost much (sometimes is free, especially if one can walk or bike there) and often reveals delightful new surprises. We are fortunate to have many friends and family members from other parts of the USA or other countries who come to stay with us. Spending time showing them our home town and surroundings takes us places we might neglect to experience otherwise. How many of us hear about nearby interesting places we would like to explore and yet postpone doing that month after busy month?

Here's a thought. Even if you don't have visitors, promise yourself an outing sometime soon. Choose a place and put it on your calendar. Or step out the door right now, stroll around for a few minutes or more with all your senses on high alert. Take a camera and make like a tourist. What if you were paying money for your "lodgings"--wouldn't you explore the area?

Or, imagine yourself hosting a visitor from someplace quite unlike your region. If it is hard to see the farms around you with fresh eyes, pretend you are guiding visitors from Saudi Arabia. Wouldn't they be amazed at the rolling hills or vast plains in lush greens or rich golden tones? Or if your city neighborhood is seeming drab and uninteresting, imagine giving small-town visitors a tour of the ethnic food stalls and lunch counters in some surrounding blocks. Wouldn't they love hearing multiple languages and savoring the varied aromas and flavors?

We had lived in Jacksonville, FL for several years before a visit from a brother who lives in Cleveland, Ohio prompted me to explore Big Talbot Island State Park. A stark contrast to the endless, wide Jacksonville beaches most visitors flock to, the shore of Big Talbot is a quiet, somewhat ghostly walk along low bluffs. Over time, the battering of storms and storm tides has toppled and sculpted oaks, pines, and other vegetation into a unique atmosphere (begging for artistic photographers--and for us amateurs, too). The shady, wooded trail from parking to an overlook is short and easy, and another short trail leads to a path down the bluff to the shore. There are other hiking trails in the Big Talbot Park preserve, through heavily wooded areas dripping with Spanish moss or along the fascinating, varied habitat of salt marshes--bird-watching and just breathing deeply made an afternoon here feel like an extended vacation.

Question of the day: Why did I wait for an out-of-town visitor to explore this nearby natural wonder? What will you explore for the first time or see in a new way soon?

Learning--Blogging and Landscape Painting

Did you learn something new today? Whether simple facts or complex new abilities, new learnings enrich life, keep us mentally and emotionally young, and just plain add fun to our creative everyday lives. I am a compulsive learner on many levels and love to gain new insights and skills. Some of my most rewarding learnings have followed attempts to understand or do something I assumed I would not do well. Taking that risk is stimulating, sometimes humbling, and always enlivening (at least in the long run), no matter what the result is.

This blog is one example of a personal learning adventure. As a minimally computer-literate person, I faced a steep learning curve in order to begin posting. Those of you who are computer-adept would have found my approach hilarious, involving everything from perusing library books to asking friends to viewing on-line video how-tos. Numerous notes and lists later, I took the heart-pounding dive off the .  .  .  well, so far, what I have done is probably analogous to slicing into the pool from the edge; this is hardly the high dive of blogging. However, it represents an achievement for me, both in learning the basics of blogging and in publishing the thoughts and adventures of an introverted self for y'all readers. 

I wonder: If blogging had been simple for me, would it have been as rewarding as it is now? In time, I hope to advance to more variety in format and to including appropriate links for interested readers, and more! It's a shame you can't all watch over my shoulder to chuckle (in the nicest possible way, of course) at my ongoing efforts in techno-communication. Truthfully, the process is not always fun for me, but my small triumphs are satisfying--and, hopefully, are also beneficial flexing for my maturing brain. 

Oh, about the photo above, you ask? A few years ago, I took a wonderful painting course. Awkwardly wielding an artist's brush for the first time since elementary school, I discovered a whole new source of creative expression and satisfaction. With zero expectation that I would produce anything even worth keeping, I was astonished to like some of the paintings I made in the class. Now, that's a sign of a world-class teacher! I'll describe that learning adventure in future posts. In the meantime, you can view an effort from about a year ago--my response to exploring Big Talbot Island (see a recent post about that unique beach below).

Question of the day: What new learning adventure intrigues you? What fears keep you on the side of that pool? Why not  give it a try?

Exploring--Right Near Home--Big Talbot Island

Wherever we have lived, I have enjoyed playing tourist near home. It doesn't cost much (sometimes is free, especially if one can walk or bike there) and often reveals delightful new surprises. We are fortunate to have many friends and family members from other parts of the USA or other countries who come to stay with us. Spending time showing them our home town and surroundings takes us places we might neglect to experience otherwise. How many of us hear about nearby interesting places we would like to explore and yet postpone doing that month after busy month?

Here's a thought. Even if you don't have visitors, promise yourself an outing sometime soon. Choose a place and put it on your calendar. Or step out the door right now, stroll around for a few minutes or more with all your senses on high alert. Take a camera and make like a tourist. What if you were paying money for your "lodgings"--wouldn't you explore the area?

Or, imagine yourself hosting a visitor from someplace quite unlike your region. If it is hard to see the farms around you with fresh eyes, pretend you are guiding visitors from Saudi Arabia. Wouldn't they be amazed at the rolling hills or vast plains in lush greens or rich golden tones? Or if your city neighborhood is seeming drab and uninteresting, imagine giving small-town visitors a tour of the ethnic food stalls and lunch counters in some surrounding blocks. Wouldn't they love hearing multiple languages and savoring the varied aromas and flavors? 

We had lived in Jacksonville, FL for several years before a visit from a brother who lives in Cleveland, Ohio prompted me to explore Big Talbot Island State Park. A stark contrast to the endless, wide Jacksonville beaches most visitors flock to, the shore of Big Talbot is a quiet, somewhat ghostly walk along low bluffs. Over time, the battering of storms and storm tides has toppled and sculpted  oaks, pines, and other vegetation into a unique atmosphere (begging for artistic photographers--and for us amateurs, too). The shady, wooded trail from parking to an overlook is short and easy, and another short trail leads to a path down the bluff to the shore. There are other hiking trails in the Big Talbot Park preserve, through heavily wooded areas dripping with Spanish moss or along the fascinating, varied habitat of salt marshes--bird-watching and just breathing deeply made an afternoon here feel like an extended vacation.

Question of the day:  Why did I wait for an out-of-town visitor to explore this nearby natural wonder? What will you explore for the first time or see in a new way soon?