A Snail’s Pace

Going at a snail’s pace means to be moving very slow. This little creature moved slow enough for me while I was traveling the vineyards in Napa Valley, CA. It appeared that this snail was on a mission as we crossed paths. Where it was headed I never stayed around to find out. I was appreciative of the few moments I had to capture this photo as we both ventured off to accomplish our mission for the day.

Coming across this photo today caused me to take a moment to breathe. To break away from my fully packed schedule to take a moment to tell God thank you for all that He has done for me and all that He is going to do.

I’m in the middle of having my first book published, building my photography business, and keeping my finances in tact, planning my book launching event, managing the teen’s ministry at my church, organizing a women’s conference in September, updating two websites, and organizing our vacation bible school this summer.

Oh, sure, the list continues to grow and I manage to keep it all going because I know what I do for God will last. I’m excited about everything going on in my life right now and know that one day I too will be able to slow down, perhaps to a snail’s pace, and take it all in.

I know that God will not give us more than we can bear and I am encouraged that with all that I have to accomplish that He will be glorified. I’ve prayed for success and not counting the cost, I am hopeful that the angels that are assigned to me will give me that extra push that I need, daily, to do everything with passion. Soon and very soon I will be able to enjoy a life even at a snail’s pace.

Until my next adventure,

#timetosoar

~RW
My Website

 

Tapas in Spain

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One  of the joys of being a travel photographer allows for trying new food. Being a lover of travel and food, what better way is there to enjoy a trip to Spain?

My daughter and I traveled to Spain for the first time in 2016. We visited both Madrid and Barcelona, and what a memorable time. The people were friendly, healthy, but not very fond of the tourists that didn’t speak Spanish, fluently. I was happy that my daughter did, this made for a more peaceful adventure.

While in Spain, we discovered that Madrid was the party city and Barcelona was the more artsy city. We enjoyed both places as they had their own thing to offer.

We stayed the first part of this trip in Madrid. We signed up for many tours and one was the bar hopping. I was up for pretty much anything, as long as it was safe. This seemed to be something we would both enjoy.

To my surprise the bar hopping was amazing. This is where we were introduced to “tapas”. In Spain, this is a snack or appetizer that is normally served with beer or wine. I was hesitant at first just to have four bars on tour and thinking “tapas” would not be filling to me. I needed a meal to sustain my appetite this time of night and presumed tapas would not do the trick.

Having arrived to our first bar I now understood how it is possible to become more than satisfied with tapas along our trail of bar hopping. By the time we hit bar four I didn’t have much room to finish my portions of tapas.

These tapas were so delicious and filling there was no need for a meal. From shrimp, to potatoes, to fried spinach and cheese balls, to one dish I will always remember, I tried shark dog for the very first time. After all, I was in Spain so why not eat what the locals do? I quickly found that this was a once in a lifetime chance and quickly decided I would not order it ever again. The texture was a reminder as to why I don’t care for seafood in the first place.

The bars that we paid a visit to and the history and personal stories behind each one made this tour worth it all. This is a tour that I would gladly take part in whenever I’m in Spain again.

Venturing out in the local villages and sitting down enjoying tapas and beer/wine is a must whenever in Spain. The entire tour was on foot so no worries about the calories because you will burn them all off by the time you walked back to your hotel.

When in Spain order the tapas, you’ll be happy you did.

Until next week, adios.

#timetosoar

~RW
My Website

 

 

When Doves Cry ~ Part II

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It’s amazing what we can learn from watching another species in their element. I saw these birds from being hatched to discovering the purpose of their wings to following mom into the world.

This family of doves brought so many lessons into my life the short time they spent in the cleft of my patio beams.

Daily I would check on them from the time I awoke to the time I went to bed. They became my daily alarm clock as they cooed out to one another in the early morning hours.

They became used to my presence with my camera in hand and allowed me to film what I could of their development stages. Mom and dad were always close by to be sure I wasn’t a predator after their babies.

To see the babies watch and learn from their parents how they went from the nest to the patio furniture and then imitate what they saw taught me that the insult “bird brain” was more of a comment. These birds were more intelligent than we give them credit for.

To see them fly from the nest down to the furniture like their parents was exciting to see. Somehow they knew never to go past the nest or the chair as they knew their parents would return with a meal in beak for them.

And then the day came where we had to say our fond farewell. I stepped outside to see the second of the two baby doves following their parent from the nest to the chair to the ground and then off they went.

These doves reminded me how protected and cared for I am by my heavenly Father the same way they felt from their parents. I was reminded not to move into uncharted territory without the guidance of God. He sends our angels to see about us and to show us which direction to take to our better way of life.

I’m thankful for the life of these birds and the time they’ve spent in with me in my very own backyard.

Until next week!

#timetosoar

~RW

 

When Doves Cry

I heard it once said that a travel photographer sometimes finds the best subjects to capture in their own backyard.

That was the case when I had the opportunity to document the birth of these mourning doves.

Three times doves nestled into the cove of my balcony to lay eggs, young doves born, young doves grew, then the young doves eventually flew away.

I will never know if these were the same adult birds that returned to the nest or if it were the young doves now in their adult stage that came to hatch their eggs like their parents.

Whatever their reason for returning to this same nest, I grew attached to these birds and looked forward to seeing their progress unfold before my eyes, daily.

This particular day I found the adult bird (not sure if it were mom or dad) nestled up with their babies. I grew accustomed to the cooing in the early mornings before sunrise. I looked forward to getting off of work and running straight to the backdoor to watch the next steps of the life of these newborn doves.

I am not a bird watcher in the least but I became a dove watcher to this particular family of birds. I never interfered with the process as I wasn’t certain how protective the parents would be so I just watched from a distance.

My next post will be of the next phase of their unfolding life as I captured it on film.

What can I say, they captured my attention.

See you next week!

~RW

New Beginnings

Ever get to a new beginning and not know where to start? All kinds of questions come to mind. How will I do? What would I talk about? How do I keep people’s attention? What would happen if I fail? And it just goes on and on and on. 

The good thing about a beginning is you get a blank canvas. It’s yours to do what you want with it. No matter what you see in you head it just matters to be yourself. 

All my life I’ve been different. One common denominator in my life has been art. I thought I was going to draw but turns out that I ended up falling in love with photography. 

Since I can remember I wanted to travel the world to see exactly what was out there. After having some traveling under my belt I realized seeing it wasn’t good enough for just my eyes so I decided to share with anyone who has an interest in travel and all that there is to discover. From North America to the other six continents are you ready to take this journey with me?

Let’s go! #timetosoar

Rikki