Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Magic


                                                by Laura Crum


            As 2012 draws to a close, I want to post some images I’ve taken in the past year that remind me of the magic in this world. Things can be very hard and very sad. Beauty and magic are present, too. Sometimes this is no comfort (I know), but it remains true. Today I am going to take a minute to show what magic looks like to me.

                                 Surreally beautiful moment at the beach in November.



                                           December sunrise from my porch.

                                         Wild cyclamen under my oak trees in November.


                                                                 Pure magic.

                                                Jellyfish at the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

                                                    Apples from my Fuji tree.
            
                                              Pricked ears at dawn in the Glass Mountains.
            
      We are tiny horsemen in a big landscape (thanks Bill Crum for this image, taken near your home in the Glass Mountains).

                                                     Young deer near our house.

                                                 Bobcat kitten outside my window.
           
                                                          Crossing Aptos Creek.
           
                                                  Dahlia and yarrow from my garden.

                                                    Riding through fields of color.

                                                Abundance of roses on the porch in May.
            
                                                                     Winter light.

                                               A magical view of this sweet old world.
            
My wish for the new year is that we all be granted many such magical moments. And may the magic bring love in its train. Love is the only answer. Happy New Year!—Laura

PS—To all those who sent good wishes to my 32 year old horse, Gunner, he is recovering well (and this in itself seems magical to me). Thank you so much for your thoughts and support.

27 comments:

The Equestrian Vagabond said...

that was lovely! and that's great news about Gunner
- The Equestrian Vagabond

Laura Crum said...

Thanks, Merri! That's high praise from a photographer like you. And Gunner was diving into his equine senior feed with something like his usual enthusiasm this morning. He's wearing two blankets and is dry and warm despite the rain. We're hanging in there.

Unknown said...

You truly live in a magical place! Gorgeous! Thanks for sharing!

Laura Crum said...

Thanks for the comment, FJ Thomas. I'm glad you liked my photos.

TBDancer said...

Make wonderful memories with Gunnar every single day. The roses on the porch photo is stunning. Made me think of driving through the country to find old barns covered with what I like to think are heritage roses. Love any pictures to do with the ocean. I live far from the ocean, but I do love the images.

Magic, indeed. Happy 2013.

Dom said...

Gorgeous, all of it.

HHmstead said...

So beautiful & varied too! Now you've given me the idea :-)

Laura Crum said...

TBDancer--And I love images of the desert (!) Thanks for your comment.

Dom--Thank you! As you are a really talented photographer, I appreciate the kind words. I am not much of a photographer, I know, and all the photos were taken with a point-and-shoot, but I love what the photos represent. Happy New Year!

Laura Crum said...

HHmstead--I had great fun sorting through my photos from this year to create the post. Do try it--its rewarding. In my own case, I tried to find photos that showed the wide variation in beauty I'd seen (as you noticed--thank you), and I also tried to find photos that weren't so much personal--my horse, my kid, my dog...etc. Trying to show what lovely things are there for all to see.

Allenspark Lodge said...

ALL of the pictures are wonderful. But that first shot... Magic is right.

Glad Gunner is doing better. Known the old guy for years (Okay, only from you books).

Bill

Francesca Prescott said...

Lovely magical moments. I'm so relieved to hear Gunner is feeling better; I know how upset and worried you've been, I could feel your stress all the way over here in Switzerland.

Your house is so romantic looking!

Laura Crum said...

Bill--That is so interesting. I did not pick the first photo the first time through, and my husband, who actually has a much better artistic eye than I do, said, "What about that one photo on the beach? The surreal one. That's your best image." So I looked until I found the one he meant. So interesting that it's your pick, too.

And yeah, I am very encouraged about Gunner (who is much as described in the books except now he's a very old horse). He's cleaning up his senior feed again and looks really perky. If it would just stop raining (!) Gunner says hi to Ranger mustang--I think they both have equally quirky/fun personalities (though I only know Ranger from reading your blog).

Laura Crum said...

Cesca--You are so right about the stress. But this stuff happens when you own horses. I know you know. Glad you liked my photos. And the house doesn't look too romantic right now. More sodden. But I like to remember those magical moments. Here's to many more. Happy New Year to you and yours!

Martine said...

Great photos, Laura, I'm planning something similar for Sunday Stills.
Delighted to hear Gunner is on the mend!

Laura Crum said...

Thank you, Martine. Are you still in California? I hope you're having better weather than what I'm having here(!)

Martine said...

Yup, still in CA, we are being blamed for bringing the rubbish weather, sorry :-(

Laura Crum said...

Martine--this is actually normal weather here. But it is also normal to get long periods of 60 to 70 plus sunny days in winter--it alternates.

Mary said...

My gosh! All of the photos are stunning! I got lost in them for a bit. Love the magic!

Alison said...

Thank you for reminding me/us the beauty of our country!

Laura Crum said...

Thanks so much, Mary and Alison. Glad you enjoyed my photos.

horsegenes said...

I made the photos! Yeah... That was a really fun day. I can't wait to come back.

So glad to hear that Gunner is doing well. I just knew he was going to come around. He is one lucky boy to be in your life.

Laura Crum said...

horsegenes--That's you on the big white horse in the midst of fields of color. Semper stands out nicely. It was really magical to ride through the flower fields--I'm glad you suggested it. Come back soon...maybe when its not quite so muddy (!)

Val said...

Good to hear about Gunner doing well!

Those photos are so beautiful, that it is difficult to pick a favorite. I like the one where you three are very small in the huge landscape. And the beach photos.

jenj said...

Such gorgeous pics! Thank you for sharing. And I'm so glad to hear that Gunner just keeps on improving. Give him an extra scritch for me!

Laura Crum said...

Val--I really like the tiny horsemen in the big landscape photo, too. I used it for the cover on my facebook page. (By the way, anyone who is my blog friend is welcome to find me on facebook and be my facebook friend, too.) And I love the beach photos. Actually, I only picked photos I really loved, so they are all, in a sense, my favorites.

jenj--Just took Gunner for a walk and hand grazing. Its sunny so I could take off his blanket. And he really doesn't look too bad--one week and one day post trauma. I even took some photos. I'll do a blog post eventually, and post the photos. But my 32 year old horse (soon to be 33) looks amazingly OK after what he went through. Me, I look about ten years older (!) Thanks so much for the good wishes.

Fort Western Stores said...

Beautiful, and magical pictures you've collected for us, also glad to hear Gunner is doing well!

Laura Crum said...

Thank you, Fort Western Stores!