I adore all my animals equally, but each for very unique reasons.  My cat, Boo, is quite a character as well as very adept at melting hearts.  His personality is beyond wonderful.  I’m afraid one day he will walk right up to a wild animal, rub against them and ask them to be his friend!

Here is my little man doing what cats simply love to do best – grooming themselves in the warm sun.

I just love they way they can bend.  They are little furry pretzels!

All this bathing is so exhausting, I must rest a bit!

Oh my, what’s that I hear?  Most likely a hen, but it could be a mouse . . .

Okay, I’ll indulge you with one cute pose, but then I must get back to looking regal and grown up . . .

. . . like this.

A cat has absolute emotional honesty: human beings, for one reason or another, may hide their feelings, but a cat does not.  ~ Ernest Hemingway

Maine Lifestyle Photographer in Bristol - Children's Photography, Family Photography, Weddings, Events, Portraits

This morning’s musings are inspired by this post.

Where do I go when I need to connect? When I need to feel complete and at home? With myself. With my life.

I don’t go far. In the past I have wandered here and there, searching, trying to find that comfy spot on this planet I can feel good about calling home. Well, I arrived 25 years ago. I left a couple of times, but I always came back.

I was born in the Pacific Northwest but I now live in the Northeast. The salty air from the ocean and the scented pines from the forests always soothe my soul. Always stir fond memories.

Fifteen minutes from my home, when I’m in need of ocean sounds and smells, I go here.

But mostly I’m content being in my own back yard with my animals. I’m on vacation year round and it only costs me a barn full of hay and grain, some good dog treats, chicken scratch and a willingness to be.

Maine Lifestyle Photographer in Bristol - Children's Photography, Family Photography, Weddings, Events, Portraits

I am continually awed by how light can either make or break a photograph. Yes, I have gone out with my camera on a cloudy day and the images captured were beautiful. They even glowed with a particular light found only on cloudy days.

What I love, however, is the sunlight that exists towards the end of the day or the first couple of hours after sunrise. “The golden hours.” The magic of light.

The cradle rocks above an abyss, and common sense tells us that our existence is but a brief crack of light between two eternities of darkness.  ~Vladimir Nabokov

In the right light, at the right time, everything is extraordinary.  ~Aaron Rose

Maine Lifestyle Photographer in Bristol - Children's Photography, Family Photography, Weddings, Events, Portraits

Inspired once again by a post from The Shutter Sisters.

If I’m ever in a down mood or when I’m feeling uninspired, all I have to do is usher my two dogs outside to the pasture and hang out with my them and my two horses and 11 hens. It really helps that one of the horses thinks he’s a dog. Well, I suppose he can’t help it, being a pint sized miniature horse! He always initiates play when we are out in the pasture.

He and one of my dogs, Cody, especially love to play together. They chase and play tug-o-war. The images below are from two days ago, plus I included some from last winter that I think really demonstrate lightheartedness. Needless to say, I am very entertained by their antics. In between shots I engage in the play, too!

This one just makes me smile.

Yikes!!

Dressing up for Valentines Day!

Feel the love.  How can I not smile!

Maine Lifestyle Photographer in Bristol - Children's Photography, Family Photography, Weddings, Events, Portraits

I have been waiting for Christmas to come so I could post these images.  I photographed Justine and her horse, Emma, in November with the intention of documenting their connection.  The resulting images were to be used as gifts, so I didn’t want them to be made public until they were given.  I love how they turned out.  We had less than an hour before the sun disappeared, and during that time the sun was in and out of the clouds.  And Emma was a bit antsy so I just watched and clicked away.  No poses, just pure moments.  A lot of love going on between these two!  And such beauty!  (I will be doing a post of her sister and her horse later in the week, so stay tuned!)

This is my personal favorite.

And this one, too.

Yes, the colors were that vibrant!

And this is a picture of her other horse, Otis, that I made into a poster.

Maine Lifestyle Photographer in Bristol - Children's Photography, Family Photography, Weddings, Events, Portraits