Category Archives: 101 Bucket

Quotables: life in the raw

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“People often notice and share really pretty things (on social media)…but I think we should appreciate things that are just as eye grabbing, in the opposite direction.”
Tyson Grumm

It’s true, life isn’t made up of just the pretty things. Often, just outside the frame, where it’s raw and unfiltered, it can be messy, chaotic, weathered, dilapidated. It’s not wrong, it just is what it is.

And yet.

Tyson is right. Ugly isn’t always. When you look at something…really look at it, to see it…you can get a sense of what it was, what it is.

So, Mr. Grumm, I pick up the gauntlet you’re throwing down.

#thegrummchallenge

   

#lifeintheraw

#unfiltered

Beauty is in the perceptive eye of the beholder.

 

#uglyisthenewpretty

Quotable: choices

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Words are the tangible expression of thoughts and feelings. And we’ve heard from various quarters that words matter. That they have meaning, they have influence, and can in turn shape our feelings, our emotions, the atmosphere around us. Our thoughts, feelings, emotions, the atmosphere around us shape the words we choose to use. I know this to be true in my own experience.

It’s as much true for the words we say out loud as the words we repeat inside, in our head, to ourselves. It’s a powerful thing, this self-talk ticker-tape.

The good news: words don’t just happen willy-nilly.

We get to choose them. Intentionally.

Deliberately.

 

Choice. It’s a powerful thing.

There’s  a lot going on in my life just now. Personally, professionally. When I take a step back from the intensity of it all and just observe for a minute … I’ve been in similar seasons of staring down mamba jamba all.the.ALL.the.things. to-do lists, lists that have kept me awake at night and given rise to far more serious consideration of taking up a coping mechanism not very healthy for me than should be warranted.

It’s true, thinking leads to a state of being. I’m thankful I’ve made a concious decision to edit my choices. To edit my words. And very heavily censure my self-talk ticker-tape.

I can’t change the circumstances, but I can change how I react and respond to them.

I choose to focus on the things I can do, not the things I can’t.

I choose to see the opportunity in each new day.

I choose to not be overwhelmed.

What do you choose?

Quotable: grassed up

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Now that Hay Season 2015 is successfully mowed down, I can turn my attention to other things on my list. In this context, I don’t mean the rest of the always-populated list of #farmchores. 

No, I mean a list of a different sort. My 101 Bucket: 101 Things To Do in 1,001 Days. Because if there’s no deadline, there’s no pressure to prioritize, and take action. “Someday” isn’t, in turns out, a specific enough descriptor that actually gets things done.   (The count down timer’s set for Christmas 2017. I’m over a year in and due to update the list. Stay tuned.)

Anyway, I digress. Number 68 is to add a quote per week to my quote book for two months (or, eight weeks).

This one is just too perfect a segway from the Adventures in Haying series to pass up:

 

credit: Kelly Hood

 
What quotable resonates with you this week?

Photo (and brevity) journal day 30

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April was a solid month. A busy month. A fast month. Here we are, already, at the end of it. 

Reviewing the month, both in photos and six word statements, I’m glad I undertook the photo and brevity journal exercise again. For that’s what it’s been: exercise….commitment, determination, and a selfie swift kick every now and then, “you set a goal and made a commitment, now follow through.”

Something else strikes me in this review. When I start the day expecting a photo op in it, I look at it a little differently. Or, look for it–the opportunity–a little differently. Of course, the Hairy Beasts are always available for their close-up, if I ever got to the near-end of a day without a pic that made me happy. But more frequently, I had too many pics to choose from.

 I experienced life a little more intently this moth, looking for picture-worthy moments. 



Like capturing Terah being a little nonplussed she could spring into the back of the truck. At this precise moment, she is not a fan of the compost. 



Or actually noticing one of the trees I drive past at least three times every.single.day. while running the Hairy Beasts. 

<in other news> The brevity journal has been a good tool for better developing my memory. As I look back over the daily synopsis’, I find I can (mostly) easily recall what happened on that particular day. It likely helps that I’m writing it down, being of the visually tactile variety. And I suspect the accompanying photos, and whatever other narrative, helps too. 

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April 30

April: an illustrated, memorable month. 

How to be a Hairy Beast #30

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The Hairy Beasts love to run. Have I mentioned this before? Especially in the morning. Especially when the fields are “growing out.” Especially when the dew is heavy. 

  

They don’t always run hard, but when they do, they get covered in seed. 

  

Post run and morning chores, Beastlet is always well satisfied with the day. 

  

I asked her to sit. And she did, but never long enough for me to focus and snap the pic. {sigh} 

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April 29

Sunshine. Warm day. And happy dogs.