Happy New Year--and Two New Projects!

Happy New Year, everyone!  I hope you all had a wonderful holiday and my wish for you is a happy and healthy 2012.  I have resolved not to make any new year resolutions, since they usually fall by the wayside by Valentine's Day--sometimes even sooner.  I am, however, going to undertake two major projects, which I hope will rekindle my photography interests as well as my writing, with the added benefit of keeping the creative juices flowing regarding my painting and jewelry making as well. 

The photo project is not very original:  a photo a day for the entire year. Not of me, because that, in my humble opinion, would get boring pretty quick.  I will be photographing something or someone in my life each day--could be anything, whatever appeals to me at the moment. The photo above, left, was taken January 1.  I think it's appropriate:  while cleaning out my desk, I found a blank poetry journal, which I intend to put to use.  The photo on the right was taken January 2.  That's one of my dogs:  Tony.  And for today, January 3, I took this: 

 It's the picnic table that overlooks our pond.  I spend a lot of time sitting there, watching and thinking.  In warmer weather, it's a great place to write.

The second project is to write a short poem, I guess you'd call it a micro -poem, every day, also for the entire year.  I'm thinking of calling these my Back Porch Poems.  I like to sit on the back porch and  watch what goes on outside the windows:  the neighbor's dogs, the various birds that nest around our yard, my gardens. The yard teems with action, and there should be plenty of triggers for a short poem, which may ultimately expand into a longer one or maybe a short story. Sometimes the poems may overlap with the photo of the day, but that isn't necessary for either project.  At the end of the year, I might combine the two.  We'll see.  So here are the mini-poems for the first three days of January: 

January 1:  Framed in glass, my daughters chase their dad
                    on a sandy beach, their smiles wide as the sea
                    behind them. Stark contrast
                    to this bitter, blustery day.

January 2:  First snow of the year. 
                    The stray cat's food sugared
                    with glittery flakes.
                    Not a pawprint in sight.
                    

January 3:  Moonset in Clay Village. 5 a.m.
                    The church steeple pink and somber against a navy dawn.
                    White light bobbing past--a lone farmer up early to feed his cows.

Meanwhile, I am still painting, working on a portrait commission (humans, this time, not pets) and creating new jewelry, as I managed to sell nearly everything I'd made before Christmas. Yay!  Will post progress photos soon. 

So there you have it.  Three photos. Three mini-poems.  362 more to go. Oh wait, isn't this Leap Year???