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A Joyful Announcement!!

I received an Instagram message around mid-December from The Marina at Cherry Creek saying that they loved my photos, the Pelicans, to be specific, and that they would like to hang some of the pics in the Lake House event center. Well, earlier this week, I met with Erik Dyce, the CEO of Vencore Marine Group, and we have agreed to partner up. I am excited about this new adventure/venture and to see my photography being displayed (and sold) in such a beautiful venue. 

A statement from Erik:

'Pelican Bay at Cherry Creek in Cherry Creek State Park is delighted to partner with Amy Lilley – renowned photographer who has brought her unique talents to Colorado.  Her intimate relationship with the White Pelican, native to Cherry Creek Reservoir, is a stunning study in art and the science of this unique bird.  Pelican Bay is named for these magnificent creatures who feature wing spans up to six feet. At any given time you may see well over 100 Pelicans at The Marina at Pelican Bay, perched on the breakwater around the Marina, or out in the Stump Area on the South side of the Reservoir. Their sweet group behavior is something to witness.

Amy’s photos will be featured in and around Pelican Bay at Cherry Creek as well as for sale at certain select events.  We welcome these treasures and so should you!'

The Lake House and Marina...from the park side.

The Lake House from the kayak..

And from waaaay across the far side of the lake, looking toward the Rockies and the Marina...

Another shot from the park side.. 

Up close at The Marina..

Although it looks different now, this is where it all started for me, with a simple kayak rental..

Late December, The Marina..

Last Winter as a storm was getting ready to blow in..

The lovely entrance to The Lake House...taken today..

What is so amazing to me is that from a simple kayak rental 3 summers ago, to purchasing my own  Pelican kayak and spending so much time on the lake, doing what I love to do...not just taking pics of the Pelicans, Herons, the turtles, fish and other wildlife, but spending all that quiet time on the lake, the activity of paddling when the lake was smooth as glass or in some very challenging weather situations, to creating the Pelican calendar, and then having Erik look at me and say, 'I have never seen anything like your work before.' Is this not what, as artists (all inclusive, writers, poets, actors, dancers, etc.,) we dream of? I acknowledged that this is a gift, the eye which has been given to me. So, this is my joyful announcement. I look forward to sharing with all of you, over the next few months, as the Pelicans find their rightful place all over The Lake House!!

The morning after I met with Erik, I woke up, and the only thing I could think of was how much I wanted to call Mom, and I cried...

 'Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.'

James 1:17

Click here to link to The Marina at Pelican Bay

It Happened!!!

A quick follow-up from yesterdays post. We went to the park again today and spotted 2 of the eagles and I was able to get photos of each of them. However, this is what I posted a little over an hour ago on my Instagram feed:

'For those of you who received my blog post yesterday, and may have read this sentence, ‘I want to do better. I want to capture an Eagle in full fight, full wing span’, and possibly prayed that this might happen, thank you, because IT HAPPENED!!! Just say the word...'

'But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.'

Isaiah 40:31

Be encouraged, answered prayers...

Humbled...

The Birds...

I am jogged, my memory is jogged with my Timehop App. I am grateful for it because time is so abstract. Yesterday morning I was reminded that 3 years ago I saw and photographed my very first Eagle. I was stunned that 3 years and 3 cameras later, I was still chasing Eagles, but add to that list, Hawks, Woodpeckers, Blackbilled Magpie, and in the dead of winter, Blue Herons as well. The Eagles made their presence known around mid-October. Since then, I have taken quite a few pics which to me are simply jaw-dropping, well, because..Eagles!!! I keep on striving to do better thru the lens and the Eagles, Hawks and the rest of the wildlife, which at times is right outside my window, (like this morning, 3 coyotes, very bold and loud) challenge me daily. I am grateful for this as well. So, these are just a few from the past couple of months. I want to do better. I want to capture an Eagle in full fight, full wing span. The same with the Hawks. Once they spread their majestic wings, things move quickly. I need a tripod now. As long as I see forward motion, I'm good, it's a good thing...thank you nature many times over, every single day...I added a Mule deer and a Bunny at the end because they are both just so so so precious..no captions necessary today..

  

                            

‘Listen closely,

even the trees exhale their own sweet love songs that roll off their boughs and echo out to all of creation. Love is always in the air.’ Christen Rogers. I posted this poem on February 14th as it is true, every single day, love is always in the air. 

Pay attention....

The Pelicans, 2018

Yes, I know it is January 17th and most of you have already purchased your 2018 calendars, but, here is another thought. I was so busy during the Holiday season matting and posting all 16 'REFLECTIONS" photos in my Etsy shop, that I really put aside the notion of creating another calendar for 2018. That said, I could not bring myself to go to a store and purchase one, (because, #Ivegotstuff) so I did have 4 calendars made for my household from the same company, Mixbook, who did such a beautiful job with both 'REFLECTIONS' calendars. Who knew that I would have 12 totally 'doable' photos of THE PELICANS???? Well, once I received our copies, and saw how lighthearted and fun it is, I made some edits and ordered a few more! So, there is the thought. 'The Pelicans, 2018' calendar, is now listed in my Etsy shop, Lilleypics! 

The calendar is spiral bound, with 12, 6 1/2”x10” rectangular photographs, housed in a 12”x12” square format. Printed on archival, high quality paper THE PELICANS pop out with all of their personality!! I took photos of these most entertaining birds from my kayak on the lovely 850 acre lake in Cherry Creek State Park in Colorado! I have slashed the Priority shipping charges in 1/2!!

Cover photo!

January, February, March...

April, May, June...

July, August, September...

October, November, December...

Click here to link to Lilleypics

REFLECTIONS, The Collection

           

So many of you asked when I presented the 'REFLECTIONS' calendars last Spring and Autumn, can I buy a card, can I buy just one photo?? Well, now, the answer to one of those questions, is a resounding YES! I have compiled all 16 photos into the 'REFLECTIONS' Collection, selling each one individually, in my Etsy shop, Lilleypics!

Each photo is double matted, the cover matte is a Solar White, or bright white, and the secondary matte is Polar White, which is a shade darker, giving each of the photos depth. The greatest challenge I faced listing all of these pictures was taking a photo of a photo AND getting that bright white matte to read as bright. Each photo is backed with foam core and ready to be framed or to be enjoyed 'as is'. The dimension of each matted photo is 14 3/8" square, so, not small!

July, August, August II, September II

June II, April, March, May

June, February II, January, October

September, November, February, December

I discovered that I can ship PRIORITY, as the difference between 'regualar' shipping and PRIORITY, for one print is pennies!! All photos are linked to the Etsy shop, Lilleypics, just click on the highlighted type and enjoy!

Colorado, the gift that keeps on giving!!!

“If we did all the things we are capable of, we would literally astound ourselves.” Thomas A. Edison

Scout...

Scout. She is our new 4-legged Family member. We adopted her on August 6th from Dumb Friends League in Denver. She was 11 weeks old, tiny tiny tiny. She was the only kitten we looked at that day. The Girl had been gone since late May, and I was just not happy being without a cat/kitten. I was ready even though the house was clean as a whistle, I was sorely missing a having feline around. The Boys were on board.

I don't understand it, I have seen it often on social media: 'Help me to name my baby, help me to name my dog or cat or my mascot.' On occasion, I would throw out the name of Scout, although it was never chosen. So, even before we brought her home, (certainly, Scout would have worked for a male as well) she had a name. And, YES, I named her after the character of the 6 year old, 'Scout' from Harper Lee's remarkable book published in 1960, and in 1962, the equally remarkable movie, To Kill a Mockingbird. I even watched the movie again on Netflix, to remind myself why Scout was so stuck in my heart, and fell in-love once more with the innocence of a little girl who did not see the color of people's skin, but was able to see straight to a persons soul. So, her name, Scout, was officially sealed!!

This little kitty grew SO FAST, I call her, Miss Scout, the giant kitten. I am so so so glad to have these pics of her because now, she is 6 months old, still very much a kitten, but just really big! I forgot. I forgot what it was like to have a kitten, a baby animal in the house. At one point during that first week, I was so exhausted, I handed her over to Edward and said, here, YOU play with her. She was coming out of the gate at a thousand miles an hour and then falling into that deep 'kitten sleep!'

She is fearless, sweet, funny, very outgoing, a hunter/stalker, physically very strong. She has developed a different relationship with each of us, which is makes sense. She also filled a space in my heart, our hearts, which was missing. In many many ways we are still getting to know her, and she, us, but like any long term relationship, it's just going to unfold naturally as we go! So, Scout, the giant kitten, in the house!!!!!

Who knows, she may need a little feline friend to play with...to be continued..

The Garden, the Beginning and the Middle...

August 4 early evening light...

I pulled the terra cotta planters out the day after we said good-bye to The Girl, which as you can see/read, continues to be a reference point for me. It was the last week of May, which is 'on schedule' for 'planting on or before Memorial Day'. I knew it would be therapeutic and I am not a newbie to planting, so the timing could not have been better. It was a group effort. The Boys, once again did all the heavy lifting with the many cubits of soil we bought, to the large burlap bag full of mulch we picked up at Whole Foods for free, along with  the emptying out of last years soil from the 3 tiered raised garden bed. It was allot of soil! The many many many decisions later of what to plant, which  I found out yet again, carries the high possibility of things changing once everything is in the soil. For example, squirrels eating the strawberry flowers, or moving some plants around before rooting, etc., during those first critical couple of weeks. We have a wonderful garden center near us called Tagawa Gardens. This year, I actually counted, and they had 13 varieties of basil alone!! I bought 5 varieties, all with the goal of filling up the freezer with pesto (last year I had 61 4oz. containers, some of which we are still using!!), while enjoying the fresh plucked herbs, basil well included, with the flat leaf parsley and cilantro for summer salads. I found 3 varieties of thyme as well, thinking ahead to lentil soup for the winter months. I planted 3 or 4 varieties of tomatoes, eggplant, acorn squash, cabbage, curly kale, sweet red, although the one which popped was green, peppers, and strawberries. I am not sure if the strawberries will ever happen because the cabbage leafs/leaves are so ginormous now, they get absolutely no sun. I am watching the tomatoes pop and it is amazing because it has turned into a veritable jungle. The tomatoes are strategically planted in the 3rd tier, where the soil is at its thickest/highest, so the roots can go deep to grow sturdy stems. The bamboo stakes I use are taller than me, and you can barely see them now, as the tomato vines grow taller and taller while I sleep. I am agog!! My concern lies with the eggplants, as they are flowering, but then the flowers are dying and not producing any eggplants. Last year I planted white eggplants and they were clearly eggplants by this time of 'the middle'. This year I planted the 'normal' purple variety, so, hmmmmm, jury is still out on what might happen. I am keeping a close eye on them. Anywho, it is my joy and delight to take care of the garden, pray that everything actually produces vegetables, hopefully have some food at the end, which I am more than happy to share the come harvest time. (Wish some of you lived closer!!!) Each year is different, as it should be, and I remain grateful to get my hands dirty, all the while, sacrificing manicures for the cause...

May 28

June 2

June 24

July 6

July 20

Eggplant flower...having issues, hmmmm..

Cabbage leafs/leaves... 

This first one I spotted, there are many many many popping!!

Early on, cabbage leaf after the rains..

Acorn squash blossom...

July 26

This morning, daisies, monsoon season in Colorado..

'And the LORD will continually guide you, And satisfy your desire in scorched places, And give strength to your bones; And you will be like a watered garden, And like a spring of water whose waters do not fail.'     Isaiah 58:11

And for a post script, we have made a visit to a really beautiful animal shelter in Castle Rock, which is about 25 minutes south, to sort of kind of start looking for another kitten/cat....sort of kind of ready...