Today's Picture to Ponder Photos
Curled Sea Grape Leaf with early morning dew, plus a "Yellow Beach Daisy"? superimposed on the Atlantic Ocean in Delray Beach, Florida

Both of the images in the lower photo have been altered, or "enhanced", as termed by Photoshop, using the one-click "Auto Smart Fix."

Self-Reflecting Queries
Are you wondering, "Why two seemingly unrelated photos?"

Last week, my son visiting from Georgia and I rose early one morning to walk on Delray Beach to be together experiencing and photographing sunrise on the beach.

The clouds were dense along the horizon. Thus we did not see a spectacular sunrise, as such. On the other hand I have some beautiful reflecting cloud photos which I'll share in another issue.

Today's lead photo, the sea grape leaf, was the last photograph I took as we walked off the beach. Once I saw it on my computer monitor it became, for some undefined reason, one of my favorites from the day.

I put together the lower photo to send as a birthday greeting to a friend who loves flowers and the ocean. She especially loved the purple "sparkles" in the center which came about by accident, as explained, above.

Those who are curious can click on Original Flower and then Fixed Flower to see the differences.

Back to my original question on how these two dissimilar photos relate. Both were taken at the beach and there is a portion of a yellow flower under the sea grape leaf.

This brings us to queries for the day. Do things - people, objects, situtations - always have to fit together if we put them in the same space? If not, do we have to explain them, or can they just be?

More specifically and possibly less absract - In today's photo scenario, I had started out looking for a beautiful sunrise on the ocean and wound up with leaves and a flower from the dunes. I could have chosen to be disappointed, remaining in a state of unfulfilled expectations, or to move on to alternate delights.

Turning that closer to home - Is there someplace in your life right now where you are still looking for what you initially started seeking? If so, I invite you to step back, look with new eyes, perhaps move in a slightly different direction, and see what opens up for you.

As always, have fun with this. I certainly had fun playing with the photos and receving the feedback.

Writing and Publishing Telesummit
I suspect that many of you have a book inside waiting to come out. If applicable, did you note the banner at the top of this page for the Women's Writing & Publishing Summit? It's an eConference on Creating, Publishing and Promoting Your Books.

Many different experts will be interviewed. The conference is held on the phone and registration includes MP3 recordings for those unable to attend any of the sessions. See Writing and Publishing for details.