Small Wonders

“Wonder is the beginning of wisdom.”

Socrates

SANDDOLLARS REPURPOSED

This week Krista provided us with a double challenge. First, she asks us to share something that has been repurposed – such as the sand dollars in my opening capture.  These pretty little creatures, which I’ve found over the years washed up on Kiawah’s beach, are on permanent display in my antique kitchen scale. I’ve seen them in several of my friends’ homes as well, most interestingly used with ribbons to decorate a Christmas tree.

Krista has also challenged us to address this week’s Discover challenge, going against Conventional Wisdom . Never let it be said I was unwilling to rise to a challenge!

SMALL PERIWINKLES

“Go big or go home”….. “Bigger is better”….”Big is beautiful”….. Says who?? I contend there is wonder at the opposite end of the spectrum and in fact tiny can also be terrific 😬.  Case in point, my opening capture of the little sand dollars that often end up stranded on our beach. Even tinier, the scene above of the Small Periwinkle snails which dot the landscape in the salt marshes here on Kiawah.

SPOTS OF RED

“To see a World in a Grain of Sand… And a Heaven in a Wild Flower.”

William Blake

So too the tiny red flowers that dot the wild marsh grasses. No matter the season there is always an element of beauty and a spot of color to be found by those willing to look.

TINY OLIVE

“The more clearly we can focus our attention on the wonders and realities of the universe about us, the less taste we shall have for destruction.”

Rachel Carson

In my recent year end retrospective I mentioned my goal to shoot more frequently here on our  beautiful island. With the exception of the sand dollars, all of today’s captures were made this past week in one small area of our salt marsh, where I was challenged to find interesting subjects at sunrise, noon and sunset on a single day.  The most difficult, of course, was the midday shoot. I was amazed at the number of interesting subjects I found once I committed to the search, including those in today’s post.

MARSH PAN

“It is happiness to wonder.”

Edgar Allan Poe

Of course, if all else fails, nothing beats a pan of a visually interesting scene such as the one of our marsh above….noonday sun notwithstanding 😊. Here’s hoping YOUR week is filled with small wonders too.

 

Tags: conventional wisdom, discover challenge, Small, weekly photo challenge

• January 29, 2017
• Kiawah, Nature, Photo Essay, Photography
• 65 Comments