I haven’t felt photographically inspired for a long time. Except for my birds, mostly here at home, I haven’t felt like following my muse. It all just felt like too much work and my world right now is feeling pretty unsettled with no room for wandering around with a camera.

But yesterday a storm front sent clouds racing across the sky. I happened to be out running a short errand when I noticed the sky and for the first time in a long time I felt a spark.

Just a small spark, but for a moment I thought about turning around and grabbing the camera and heading out to look for interesting moments. Something lightened in my chest. And even though I knew I couldn’t take off exploring right then, I knew that someday I could. On the way home I stopped and grabbed a quick shot, using my phone, of our local nursery under the cloudy sky. It felt good.

And then this morning, at 6 a.m. I was walking in the front yard while Penny was looking for her perfect spot, when I noticed the half moon getting ready to set.

And I realized that there were 4 humans up there, closer to the moon than to earth. I watched the moon for awhile, feeling an excitement that I haven’t felt since we explored the moon decades ago when I was a kid.

I wasn’t so excited that I went and got my good camera and the tripod, that still seems like too much work, but I thought about it. My photography is gaining energy, and someday, maybe soon, I’ll be exploring with the camera again.

In the meantime the camera on the phone is pretty great, and the backyard isn’t bad either.