The western bluebird, the "Bluebird of Happiness"...local to southern California and especially beautiful because of its vivid color, is a wonderful representative of our natural world...  Whenever I see one it makes me happy - they are so bright and so colorful...and it makes me think of how special all of our feathered friends are. They are the super creatures of the world and they have survived and adapted to climates from the ice of Antarctica to the heat of the tropics ..... and they know no political boundaries. Watch the amazing documentary "Winged Migration" for a beautiful and powerful depiction of this. 

But there are 1,300 bird species facing extinction according to National Geographic and the status of others is deteriorating.  While birds are survivors and adapters, we need to do more to protect them and eliminate the contaminating pesticides that we use in our daily life which are highly toxic to the pollinators, aquatic fish and birds. The biggest contaminator of all is the high-carbon world that we have created through the burning of fossil fuels for energy.  Find out more at National Geographic online or at one of my favorite charity sites, the Center for Biological Diversity.

But now that we know the perils that we must eliminate for our birds to survive, I want to concentrate on what the birds give us and what we would be without if they weren't here.  Birds give us wings to our dreams and a connection to the bigger world of all nature that we exist within.  If we take care of our birds we will save our planet.

Every spring I love to hear the cheery chirping of the little baby birds.  It is the promise of new life and spring already here and summer coming. I have many bright flowers in my yard, particularly red ones, and in the evening I love to watch the hummingbirds gather around my flowers. They are little energy sprites as they dive into one red flower after another.  I think how sad my world would be if I couldn't have the experience of discovering with my granddaughters a little nest with a momma wren and watched as her babies learned to fly  or discovering a momma loon nesting in the rushes along the boundary waters between the U. S. and Canada with my son.  Birds are magical, defying our earthly limitations and cultural boundaries.  They are the conduit between earth and the heavens and they add color, pattern and sound to our world. When we think of them and enjoy them, we must do what we can to protect them; our life and our world will be richer because of it.

Below are some of the beautiful and diverse birds that I photographed with my daughter on a birding trip to Veracruz, Mexico.

I was cleaning out my office and I discovered a vision board that I had made in 2009 and was surprised to see how much my life had taken the course that I had outlined and envisioned 10 years ago. 

At one time I kept it on my desk where I could see it every day but, since moving to a new studio, it had been stored with other things that I did not need on a daily basis; but it had not been  discarded.  In looking at it again,  it was interesting to see how much my life had followed my dreams as outlined on my vision board. 

What is a vision board?

As defined by psychologists, spiritual leaders and anthropologists, a vision board is a tool used to help clarify, concentrate and maintain focus on a specific life goal. Literally, a vision board is any sort of board on which you display images that you have found and which represent whatever you want to be, do or have in your life.

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Vision board history dates back to the Cave Man era where anthropologists have determined that the cave paintings were created to 'envision' the success of the upcoming hunt. Down through history visioning has been used by people in many fields to realize their goals whether it be athletes or leaders in various fields by encompassing the power of the subconscious mind. 
 
A vision board keeps you focused. No matter what happens during your day, your vision board is a constant reminder of where you intend to be. Appealing to you on both conscious and subconscious levels, a vision board can work wonders toward keeping your mind focused on your goal and your attention on your intentions,
 
The vision board starts working on your unconscious mind, where your real mind-power resides. You begin to open up and see opportunities where you normally wouldn’t… because the vision board has given you permission to work in your deep subconscious mind.  

I have used a vision board for myself and have worked with children and teens to create their own vision boards
At the least vision boards are fun to make, and at their most powerful, they can be valuable tool for life fulfillment.