Saturday, March 26, 2016

Spring Updates and Happy Easter!


Happy Easter!

I had to search my older photo files for Spring photos to make this collage of Easter scenes, because this is what it looks like here on the Front Range of Colorado right now...


We had a blizzard on Wednesday that left behind two feet of heavy, wet snow in my neighborhood. Winds reached 45 miles an hour and many areas lost power, including portions of the Denver International Airport which had to close for the first time in ten years due to the weather.


March is traditionally the snowiest month in the Front Range area, so this is not unusual weather here, and we are getting more snow as I write this, and we expect even more next week! It's not all bad, however, as we were having unusually high temperatures in the 60's and even 70's for most of February.  It was getting very dry, and the fire danger was high. Our high desert climate needs all the moisture it receives this time of the year to keep the forests and grasses wet and to fill the reservoirs.  Plus, the water from snow melt is depended upon by adjoining states, as it also fills their rivers and reservoirs.


The snow did not prevent our granddaughter from having fun participating in a community Easter Egg Hunt. This fun annual event was not going to allow a snow storm to delay the festivities. She was excited to give the hostess of ceremonies, the Easter Bunny's carrot friend, a big hug afterward!





Our middle grandson had a fun 5th birthday party a week early, as he and his older brother and little sister and parents all went to celebrate his actual birthday in Disneyland! It was a very memorable vacation for them all, as the blizzard prevented them from coming home until Saturday.  They enjoyed the few extra unexpected days by visiting the San Diego Zoo.




Finally, I was excited and honored to see some of my photography become part of the "Circle of Light" silent auction fundraiser for the Rocky Mountain Lions Eye Bank that took place at the Space Gallery in Denver. All proceeds from the auction are to support the eye bank and its mission to fight blindness. 
If you remember, I was the recipient of a cornea transplant in my dominant eye in November of 2014. My cornea had been scarred cloudy by a virus.  I was blind in that eye, but now, after the transplant, as well as subsequent cataract and glaucoma surgery, I have 20/30 vision! It really is a miracle, and I am forever grateful to my transplant donor. 
The eye bank asked cornea transplant recipients to submit photographs that they took after their vision was restored, and out of the ten I submitted, six were chosen to be mounted on metal and placed in the auction, along with other recipient's photos.  It was exciting to see that one of my photos actually received the highest bid of the evening! Can you guess which one?



As you can see the Rocky Mountain Lions Eye Bank has restored vision to many over their 33 years of existence. If you would like to learn more about signing up to be an organ donor, and giving the gift of sight, or even life, click here.  As I learned at a seminar about donation, giving a part of yourself upon death is ending your life with a comma, and not a period. You can help someone else to see, or survive with a vital organ. What better way to honor life?


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55 comments:

Barbara F. said...

You are a very talented photographer, Pat. I would guess the mountains reflected in the lake photo? Happy Easter, Buona Pasqua!

Anonymous said...

An Easter egg hunt in the snow - how delightful!

handmade by amalia said...

Lovely, happy photos. Hope you're having a lovely, happy Easter.
Amalia
xo

eileeninmd said...

Hello Pat! Ha[[y Easter to you and your family! I enjoyed all your beautiful photos, it is hard to pick a winner. It is a honor to see your photography being used for the fundraiser, congrats!

Happy Easter Sunday, enjoy your new week ahead!

Vee said...

The snow makes finding those Easter eggs a piece of Cadbury chocolate! Your granddaughter is such a darling! She looks undaunted by the snow. Glad that the snow serves a vital purpose. If it happened here, I might have to go to bed until it melted. =D

Have always thought that your photography deserves honoring. Warm congrats on the honor!

A blessed Easter to you and all the family!

The Joy of Home with Martha Ellen said...

Pat, it is so nice getting to know more about you! Congratulations on your successful transplant! What an honor you received for your beautiful photography in connection to this event! I would have a hard time choosing the best one. The egg hunt is different than any I've ever seen. How fun for your darling granddaughter. A birthday in Disneyland is quite a treat for your grandson! Fun for the whole family.
Have a lovely Easter! ♥

Betsy Banks Adams said...

Happy Easter.... Wow---I'm so happy about your restored vision. That is SO neat --and your photos are always awesome. IF I were to choose a picture from that group, my choice would be the middle row --first one on the left... AWESOME....

Amazing about your March snows... Beautiful though... We are BIG into Spring down here now and I love it.

Hope you and your family have a blessed Easter Day.
Hugs,
Betsy

Michelle said...

How wonderful that your photo was chosen! Even more wonderful that your vision has been restored. Happy Easter.

Anonymous said...

A very happy Easter to you and yours Pat!

podso said...

Congratulations on your photography honor. I hope you had a nice day together in spite of the snow!

The Furry Gnome said...

Nice post! Glad your transplant has worked out well. I had two cornea transplants 46 years ago!

Linda W. said...

I heard the Denver area got pounded by a snowstorm! You weren't kidding. Cool that six our your photos got chosen for the auction. And all for a good cause too.

The Gathering Place said...

Pat, I'm not surprised that your photos won! You always take beautiful pictures. Congratulations on that and your improved eye-sight. At least the Easter eggs in the snow are easy to see!

Gillena Cox said...

happy Easter

much love...

Margaret Birding For Pleasure said...

Well this is the first time I have heard of an Easter egg hunt in the snow! Must have been great fun.

Rajesh said...

Beautiful set of images. Happy Easter.

Ann said...

I remember egg hunting here when I was young in the snow too. The pictures are just adorable!! congrats on the achievement with the pictures.
Ann

Anonymous said...

Can imagine you are thankful for your vision!
Oh my goodness, that's a whole other twist: an egg hunt in the snow! Kids are so versatile - they bounce back very quickly from an unexpected surprise! Great and joyful pics you have here! Can't believe while I'm typing this up rain turned into snow!
Thank you so much for adding your snowy view to SEASONS! -it makes it for a versatile meme/challenge -we have this week flowers in Spring, snow in Colorado and Fall leaves in Australia!

Donna said...

I thought of you when i saw the snow storm....I am sure you are missing those spring pictures...what a wonderful tradition with the pictures after the transplant...and how exciting that yours were well received...of course I am not surprised! Hoping the snow lets soon.

betty-NZ said...

I don't envy the snow but I do like the photos. Your story of your cornea transplant is nothing short of amazing!

Judith @ Lavender Cottage said...

I had forgotten you had a cornea transplant and I'm so happy for you to have had a number of your photos chosen for fundraiser.

NCSue said...

Very cool! Thanks for linking up at V

abrianna said...

What a wonderful thing to have your sight restored. And those are wonderful snow pictures.

I wanted the order of my blog names reversed as I was born and bred a Yankee, then went to the Midwest and now am in the deep South. I was not changing my blog name to accommodate this last change however.

Jeanne said...

Hi Pat, Your post today was so much fun and seriously congratulations on the success of your photo at the auction. What a wonderful event to support. I am so happy to know how well you are doing after your eye surgery.

The snow is pretty and the egg hunt in the snow was awesome. Hard to imaging for sure. I hope the next storm does not have power losses.

I must wish your little grandson happy birthday. What could be better than a trip to Disney Land. Not to mention the Zoo.

Last you found some great pics for your collage. Thank you for joining Blue Monday at Backyard Neighbor.
Hugs
Jeanne

Pondside said...

Easter in the snow is an acquired taste! We celebrated that way for the first many years of our marriage. I love the photo of the coloured eggs on the snow!

Ruth said...

Good to read your story had a happy ending! Congratulation on your photos. Great they can be used to help other people (after all that is the perfect way to use our talent). Have a blessed week!

Sara - Villa Emilia said...

What a beautiful and happy post, Pat, and an inspiring one as well! The fundraising campaign sounds great and your photos are amazing.
It looks like the kids (so cute!) had a really good time. :)
Thank you for sharing!

Andrea said...

Wow you have a lot to thank God for! With all those eye anomalies, it really is a miracle that they are restored to almost perfect, and the photos are perfect. I came to see your blog the first time because of the wonderful photos. I will not choose because for me they are all wonderful. And may i know your camera that you most often use, thanks.

Klara said...

ha, ha, it is so strange to me to see Easter Egg Hunt in snow! (we didn't have any snow this winter ;-) )

NCSue said...

You poor dear - all that snow! Here people are fussing it's supposed to be in the 40's soon - people have pulled out the shorts and T-shirts!
Great photos, though.
Thanks for sharing at http://image-in-ing.blogspot.com/2016/03/the-endless-variety-of-orchids.html

A Bit of the Blarney said...

I have memories of snows on Easter as a child in CO. We were on our way to LA for the wedding when my brother in MT said they would be unable to attend as their flight through Denver had been cancelled. The wedding was lovely but those who could not make it due to weather were sorely missed. Thank you as always for you wonderful post! Happy Easter, though late, to you!

Ohmydearests said...

I can see why your photos were chosen! What a beautiful week! Hope this one is just as lovely!

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

Joyful and inspiring post Pat in spite of that heavy snow! (Our son sent us a photo of their yard that looked much like yours). You are having so much fun with the grand-kids. I know every time you get to do something wonderful with them how happy you are to live there.

I remembered that you'd had the corneal transplant. Saw your FB post on the photo ... and you certainly deserved the honors..(with any of your photos really).

Al said...

Easter and snow go hand-in-hand here in Colorado. That's awesome to get a photo bid high for a good cause!

Anonymous said...

Looks like a lot of fun despite the snow. Congratulations on the honor of your artwork being part of the fundraiser. You are really an amazing photographer.

Ciao Chow Linda said...

The weather has been crazy there! And we're scheduled for snow here next week -- after a forecast of 70+ degrees on Thursday. Nuts! It looks like you had a lot of fun despite the snow. It sure sets off the colored eggs, doesn't it? And congrats on your photos being selected -- not surprising -- they are always beautiful.

diane b said...

So you have the cold snow for a bit longer and our summer is still here. We are looking forward to a change in temperature. Your Grand children are gorgeous. Glad your family got home safe and sound. Congrats for being so successful with your photos and so rewarding for them to be used for a good cause close to your heart. I'm so glad that your sight has been restored.

Judy Biggerstaff said...

Don't think we have ever egg hunted in the snow but what fun whatever the weather. I remember hunting indoors because it was raining. Beautiful pics of the mountains.

DeniseinVA said...

Wonderful post Pat. More snow? They sure do make for pretty pictures. I didn’t know that about March in your area and the snow fall. Glad it helped out with the fire watch. The Easter Egg Hunt looks like a whole lot of fun in the snow. Happy birthday to your grandson for his 5th birthday and what a wonderful way to spend it. Something good came out of the cancellation of their flight then. San Diego was a place I went to frequently with our son when we lived there. Great memories and I thoroughly enjoyed this post. Thank you Pat, have a great week :)

Breathtaking said...

Hello Pat!:) A most enjoyable post, with lots of good news, and photography. Lovely photos of your grandchildren in the snow and grandson on his birthday.How wonderful that your photos were chosen, but it's plain to see why,.. they are all great, and to raise money in this way for such a worthy cause is even more of an honour. I'm so pleased your eyesight has been restored.:)

Parsimonious Décor Darling said...

Wonderful photos, Pat! Glad to hear the surgery was a success. Goodness, it looks cold, but just look at how happy Easter still was for you and your family! So blessed!

Molly said...

That looks like a very wintery Easter

mollyxxx

Jackie said...

Lovely photos as usual. You got hit harder with snow then we did up here in Northeast Wyoming.

Ida said...

Great post. - I heard about all that snow...man that was quite a storm. I chuckled at seeing the children hunting easter eggs in the snow.
Congrats on your photos being chosen and displayed. You take fabulous photos.

Cheryl @ TFD said...

I am not at all surprised that your photos have been chosen for display. I've often thought that they belong in a magazine or on a calendar! Your photography is superb! And, I'm so happy for you that your surgery was such a success! Take care and enjoy the rest of the week.

Deb @ Frugal Little Bungalow said...

How wonderful that your beautiful photography was used for the event...and I just got such a kick out of seeing the Easter eggs in the snow! :) The children are all clearly having a blast both at the hunt and party!

Rambling Woods said...

Busy time and Happy Birthday to your grandson.... Nice when you can give back.... I couldn't choose one photo... Michelle

Jim said...

Great shots.
Sydney – City and Suburbs

carol l mckenna said...

All wonderful photos ~ such a happy family and blessings and congratulations to you on your successful eye surgery ~ So happy for you ~ ^_^

Wishing you peace in each day ~ ^_^

Annesphamily said...

Hi Pat! Your photos are always delightful. We had 22 inches of snow dump on us and we still have a few white areas in our yard. The weather has been so up and down that we could not get well from our head colds. finally we feel better. We want to stay healthy for the wedding on the 30th! Eyes are so important. I am always careful with mine as my eyesight has been poor since I was in the 4th grade. My maternal grandmother lost her sight due to a detached retina when I was a small child. I am grateful my husband found a wonderful new doctor to do his upcoming cataract surgery. They were afraid he had a detached retina and thankfully he did not. I am going to see those same doctors soon. I am happy your eye surgery came out beautifully too. It is good to be able to see those we love around us. Have a wonderful weekend. Those grand kids are so cute. xo

Unknown said...

Oh Pat, we have celebrated Easter with snow on the ground several times in my life but nothing quite like that. Congrats on all your photography success. I did not know you had a corneal transplant. I have too. In my left eye. I have a condition called Fuch's Dystropy. I had it about 10 years ago. My right eye is affected too but my doctor will not operate unless it gets very bad. Eye drops everyday. My cornea was from a cadaver and always a chance I could reject it. Hope you see spring soon.

Anonymous said...

You had a full week. We had snow too, but not as much as you got. I am ready for the color of spring. Congrats on your contribution to the foundation, that is a great way to "pay it forward" so to speak.

Lisa @ LTTL

Anonymous said...

soon it will be over and enjoying a great weather..

Gracie said...

You must be very proud of that, but that's no surprise, your photos always are the best!

Jenny said...

I've always loved your photography!

And I'm not surprised that some of it helped to do good in the world.

You, my dear lady, are a wonder!

Thank you for warming my heart for week 19.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO