Joyfully Green: Joyful Reads

Joyful Finds for the Weekend, Vol. 75

Hello there, friends!

My calendar tells me that spring begins officially this Monday, March 20, even though I'm looking at nearly two feet of snow outside the window right now! I hope that wherever you are, you're making the best of your weather. Here are some fun and lovely things I want to share with you for the weekend:

Canada lets you sleep in the trees
Thich Nhat Hanh on how to love
Tiny hats for a visiting toad
Artist Austin Kleon always finds the best quotes, with good book recommendations: Get out now
Science meets art under the microscope
This artist is replacing billboards with pictures of the landscape

Happiest of Saturdays to you!

**********************************************

Before you go...

Do sign up for "Writing with Light", my monthly letter that's all about my favorite photography tricks, creative inspirations, and upcoming photography courses (with exclusive discounts!)...

© 2017 by Joy Sussman/JoyfullyGreen.com LLC. All rights reserved. All photos and text digitally fingerprinted and watermarked. Please do not use any photographs without asking me first for permission at [email protected] and then clearly linking back to this site with photo credits. Site licensed by Creative Commons.

Save

Posted on 03/16/2017 at 09:02 PM in Joyful Reads | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Austin Kleon, good reads, online photography classes, Thich Nhat Hanh book How to Love, weekend reading

Joyful Finds for the Weekend: The "Happy New Year!" Edition

One last "hello!" to you on the penultimate day of 2016. ("Penultimate" has long been one of my favorite words, ever since studying for the SAT way-back-when.) To send you on your merry way to 2017, here are some uplifting finds:

Why owning a dog is good for you

Reuse your Amazon holiday gift boxes to ship donations for free to Goodwill

How to create quiet spaces in your home

India plants 50 million trees in 24 hours

Dear world, I wasn't all bad. Signed, 2016

May your New Year's Eve be the most joyful yet!

*************************************************************************************

Before you run off to ring in the new year...

My brand-new online photography course is right around the corner! Let's start off the new year together by creating more beauty, peace, and mindfulness in the world. All the lovely details are here: Soul Focus: Finding Peace Through Photography. If you're on Instagram, get a $10 discount on the e-course by clicking the link in my profile here.

P.S. I took the photo of this big, beautiful wreath last week while driving by McTeigue & McClelland in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. Isn't it the very picture of festive?

© 2016 by Joy Sussman/JoyfullyGreen.com LLC. All rights reserved. All photos and text digitally fingerprinted and watermarked. Please do not use any photographs without asking me first for permission at [email protected] and then clearly linking back to this site with photo credits. Site licensed by Creative Commons.

Save

Posted on 12/29/2016 at 09:02 PM in Joyful Reads, photography | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: benefits of dog ownership, create quiet space at home, end of 2016, finding peace through photography, good reads, happy new year, India plants millions of trees in 24 hours, online photography class, photo courses, soul focus, weekend reads

Joyful Finds for the Weekend, Vol. 73: Finding Peace

Time to share a few lovely things that have lifted me up this past week. Please pass them on; now's the time to share the love, don't you think?

Super-easy mindfulness exercises from Thich Nhat Hanh

10 things to do when you have no idea what to do

Do you have a Bliss Station yet? (I do! My dining room table, first thing in the morning.)

A perfect match: Animal shelter partners with senior home

My photo friend Tammy Strobel just created some beautiful pictures with inspirational quotes

And finally, go ahead, try not to smile: Baby animals dressed up!

******************************************

Before you go...

My next online photography course is right around the corner! Details and discount here: Beyond Auto Mode: How to Really Work Your DSLR Camera.

Subscribe to weekly posts from Joyfully Green via email or RSS reader: just click here.

Come say hello to me on Instagram by clicking here.

Save

Posted on 11/17/2016 at 09:02 PM in Buddhism, flowers, Joyful Reads, mindfulness | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Austin Kleon, how to use a DSLR camera, mindfulness exercises, online photo classes, photography e-course, Tammy Strobel, Thich Nhat Hanh

Joyful Finds for the Weekend, Vol. 72: The Fall Edition!

My goodness, the trees seem to be having a raucous ticker-tape parade right now! To celebrate the cheerful new season, I rounded up some of my favorite finds this week. Enjoy and kindly share them...

Delightful & delicious pictures from apple orchard to apple pie: Posie Gets Cozy

Same theme, this one from the archives: Back to the Apple Orchard

40 fall comfort food recipes (healthy, too!)

And one more recipe for good measure: Autumn roasted veggies with apples & pecans

Heart-warming! Hurricane Matthew kitten rescue

Delilah wants to sniff every single fallen leaf, so I found this piece fascinating: Learning from Dogs as They Sniff Out Their World

And last but not least, my friend Lois wrote a lovely piece about the changing seasons: Preparing for Rest

Learn how to beautifully capture the season wherever YOU are:

FINAL CALL 'til 2018: I'll be shelving my first (and most popular) e-course, How to Take Better Photos of Nature and the World Around You, for a couple of years while I concentrate on some new online courses in 2017, so if this nature photography course has been calling your name, sign up for the session that's right around the corner--starting this Monday, 10/17/16! No fancy camera is necessary; you can even use your phone's camera. To treat yourself or a friend, click here for all the details and registration. (If you're on Instagram, check out my profile at @joy_sussman for a discount on the course.)

Save

Posted on 10/13/2016 at 09:02 PM in autumn, Joyful Reads, leaves, YUMMY! | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: autumn activities, changing seasons, comfort foods made healthy, fall recipes, healthy recipes, Hurricane Matthew kitten rescue, nature photography course, online photo class, roasted vegetable recipe

Joyful Finds for the Weekend, Vol. 70

Hello there and a very happy weekend to you!

I'm currently teaching a photography course and taking another one, so I'm going to cut right to the chase: Here are some interesting and insightful finds for your weekend reading & viewing pleasure. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did!

Such a bittersweet video: Building a gnome house in memory of a child

What exquisite creatures! Every fox has a different personality

New NaturePlay documentary shows striking difference between U.S. and Scandinavian schools

"I like it. What is it?" A guide to describing your art to people

Stray dog can't stop smiling after being adopted

And last but definitely not least...

From my ever-inspiring friend Monica (are you following her wonderful blog yet?): 101 Things Life is Too Short Not to Do

***********************************************************

Before you go...

Did you enjoy this post? Get more like it by subscribing to Joyfully Green via email or RSS reader: just click here.

Come say hello to me on Instagram!

Save

Posted on 07/21/2016 at 09:02 PM in Joyful Reads | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: bucket list, fox photos, life is too short not to do this, NaturePlay documentary, stray dog adopted, weekend reads

A Day at the Beach: My Summer Reading List

The lazy, hazy days of summer are finally here and I, for one, am VERY happy about that!

Today, despite my admittedly daunting to-do list, I'm taking the kids to the beach for the first time this season, and I'm quite excited to simply stick my toes into the warm sand and await the "salon treatment" of cool mud from a beach bucket mixed with lake water. (If that doesn't sound good to you, you haven't tried it yet!) I'm downright terrible at relaxing, but I think my kids have perfected the remedy.

There's something so heavenly about the way a beach muffles the sounds of the world. Everything seems so far away. Little kids yelling seem like they're yelling from Mars. The insignificant stuff washes away with the waves. Whoever said "Life's a Beach" really knew what she was talking about!

To get your season off to a sweet start, I thought I'd round up some summer reads from the archives. (If you're just starting winter where you are, perhaps these will warm you up!)

Summer Unplugged: 20 Good Books for the Beach (and Beyond!)

20 Ways to Simplify Your Summer, "Old School" Style

Pictures Save the Day: 7 Ways to Make Your Vacation Photos More Memorable

My Summer Garden Tour: Can You Identify These Flowers?

The Roadmap to Fewer (and Greener) Vacation Souvenirs

I hope your summer is a very cool one!

******************************************************

Before you go...

Enrollment opens VERY soon for the next session of my online photography course, The Art of Photography: How to Take Your Pictures to the Next Level, running in July 2016. Stay tuned here for details, or get on the list for my free monthly photography e-letter, "Writing with Light", which is where the big course discounts and early registration can be found. (Sign up for "Writing with Light" in the righthand column of this blog.)

Did you enjoy this post? Get more like it by subscribing to Joyfully Green via email or RSS reader: just click here.

Come say hello to me on Instagram!

Save

Posted on 06/24/2016 at 08:48 AM in beaches, Joyful Reads, summer | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: good books for the beach, summer activities, summer fun, summer is here, summer reading

Joyful Finds for the Weekend, Vol. 69

Hello there, and Happy Weekend!

I'm midway through teaching my newest e-course, Beyond Auto Mode: How to Really Work Your DSLR Camera, and I have to say I am SO happily overwhelmed by how the students are all supporting each other as they learn the technical stuff that makes their cameras tick! It's a really wonderful fringe benefit of teaching these online courses--watching friendships form as people move along the learning curve together. It's like they're all helping each other cross a bridge, so I thought this photograph above was à propos. It also seems like a good shot to welcome in the weekend, along with the following interesting tidbits I gathered this past week. Enjoy!

Go ahead, make their day.

Helping helpless bugs

LOVED this video so much: Elders react to David Bowie

Man and his pet chicken are sailing around the world together!

Caring for a senior polar bear

Maine student rejects scholarship from bottled water company

15 kids' picture books celebrating great writers, artists, scientists

And last but not least: Fairytale macro world

*********************************************************************************

Did you enjoy this post? Get more like it by subscribing to Joyfully Green via email or RSS reader: just click here.

Come say hello to me on Instagram!

Save

Posted on 06/16/2016 at 09:15 PM in BUGS!, Joyful Reads | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: best books for children, Elders react to David Bowie, helping bugs, macro photography, new kids books, pet chicken sailing around world

Joyful Finds for the Weekend, Vol. 68

The clear blue skies of May are here at last! I think we're appreciating them all the more, after the soaking rains of the past couple of weeks. To start off your weekend on a sunny note, here are some of my favorite recent finds. Enjoy and kindly share them, perhaps with somebody who could use a little sunshine!

Airlines bend rules so pets escaping Canadian wildfires can fly with their owners

10,000 trees in one cave

Dignity Village for the homeless in Portland

49 phrases to calm an anxious child

Steal from the poets

Dish Brush Dandelions

The World's Oldest Cat

And last but not least: Avocado brownies!

***********************************

P.S. My brand-new online photography course, "Beyond Auto Mode: How to Really Work Your DSLR Camera", is starting verrrrrrry soon, and my newsletter subscribers get the first word when enrollment opens (plus a sweet discount!). Read on to sign up...

Posted on 05/12/2016 at 08:18 PM in Joyful Reads | Permalink

Tags: Canadian wildfire evacuees travel with pets, encouraging your kids, good blogs, healthy brownie recipe, oldest cat alive, online photography class, spring crafts, weekend reads, world's oldest cat

Joyful Finds for the Weekend, Vol. 67

Happy Friday to you! Here are just a few of the fine things I found worth sharing this week. Enjoy and kindly share them...

Green Time over Screen Time for happier, healthier kids

I cannot wait to make these fruit spring rolls!

Miniature Tree Houses

Posie Gets Cozy always has such pretty pictures: Flowers Fair

Find your flavor of minimalism

This wild & woolly post made me smile: Other than Lambs

Last but definitely not least: If Rembrandt painted farm animals

I hope your weekend is a warm and wonderful one!

**********************************************************************************************************************************

© 2016 by Joy Sussman/JoyfullyGreen.com LLC. All rights reserved. All photos and text digitally fingerprinted and watermarked. Please do not use any of my photographs without asking me first for permission at [email protected] and then clearly linking back to this site with photo credits. Site licensed by Creative Commons.

Did you enjoy this post? Get more like it by subscribing to Joyfully Green via email or RSS reader: just click here.

Posted on 04/14/2016 at 09:02 PM in Joyful Reads | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: find your minimalism, fruit spring roll recipe, good weekend reads, Posie Gets Cozy, Rembrandt

Joyful Finds for the Weekend, Vol. 66: The Spring Edition!

Hello there, and "Happy Spring" to you! I've been welcoming the new season with lots and LOTS of posy pictures, like the one above from my Instagram gallery. (I'm @ joy_sussman if you're an Instagrammer, too. Here's the direct link.) I took this shot with a great little app for my iPhone 6s called Camera+. It's the perfect tool if you like to take highly detailed macro shots--and I'm not even getting paid to say that (unfortunately!).

If you love to take nature pictures and would like to "up your game", you're reading this post in the nick of time! Just a few more days to sign up for my next online photography course, "How to Take Better Photos of Nature and the World Around You", which will begin promptly on April 11, 2016. Click here for all the details. Join me and let's create some spring gorgeousness together (or fall fabulousness, if you're Down Under). No fancy camera necessary; you can even use your smart phone.

Okay, onto the springtime finds for the weekend. Enjoy them, my friends...

Just look at these gorgeous water paintings!

From my friend Monica, the importance of creating enough white space in our lives

Because dogs make every day feel like springtime: Happy dog gets adopted

75 vegan spring recipes

I'm definitely going to try this pretty idea from The Artful Parent: Flower Petal Stained Glass

My daughter recently spent some of her allowance (aw, so sweet!) to buy me a green gift: recycled paper bead earrings. Here's how to make your own paper bead jewelry.

Wishing you a very "springy" weekend...and don't forget to sign up for the nature photography course that's right around the corner!

**********************************************************************************************************************************

Posted on 03/31/2016 at 09:02 PM in autumn, e-courses, Joyful Reads, photography | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: how to take better pictures of nature, learn photography online, online photo classes, spring blog posts, springtime craft ideas, vegan recipes for spring, weekend reading