This week we were challenged to find the “(Extra)ordinary” in the ordinary.  To consider “What’s mundane yet meaningful to you? What’s a beautiful everyday thing? Or, maybe you can capture an ordinary setting or common scene that has somehow transformed — with festive decor or a new coat of paint.”

To me, nature is always an extraordinary thing.  And while I’m a sucker for a breathtaking landscape, I find nature to be at it’s most extraordinary when I take the time to look closely at the patterns it forms.  At a glance, it’s sand on a beach.  Look closer and the sand has formed veins.  At a glance, it’s a bunch of trees.  Look closer and the symmetry is amazing.  At a glance, it’s shells on a beach.  Look closer and see how the tide perfectly lined them up.  At a glance, it’s clouds in the sky. Look closer and pick out all of the different shades of color involved.  At a glance, it’s grass on a wet day.  Look closer and see how the blades lay against each other.  At a glance, it’s a body of water at sunset.  Look closer to see the perfect wavelets formed by the wind.

I challenge you…go outside…find the extraordinary in the ordinary.  It’s all around you.