All photos by Ulanawa Foote
(used with permission)

Ulanawa Foote is gentle-hearted. She is a soft-spoken proud Native American woman with an incredible ability to capture wonders of nature and share those wonders through her camera's lens
  and thoughtful writings. Her peaceful passion for silence, tiny creatures, running water, fields of
flowers, mountains and infants; as well as the colors, shapes, shadows and sounds of our Mother Earth
come alive on her Turtle Saw blog.

Her macro lens artistry coupled with late night rainy walks and pre-dawn
treks in fields and woods and roadsides create magic and art. 
She can transform a simple grass spider huddled in a raindrop sparkling web into an image as powerful and captivating as a grizzly bear with gaping jaws.
Ulanawa has the art of capturing simple beauty.
Even a raindrop on a broken leaf is art and has as story to tell.
She tells the stories well.

I have never met Ulanawa.

But one day, several months ago, while browsing a Huron-Clinton Metropark link in the odd,
 often convoluted and superficial world of Facebook I noticed some of her
 postings artfully blended with words. 
They were full of life.
They inspired.
The made me smile.

It did not take long to realize that unlike many photographers with the ability to capture
great images, she has developed a gift of adding spirtuality and sensitivity to the camera image 
and blend them with prose while retaining the simplicity of nature's way.
 She and I began to share E-notes and postings and thoughts on the ways of nature and man and
the fine art of hiking in woods with worn boots and torn sneakers.

It is with great pride that I use my Earth's Almanac blog to share a few images captured by
Ulanawa and to introduce her beautiful and inspiring Turtle Saw blog:
 www.turtlesaw.blogspot.com    
 (You will discover her wonderful insight, love of turtles and the musky scent of our Earth)
Almost all images she shares on Turtle Saw  are captured in or near Lake Erie
Metropark in SE lower Michigan
Ulanawa's captivating words of beauty and joy and sadness and tears take us beyond her images
of  nature-----they help us all find our way home.

Red-tailed hawk  with fire in the eyes.

Grass spider in web--waiting. (one of my favorite Ulanawa images!)

Green frog with mosquitos

Skipper on thistle

White tailed deer in the woods and at peace.

Lake Erie Metropark  in the quiet of summer

Seeds in the wind

Water lily - a landing pad for tiny winged creatures.

 

Ulanawa Foote
Note: In the Tsalagi  (Cherokee) language Ulanawa means soft-shelled turtle.
www.turtlesaw.blogspot.com

Ulanawa in her sea of sunflowers at Lake Erie Metropark