Nature | Virtually Gina

Brooklyn Quiet

April 2, 2020 by Gina Marie

The streets of Brooklyn were mostly empty. The few brave souls outdoors wore masks, scarves, or bandanas around their faces to keep virus at bay. A sign posted on a lamppost encouraged neighbors to stay connected in spite of the shelter-in-place order, now in its second month. And yet, the flowering trees still bloomed. Their message: your worldly illusions have been shattered, but deep within the earth, it’s business as usual.

Categories: America, Brooklyn, Nature, New York, New York City, NYC, Photography, Spooky, Spring, Urban • Tags: Brooklyn, nature, New York City, Photography, Spring, Urban

Read the Signs

August 19, 2017 by Gina Marie

Categories: America, Art, Betty Boop, Book Excerpts, Boston, Brooklyn, Chögyam Trungpa, Collage, Color, Compassion, Consumerism, Divination, Earth, Friendship, Gratitude, Healing, Health, Humor, Journal, Life, Light, Love, Meditation, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Mixed Media, Mural, Mythology, Nature, New Jersey, New York, New York City, Philadelphia, Photo Essay, Photography, Poetry, Pop Art, Pop Culture, Psychology, Rainbows, Random, Recovery, Spirituality, Surrealism, Thoughts for the Day, True Confessions, Writing

Beautiful Thoughts

March 26, 2016 by Gina Marie

The wisdom of others teaches us how . . . 1) We each have a human body that lasts a hundred years if we are lucky. Every moment, every interaction, every day we are given the opportunity to learn from each other. The most difficult situations can be our greatest teachers. 2) Companionship is present in our lives in many forms. We are never truly alone. 3) The sight of the sky is a reminder of freedom, expansiveness, and possibility. […]

Categories: Animals, Beaches, Earth, Flare, Gratitude, Healing, Inspiration, Jersey Shore, Journal, Life, Light, Love, Meditation, Moon, Nature, Ocean, Philadelphia, Photo Essay, Photo Journal, Photography, Shadow, Spirituality, Thoughts for the Day • Tags: Beaches, Inspiration, iPhoneography, Jersey Shore, Meditation, ocean, Photography, Spirituality

Life’s Offerings

November 28, 2012 by Gina Marie

“I now realize that life held a divine purpose, for shoving me into places that were as changeable as the wind. In between the floundering of then and now, the eyes of fate were following me–watching, always watching with narrowing glances. Now, having given deep thought to life’s offerings, I realize that everything that happened should have happened.” -Gordon Parks (1912-2006), from “No Apologies” Pebble Pond, (2012)

Categories: Art, Dead American Dudes, Inspiration, Life, Nature, Photography, Poetry • Tags: Art, Dead American Dudes, Inspiration, Life, nature, Photography, Poetry

Resplendent in Autumn: Philadelphia’s Laurel Hill Cemetery

November 20, 2012 by Gina Marie

Philadelphia’s Laurel Hill Cemetery is one of America’s most notable burial grounds. Founded in 1836, during a time when the only options for burial were in overcrowded churchyards, Laurel Hill was established as a bucolic alternative where the living could bury their dearly departed. In recent years, the cemetery was designated a “National Historic Landmark” — the first graveyard in the country to receive such a title. Many notable figures have been buried here, among them Civil War generals, Titanic […]

Categories: Art, Color, Graveyards, Nature, Philadelphia, Photography, Travel • Tags: Art, Color, Graveyards, nature, Philadelphia, Photography, Travel

In Heaven, It Is Autumn All Year Round

October 27, 2012 by Gina Marie

The Wissahickon Valley is a 1,400-acre park in the northwest corner of Philadelphia proper. Second to none when it comes to beautiful scenery all year round, the area is particularly breathtaking in autumn. No wonder it has inspired poets, writers, photographers, and painters for so many centuries. Nowadays, the park hosts mostly pedestrians, equestrians, hikers and bikers. (Few rollerbladers come here, however, since the vast majority of paths are unpaved.) Scattered alongside the wooded paths, ancient trees bear the markings […]

Categories: Autumn, Color, Nature, Philadelphia, Photography, Travel • Tags: Autumn, Color, nature, Philadelphia, Photography, Travel