the stars in the sky

As you may have noticed, starshine's header has a 2011 makeover— I shot this image of the winter sky last night on the back deck...

Photo by Shanti Knight

Not only are stars beautiful, but for me they are also inspiring and they give me perspective. It's one of my favorite parts about living in the country. I love getting home at night and getting out of my car to see the sky open. Sometimes when I stand and stare at the stars, it's as though I can feel the earth moving, somehow. And troubles don't necessarily melt like lemondrops, but at least I feel a little better knowing that the sky is so big, and eternity is so long, and there's so much more happening than I can know or understand.

I love that stars guide, both in real life and in fantasy, even for the magi finding the baby Jesus (Epiphany is Thursday).

The Second Star to the Right

This is an Annie Leibovitz photo I've always loved— Gisele Bündchen as Wendy, Mikhail Baryshnikov as Peter Pan and (brilliantly) Tina Fey as Tinkerbell.

Photo courtesy of El-Rafo