winter in my mind

I'm not sure if this makes any sense but, in my mind, winter feels like walking into a world of fog. I can barely see the road ahead, and I'm surrounded by... well... nothingness. I'm wandering in the wilderness until the first shoots of spring appear.

OK, are you depressed yet? lol Sorry. I promise to get some supermarket flowers and post something cheerier soon. :)

the way home

finding the way home, just a little bit of peace in a busy season... :)

a certain beauty

More fabulous fog, from earlier in the week. This is a field down the road from our house. It was planted in corn this summer, but now it lies fallow. And yes, I guess this is not a feel-good shot, but I just love these lonely, sad images. For me, they have a beauty all their own.

i still ♥ mist

Still playing with mist and textures today. This is one from my archives. I've been shooting the beautiful colors of our sugar maple, but somehow this just feels like a more accurate representation of how I'm feeling on the inside at the moment. Does that make sense?

misty love

from my archives

I've been looking forward to a little misty love this autumn, but so far it's been either torrential rain or too darn warm... :)

funghi, and other fun...

There are certain times every year that find me on my stomach in the backyard, camera in hand. One is when the violets appear in springtime. The other is in the fall, when autumn rains bring a host of mushrooms. I spent about 20 minutes sprawled out in the backyard, taking this and other funghi photos last Thursday. Later in the day, I happened to look out the window and saw two coyotes about ten yards from where I had been laying.

Yikes.

I scrambled but could not locate my zoom lens. Honestly, I just didn't want to waste a minute taking pictures of them. I just wanted to look. They were an incredible sight. Beautiful, but scary. (If you want to know what coyotes look like, here are some Google pictures.) Now, of course, I wish I had some decent photos. But I guess I will just have to be happy with the mushrooms. I wonder if coyotes eat mushrooms... :)

dare

"Dare to live the life you have dreamed of. Go forward and make your dreams come true."

Ralph Waldo Emerson

i mourn

Yes, I am fickle. And inconstant. Yes, I longed for the cooler weather of fall, and now I can't help mourning the loss of summer... here is the last of the obedient plant, basking in the evening light of late summer. Happy autumn, dear bloggers.

grasses

This is my little homage to Albrecht Durer's Tall Grass, which I have loved since I was a teenager. There is just something about the attention to detail, where each blade of grass is so lovingly delineated, that speaks to me. This is one of the places of my heart, and I love each stem and leaf. :)

And yes, things look quite different here at the moment. I have been playing around with my template. Not sure I'm done playing yet, but I'm sure having fun. Have a wonderful week, dear bloggers! :)

amen

What do you call the little green leaves at the bottom of a blossom? The sepals? On queen anne's lace they are so delicate, especially for something that is supposed to protect the bud from harm... I have to say that I find them very beautiful, perhaps more so than the flowers themselves. And who doesn't love a bit of sun flare? Can I get an "amen" for sun flare and sepals? ;)

mystery

Sometimes, what you don't see is just as important as what you do see. In gardens and in photography, a little mystery can speak volumes, don't you think? :)

the burning cathedral of summer

"I walk without flinching through the burning cathedral of the summer. My bank of wild grass is majestic and full of music. It is a fire that solitude presses against my lips."

~Violette Leduc, Mad in Pursuit

making the most of your dreams

"I've come to believe that each of us has a personal calling that's as unique as a fingerprint - and that the best way to succeed is to discover what you love and then find a way to offer it to others in the form of service, working hard, and also allowing the energy of the universe to lead you."

Oprah Winfrey

wordless

108°F here in New Jersey last week. Need I say more? ;)

places of the heart

There is something so very satisfying about the sight of hay bales in a field, especially as the sun slips down. They are sculptural and beautiful in and of themselves, but I think it must be the feeling of satisfaction at a job well done, and security in the knowledge of a full barn come winter... And this is an almost iconic scene for me, too. It is about a mile from my house, and one of the places from my childhood that lives in my heart.

i ♥ spring

Do you see the little sideways heart at the top of the image, just a little left of center? Yes, I ♥ spring, even when it rains for an entire week...

Wishing you a sunny weekend, dear bloggers! :)

everyday magic

The soft petals of my flowering quince appear almost translucent with the late afternoon sun shining through them... a little bit of everyday magic. :)

now i lay me down

When was the last time you just lay down in a field of grass, with the sun on your face, to become the still center of the whirling earth?

vintage

Are you getting old when things that look vintage to others just look familiar to you? :)

green

It's beginning. Can you feel it? :)