Waiting to Fly

milkweed

I was taking a walk and this flash of white caught my eye.  It is the silky, white filament of the milkweed plant.  Once the filaments dry out, the seed pods will "fly" away.

Light in the Dark

streetlights

This photograph was inspired by Joshua Radin's new song called "Streetlight."  It was taken outside my house late last night.  There is a line in the song that says, "Let the wind blow us to wherever it is we are supposed to go."  Sometimes we are still because we feel we can't move, and then there  comes a breeze that moves just enough to get us going again.  I manipulated the colors in this photograph to portray a sense of movement in the darkness of night.

*Joshua Radin's "Streetlight" video is in the "Things That Move" section of my blog if you want to see it.

Extension

holding on

Roots

d

  e

    e

      p

d

  o

    w

      n

they go.
 

Before the Cut

onions

About the Onion

After I took the picture of my coffee mug, I started doing some research on still life photography and decided to give it another try.  Why did I pick onions?  I didn't have any fruit and wanted the chance to share some more poetry.

Onions by William Matthews

Left Behind

Sometimes, it is the smallest things that leave the biggest impression.

Harvest Time

On this particular day, there was a slight breeze blowing, and I was captured by the movement of the corn stalks and the light behind them.  It was around 4:30 in the afternoon at a farm up the road from where I live.

In a Pile

While I was driving home tonight, I passed by a pile of leaves on the side of the road.  When I saw the glowing yellow, I had to stop and take a picture - glad I had my camera.  This is becoming addicting, and I love it!

Smiling in the Dark and the Moon's Sense of Humor

waxing crescent

http://www.moonconnection.com/moon_phases.phtml

The glow of the moon last night was striking.  I took this picture at around 8:10 from my back porch.  It kind of reminds me of the Cheshire Cat's smile.

Fire in the Woods

symphony of light

I took this photograph at Lost River Cave during a walk through the woods.  It was early afternoon and the sun was shining at the perfect angle.  My walk was very invigorating in that I was able to concentrate on seeing the beauty of autumn and feeling the warmth that comes from being in tune with nature.    

Coffee in the Morning

my new coffee mug

Today
Frank O'Hara, 1926-1966

Oh! kangaroos, sequins, chocolate sodas!
You really are beautiful!  Pearls,
harmonicas, jujubes, aspirins!  all
the stuff they've always talked about

still makes a poem a surprise!
These things are with us every day
even on beachheads and biers.  They
do have meaning.  They're strong as rocks.


Today Over Coffee
Lora Gill

Oh!  Yorkshire terriers, silly bands, Starbucks coffee!
You really are beautiful!  Cell phones,
iPods, GPSs, digital cameras! all
the stuff they've always talked about

still makes a poem a surprise!
These things are with us every day
even in the car and at the bedside table.  They
do have meaning.  They're strong as rocks.

But not all that life is meant to be.


   

Holding On

Whispers of Winter

A Closer Look

GREEN

http://www.ca.uky.edu/arboretum/

Nature has always fascinated me in that it provides a myriad of opportunities for us to explore and experience the world around us.  The arboretum at the University of Kentucky has developed into a sanctuary filled with trees, plants, and flowers, and was the perfect place for me to take pictures using my new lens.  These photos were taken on October 30 sometime in the late afternoon.

WHITE

YELLOW

RED

Sweeping

While I was taking a walk through the woods the other day, I stopped and stood under this tree and listened to the sound of its branches rustling in the wind.  It reminded me of one of my favorite poems.

The Autumn

Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1833)

 Go, sit upon the lofty hill,

And turn your eyes around,

Where waving woods and waters wild

Do hymn an autumn sound.

The summer sun is faint on them -

The summer flowers depart -

Sit still - as all transform'd to stone,

Except your musing heart.

How there you sat in summer-time,

May yet be in your mind;

And how you heard the green woods sing

Beneath the freshening wind.

Though the same wind now blows around,

You would its blast recall;

For every breath that stirs the trees,

Doth cause a leaf to fall.

Oh! like that wind, is all the mirth

That flesh and dust impart:

We cannot bear its visitings,

When change is on the heart.

Gay words and jests may make us smile,

When sorrow is asleep;

But other things must make us smile,

When sorrow bids us weep!

The dearest hands that clasp our hands, -

Their presence may be o'er;

The dearest voice that meets our ear,

That tone may come no more!

Youth fades; and then, the joys of youth,

Which once refresh'd our mind,

Shall come - as, on those sighing woods,

The chilling autumn wind.

Hear not the wind - view not the woods;

Look out o'er vale and hill -

In spring, the sky encircled them -

The sky is round them still.

Come autumn's scathe - come winter's cold -

Come change - and human fate!

Whatever prospect Heaven doth bound,

Can ne'er be desolate.