En "Tree"

Not long ago, I discovered one of the most expressive trees I have ever seen.  These pictures were taken on two separate occasions and are a few of my favorites.  I like the curves of the branches and how they seem to connect with one another - there is a gracefulness in the unclothing of a season and beauty in what lies ahead.           

Freeze Frame

The stillness of cold

as winter exhales its breath

brings silence to life.

-LG

Pine Cone

There is something about the feel of a pine cone...the prickly sensation it leaves behind after you put it down, the stickiness of the sap that is pooled on the tips of the scales, and the smell of green if green was a fragrance.

Expression in a Stalk

loop

This is a a picture of a flower in my back yard.  Its stalk was green in the summer and its flower yellow.  I like the expression it portrays and for some reason, how it reminds me of the woods. Maybe it's the brown in the stalk.  It also reminds me of a dancer and the movement of ideas. There's a song by Nickel Creek called Out of the Woods.  It's a love song, but when I listen to it, I like to think it's for all those creative desires in my heart waiting to be exposed and explored.

Here's the song for those of you who want to listen:  Out of the Woods   

Where Am I Going?

white squirrel

Bowling Green has a small number of white squirrels that live around WKU campus and a couple of neighborhoods throughout the city.  One of the ways to distinguish a white squirrel from an albino is to look at the eyes.  A white squirrel's eyes are brown as opposed to blue or pink.  I'm surprised this critter sat still long enough for me to gets its picture. 

Here's more about the differences:  Squirrels 

Swirl

December

When we think about our senses, many of us tend to separate one from the other, but I find it rather fascinating how, in reality, one sense can heighten or trigger a response in another.  For some reason, when I saw last night's sky, I was reminded of one of my favorite pianist and one of the arrangements from his album called December.  The piece is called Variations on the Canon by Pachelbel.     

Here it is for those of you who want to listen:

George Winston

Daily Something #1: Thoughts on Poetry and Starting a Book by Frances Mayes

Over the past year and a half I have grown to really enjoy poetry.  It is something that takes me to another place, just like art, music, literature, and photography.  I like the way words sound together and how a lot can be said in so few words.  It's easy to think that if you start reading poetry, you have to start out with the poets of old, but that is such a misconceived notion.  I'm still not at the point where I can fully grasp the "big" stuff, but it is a goal of mine.

I'm sharing this with you because I'm getting ready to read The Discovery of Poetry: A Field Guide to Reading and Writing Poems by Frances Mayes, and I thought it might be interesting to share some of my thoughts as I read through this book.

Here is the link to the book for those of you who might have an inkling:

The Discovery of Poetry .

On that note, let me share with you a poem.  I think the reason I like it so much is that it references "still life" and "painting" - two things I can totally relate to.  That, and the desires of the heart.


Not Touching

  The valentine of desire is pasted over my heart
  and still we are not touching, like things

  in a poorly done still life
  where the knife appears to be floating over the plate
  which is itself hovering above the table somehow,

  the entire arrangement of apple, pear, and wineglass
  have forgotten the law of gravity,
  refusing to be still,

  as if the painter had caught them all
  in a rare moment of slow flight
  just before they drifted out of the room
  through a window of perfectly realistic sunlight.

       Billy Collins (U.S. Poet Laureate 2001-2003)

Bird on a Wire

After swooping down and snatching a squirrel, this falcon had no luck in keeping control of his dinner. The squirrel escaped and with disappointment, this beautiful bird contemplated his loss long enough for me to get a few pictures.

As Winter Comes

remembrance

When days are cold 

and my petals have fallen,

remember me as I once was

with my color, 

with my fragrance.

And dream 

that I will bloom 

again.

A Captured Spin

Changing perspective gives us an opportunity to discover.

The Hole to Where

I like it when you see something that reminds you of something else that reminds you of something completely not related to what you're looking at.  This thorny branch did that to me,  and it all started when I noticed the little hole in the bottom leaf.