Gratitude explodes in my heart

"...I seek truth & beauty in the transparency of an autumn leaf, in the perfect form of a seashell on the beach, in the curve of a woman's back, in the texture of an ancient tree trunk, but also in more elusive forms of reality. Sometimes working on an image in my darkroom, the soul of a person appears, the emotion or vital essence of some object; at that moment, gratitude explodes in my heart & I cry. I can't help it. Such revelations are the goal of my work."

- Isabel Allende, Portrait in Sepia

Now I feel the tenderness to which the season rots

"Autumn teaches us that fruition is also death; that ripeness is a form of decay. The willows, having stood for so long near water, begin to rust...

...Today the sky is a wafer. Placed on my tongue, it is a wholeness that has already disintegrated; placed under the tongue, it makes my heart beat strongly enough to stretch myself over the winter brilliances to come. Now I feel the tenderness to which the season rots. Its defenselessness can no0 longer be corrupted. Death is its purity, its sweet mud..."

- Gretel Ehrlich, The Solace of Open Spaces

posted for Deb.

This flower, and a star.

Whatever gladdens the mind is

of the scent of the Beloved,

Whatever enraptures the heart is

a ray from my friend.

-RUMI

only sacredness.

Something opens our wings. Something

makes boredom and hurt disappear.

Someone fills the cup in front of us.

We taste only sacredness.

-Rumi

Weaving

“To be ignorant of what happened before you were born is to be ever a child. For what is man's lifetime unless the memory of past events is woven with those of earlier times?”

-Cicero

Living is a form of not being sure, not

knowing what next or how . . . We guess.

We may be wrong, but we take leap after

leap in the dark.

Agnes de Mille

A Joyful Walk in the Woods

This magical pathway is a section of the AT just moments from my house, and 2 miles North on the trail... I discovered it a few weeks ago when my mom and I did the 20 mile section from Pine Grove to Caledonia and I think it'll be my new walking place. Dancing through the corridor of Rhododendron to the sound of water splashing a few feet away, it feels as though I've entered a sacred grove of the ancients, their wisdom breathing me, from the inside out, wide open and... free.

It's amazing how close adventure is, so easily found around the corners of our everyday world, as we pause to study it from new angles, in different light...

My heart is filled with gratitude for this sacred day.

"...as if she'd passed through some door into a place where she could walk surely on the ground of her life." B. Kingsolver

Moving forward with dreams, taking risks, commiting myself to the living -the dangers of living for even one day!- fully engaged, participating, speaking loud enough to become visible, to say:

"But this is what I value and hold true. This is what I want. And I want to share it with you..."

Please, check out my new web-site, a space for me to articulate what I want and to engage others because living so fully, our hearts wide open, our breathing deep, involves a community of people, engaged in the conversation, helping us to understand and to evolve...

A Joyful (belated) Thanksgiving to all of you!

Blushing with Gratitude

These days filled with treasure, nights folded cozy beneath a starry sky. Following the rays of my head lamp, we walk arm in arm, stacking the furnace with wood, tucking our cold frames goodnight, with every step dazzled with gratitude, our dreams breathing us...

Summer Love

I encountered the "blue screen of death" a few weeks ago, lost everything on my computer (deep sigh) and spent a few weeks off-line, realizing how quickly the priviledge of having a computer has (on both a personal and cultural level) become necessity. The weeks without weren't so bad actually, especially in the fine company of my summer love (who would be the taste of a blueberry of course!)... But I am glad to be back and I look forward to once again visiting the many blog-places I've come to love!

In honor of those things wild and free...

Luscious

I climbed through a fine patch of poison ivy for these luscious beauties (dressed in my long-sleeved, rugged finest of course; I'm not completely mad) and at the moment I'm thinking they were worth it... Let's hope I'm still thinking that a few days from now :)

*These photos were inspired by this lovely image...

Macro Monday

In keeping with the tradition started by Georgia B, a few Monday macro shots and much gratitude to--

my parents, and their continued dedication as they celebrate their 35th year

ELK's bird song and loveliness

the life-giving work etched upon my calloused hands

and these magical colors, glittering in the afternoon light...

I've been missing all of you...

I have been gone for too long! The Four are already up to no. 11, Kirsten's challenge: “Then swing your window open, the one with the fresh air and good eastern light and watch for wings, edges, new beginnings.”
~Monique Duval

As I read her words, this photo flashed before my eyes...
It was taken on a hike with Lily after three days of rain. And scraping paint. Discovering roof leaks. And basement snakes...
Ahh, to be outside again, absorbing the sun into my skin! The morning light and fresh air circled round us like sacred fairy dust, singing songs remembered by heart:

The Four, no. 7: Kristen's challenge

(more photos from New Orleans: Bywater)

Challenge no. 7 from The Four:

"April hath put a spirit of youth in everything."

William Shakespeare

Joanna Greeting Light

Joanna, sharing her life in New Orleans, so vibrant and full.

Her kindness, her heart, explodes into the streets, like treasure.

[You can support her amazing work at the Kid Camera Project!]

#53 In Her Hands

Beside this image I see the image of my grandma's hands, holding a purple coneflower... or maybe a rose. (she'll be 102 this July)

In our hands, we carry the legacy of those who have come before...

#50 The House with the Yellow Door

I used to drive by this house mornings on my way to work. It's been a few summers since I lived in Sheffield and that summer, I remember, was filled with cleaning houses and lots of landscaping. I passed this beautiful yellow door twice a day that summer, the house settled next to a historic New England cemetery, bikes out front, a soft breeze blowing through the screen door. It felt lived in. And warm. As though it welcomed me. Occasionally, I've wondered about the family living behind that yellow door. What smells fill their kitchen? What music wafts down their hallways and into the street? Are the rooms quiet or filled with laughter? Are cupboards empty or filled with canned corn and beef jerky?
But I like not-knowing. Because in not-knowing, there's space for the house with the yellow door to be just as I imagine it, constantly changing, the energy shifting, the colors bright. And always, it is filled with kindness and love, with care and gratitude. And as I imagine having my own home someday, its colors guide me gently, breathing hope into my dreams.

Tell me, what spaces inspire you?
And add a link if you have writing or pictures!

Joy

Joy

PAY IT FORWARD results

"A mosaic is a conversation that takes place on surfaces.

A mosaic is a conversation with light, with color, with form.

A mosaic is a conversation with time."

Terry Tempest Williams, Finding Beauty In a Broken World

Thank you everyone for participating in my PAY IT FORWARD! A few days ago I received ELK's lovely Song Bird, it's pockets filled with words to ground and to inspire... And today Braveontherocks is the recipient of my photo card sampling. May the love shine forward!