In The Shadow Of Your Smile

Brother and sister rest in sunlight and shadows. (Rhett & Scarlett)
(Click pictures for larger view)

"The present is the ever moving shadow that divides yesterday from tomorrow. In that lies hope." ~ Frank Lloyd Wright (1867-1959)

This post was supposed to be for the Saturday Photo Hunt back near the first of July, but things got really busy and haven't let up much. So, being tired of my boxes and my parent's boxes and Nyssa's boxes and moving things to the old house for garage sale and to the new house for unpacking and from and then back to William and Mary and to the garage for... well, everything, I decided to go ahead and post it. Never let a good picture go to waste, nor good quotes either.

I think the cats are going to like it here. There is always a sunbeam somewhere in the house, unless it is lightning. They will not like the thunderstorms here; unlike the cocoon of the small rooms and the den with no windows, they will not be able to hide from the flashing streaks and the thunder. Did someone ever say that golf courses seem to attract the lightning? There has probably been a study somewhere on the subject.

Norfolk Botanical Garden

"I look out the window sometimes to seek the color of the shadows and the different greens in the trees, but when I get ready to paint I just close my eyes and imagine a scene." ~ Grandma Moses

I had never thought about the color of a shadow before, but it's true. The shadows cast by the midday sun are inviting shades of blue and green and brown, all the earth tones. By contrast, the shadows born of the street lamp at night or a dim light in an old dark house are gray and black and quite creepy.

"Mine! Mine!" says the seagull.

"I have a little shadow
That goes in and out with me,
And what can be the use of him
is more than I can see."
~ Robert Louis Stevenson

In the bright sun, this (obnoxious) seagull has a distinct shadow. Sometimes I wonder if they ever think it is another bird following too close. Max barks at his shadow and chases it back and forth at times. Perhaps the gull can perceive its shadow, or not..... just a thought to keep "boxes" out of the head.

Shadows on the water....Williamsburg, College Park.

"Most people think that shadows follow, precede or surround beings or objects. The truth is that they also surround words, ideas, desires, deeds, impulses and memories." ~ Elie Wiesel, (Nobel Prize for Peace in 1986. b.1928)

What memories were being made by these shadows? A quiet day, warm but not hot... time spent gazing into the water, watching the leaves float by on the marshland, the sound of geese overhead... a rest before the whirlwind of excitement that always surrounds a college girl.

By the way, I could update on Nyssa. She spent her summer as a resident assistant at William and Mary, while she traveled almost every day to the eastern shore to work on her senior research at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science. The professor and grad students were impressed enough to let an undergraduate in their lab... labs are hallowed ground for researchers. Her work is in using sediment analysis to predict hurricane history in an effort to study the strength and cycles of storms. Of course the samples are from Antigua and the group had to make a trip down to procure more material. They found grant money for her to go with them, so she spent a glorious week hauling a boat over marshland, getting stung by bits of sea nettles (from jellyfish) and having the time of her life. They cataloged, processed and packaged the samples for shipment back to the states and she will continue her work this fall.

She also helped immensely with the clearing of the storage unit.... I could not have gotten that job done without her! Yeah! Nyssa!

"When walking through a warm and lush forest setting one's thoughts can easily take flights of fancy. It is not difficult to shed the layers of modern life and find one's more subtle or primitive beginnings. Somewhere from deep within the spirit and majesty of each single tree steps forth and at once one can find themselves transported to a world of shadow and shade." ~ Morgan La Fey

Oh! And here she is, resting in the shadows of a huge tree in the Brooklyn Botanical Garden last summer. She looks a lot cooler than she actually was.

So there are my "shadows", better really, really late than never I guess. And now...... back to the boxes. (Groan!)

(end of post)