Lighting the path to the future.... 
"We cannot hold a torch to light another's path without brightening our own." ~ Ben Sweetland
I remember being in New Year's Eve services where the congregation took small white candles held in crude paper holders to catch the hot wax drippings and formed a large chain around the sanctuary. Near midnight the organ would start to play an old hymn and we would begin to sing while the leaders in front began to light their candles. Each person received the flame and passed it on around until all were basking in the golden light. Voices raised together to ring in the New Year.
I've seen candlelight gatherings in remembrance of loved ones lost, vastly different from the joy of a new year and yet it seems even more appropriate. Sadness can become oppressive and all light seems gone from life..but the lit candle, even if only one or two, brings light back. The light dispels the darkness just enough to let us see and process our memories and remember with joy those that have left us.
This particular gathering is a tradition at William and Mary. The night before graduation the Seniors gather for humorous speeches, serious speeches, songs and a general good time... with snacks of course. They gather in front of the Wren building in cap and gown.... at the very end, the candles carried by each graduate are lit... from one to another.. they are lifted high and in one voice they sing the Alma Mater. These lights are hopeful, lights to show the way to the future as well as to remember their time spent here. I've wondered which tradition my daughter loved best at William and Mary... perhaps she'll tell me sometime. I thought this was lovely and was thrilled to have been there.
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Thursday Challenge
Autumn serenity. Williamsburg, VA.
(Click picture to enlarge) "Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves." ~ John Muir (Scottich born American naturalist, 1838 - 1914)
I have to admit that this photo is in my archives from a few years back, just unused. While many northern areas are in the full throws of Autumn color, we are simply suffering with the effects of a very hot summer and less rain in August than usually seen. And while we have the occasional colorful autumn display in one or two trees, the usual turn of events is a yellowing of the green leaves followed by drying and shriveling and browning and then a gust of wind and they fall. Two of our small, contractor-installed-at-the-building-of-the-house maple trees suffered more than the others this summer. The last week in September their leaves did the dance of capitulation and left.... one partially and the other, completely. Still, the trees in the preserve are green with a polka dot touch of gold here and there.
It has amazed me that just a 45 minute drive northwest to Williamsburg will reveal amazing color. Not just at this moment though, the height of color is a bit later in late October and early November. This was taken at a small little out of the way park... College Park. There is water and a small walking deck extending out into the waterway and a place to put in kayaks. The geese float slowly over the water as the fluffy seeds of cattails fly through the air. It is an amazingly peaceful place with smooth waters reflecting the sky and at the pinnacle of Autumn, the blazing glory of the trees. After reviewing these photos, I may have to make a special trip up to Williamsburg in a couple of weeks, just to see if the color is as magnificent this year!
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Thursday Challenge ~ "Peaceful"
Flaming red camellia..... Norfolk Botanical Garden
(Click picture to enlarge) "A flower's appeal is in its contradictions - so delicate in form yet strong in fragrance, so small in size yet big in beauty, so short in life yet long on effect." ~ Adabella Radici
The Norfolk Botanical Garden has more than 1600 camellia plants. Approximately 700 of those plants are found in the Hofheimer Camellia Garden, established in 1992 as a joint project of the Norfolk Botanical Garden and the Virginia Camellia Society. The camellia garden is beautiful in winter and early spring with colors ranging from pale white through all the shades of pink, peach, orange and this flaming red species. When other areas of the botanical garden are dormant and sleeping, the camellias are throwing a magnificent party!
Thursday Challenge topic this week... "delicate".
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Raindrops on Roses.... (Click to enlarge) "Slow buds the pink dawn like a rose
From out night's gray and cloudy sheath;
Softly and still it grows and grows,
Petal by petal, leaf by leaf."
~ Susan Coolidge
We don't have the long Christmas card winters with snow covered evergreens, brightly dressed snowmen or the diamond reflections of sun off the freshly fallen snow. In reality, we only have one or two shots a year at a REAL snow, and even then only four or five inches at most. The end of December and the month of January are two most likely snow months. This year we had a cold spell and a REAL threat of a snow event; 80% chance of three to five inches. In fact, it seemed to be such a sure thing that schools were called off ahead of time.... and then...... NOTHING! NO SNOW! Nothing but cold and wind!
This is how it goes around here.... cold, windy, gray with temperatures in the 30's one day and then.... 75 degrees and sunny the next... followed by another day of temps in the 30's and 40's. We are teased and tormented by both.... not cold enough for snow and not warm enough for a long enough period of time to work outside. Today was like that... 62 degrees but breezy. I did get the roses cut back and the root balls of the fall mums replanted from the pots into the front flower bed. Now the temperature has fallen into the 40's and the winds have turned back around to the north... and tomorrow, a high in the 40's AGAIN!
I miss the warm pink blush of the rose.... soon, very soon!
Submitted to Thursday Challenge for topic "pink".
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American goldfinch, Carduelis tristis
(Click picture for larger view) "It is the color closest to light. In its utmost purity it always implies the nature of brightness and has a cheerful, serene, gently stimulating character. Hence, experience teaches us that yellow makes a thoroughly warm and comforting impression. With yellow the eye rejoices, the heart expands, the spirit is cheered and we immediately feel warmed. Many people feel an inclination to laugh when looking through a yellow glass." ~ Johann von Goethe, Theory of Colors, 1840
I learned something this year... actually, I've learned quite a few things this year... such as, how to set a toilet, how to scrape up floor tile, how to spackle, how to prepare a concrete floor for painting, how to re-upholster chairs.. you get my drift and I am drifting.
Anyway, we've (Mom, the cats and I) been birdwatching for several years now and each spring the yellow finch (goldfinch) show up and devour several pounds of thistle seed, providing the cats with hours of intense entertainment. These birds have been greyish brown with bits of yellow shading on their heads or about the wing. At the old place in Virginia Beach, they would feed for several weeks and then disappear for the summer and make another appearance in late fall. I always wondered where they went.
Well, it seems that the Virginia Beach finch takes his summer vacation, not at the beach, but here in Chesapeake. This invites the question.. where do the Chesapeake finch spend their summers... at the beach... literally? The local Wild Birds Unlimited shared this tidbit. The more fascinating observation, however, occurred in late May... suddenly it seemed, these fairly drab and tiny birds showed up at the thistle stash sporting blindingly bright yellow feathers. This intense yellow deepened the contrast with their black wing markings. Were these different birds, perhaps from North Carolina or parts more distant? Probably not.
These yellow finch (goldfinch) are chameleons. During mating season (summer), the male's feathers change color, becoming this bright dazzling hue... break out the sunglasses! In nature, it sometimes takes a lot to snare a mate! This made me wonder.... how often or how much does the male of the human species change in order to find his mate? I decided it was a moot point.... you see, when the mating season is over, these bright little males change right back into the mousy gray-brown feather coat they had in early spring. In my experience... humans tend to do the same.
Submission for Thursday Challenge topic "yellow".
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Peace. Norfolk Botanical Garden. "Gardening is the art that uses flowers and plants as paint, and the soil and sky as canvas." ~ Elizabeth Murray
Monet's garden could not have looked or felt more peaceful than the botanical garden here in Norfolk. The mating pair of bald eagles were nesting high in the trees with three eaglets in their giant nest. The roses had not yet bloomed and the butterfly garden was just beginning to come together, but by the meandering waterway and the little bridge it was green and soft and soothing and.... peaceful. I need to take a break and go back......soon.
Submission for Thursday Challenge topic "garden". (end of post)
What happened to all the numbers?
(Click picture for larger view) "Time is the longest distance between two places." ~ Tennessee Williams
It takes about 25 - 30 minutes to travel from my parent's house to the new house.... if you go on the local roads with their 45 mph speed limits and the stop lights that seem to catch you at each main intersection. Then there is Great Bridge... if you are unfortunate to get to the bridge at the top of the hour... add an extra 10 minutes. It's a draw bridge and opens on the hour. OR you can go up Indian River Road and take Interstate 64 East, which goes west (don't ask), get off on 17 South which does go south actually, and drive on a two lane road with a 55 mph speed limit and get there in 10 to 15 minutes... this depending on the time of day, the day of the week and again... if the bridge is open. I haven't figured out what time it opens during the day yet. I know it is a longer route on the interstate but it takes less time and when you are driving over in the dark with fireworks going off around you and police as thick as molasses on the interstate and when you are going simply because you are so tired from lifting boxes and toting things up and down stairs, that you can't remember if you closed the garage door....... then time does matter.
Submission for Thursday Challenge topic "time"... as in way past time for bed!
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So!? This is as much of a blizzard as we usually get! It was April after all!
(Click picture for larger view) "Don't knock the weather, nine-tenths of the people couldn't start a conversation if it didn't change once in a while." ~ Kin Hubbard
OK, so it was in April, but it was still Spring and the snow came down really hard.... for about an hour. There was actually a dusting on the ground that you could almost measure! This was our BIG snow for the year! Sure, it had spit some and flaked a little back in January, but only for 30 minutes or less and it didn't even manage to coat the grass blades, never mind the roadway. I'm still waiting for one of those rare twelve inch snows that close the schools and flush out the old sleds in storage. All the kids make tracks over to Mt. Trashmore, the only elevation of any significance in the area and wear the snow out!
As for this blizzard... by the time I picked my brother up from the airport and started back it was over and the sun started to peek out... in less than ten minutes you would have never known the blizzard happened. The remnants indicated a light drizzle of rain at most and by noon, that too was gone; thus verifying the old adage...If you don't like the weather, just wait ten minutes... and it will change!"
Submission to Thursday Challenge for topic "weather". (end of post)
Blue pansies. Norfolk Botanical Gardens.
(Click picture for larger view) "A certain blue enters your soul." ~ Henri Matisse
It has been hot and humid and stifling for a few days, but these baby blue pansies have that cool look for a hot summer day. A front has come through with rain and now winds from the north, so cooler temps for a few days.
We are nine days to closing on the new house. The appraisal is in, the insurance set up in the works, the business end of the loan almost done, the homeowners association papers delivered, a survey ordered and funds being transferred. I still need to do another measurement for the refrigerator and decide on a couple of models to send for Stephen's approval and Nyssa will help me did through some discounts rugs and perhaps go to an estate sale in search of temporary floor coverings for the hardwood floors. Next week I will arrange for my stuff in storage to be set up for delivery. My stomach is still in knots, this seems so surreal.
My mom is still in the hospital on high powered antibiotics, her knee and leg seem less warm, less red and less swollen. She is bored and a little blue. We should know by tomorrow or Friday whether they will have to go back in. No positive cultures, only minimal fever... both good signs. She was scheduled to get out of the nursing rehab place the day we closed on the house, but that will be pushed back now. We just have to wait and see. One day at a time.
Submission for Thursday Challenge topic "blue". (end of post)
Sunset on the James River, Virginia. "So let us welcome peaceful evening in." ~ William Cowper. English Poet (1731-1800)
This deep water river flows past Jamestown where settlers built their colony 400 years ago. While the current is strong to the ocean, its surface is usually calm, only quiet and small lapping waves at the shore. This is a wonderful place to see the majesty of nature in the sunrise or as here, the sunset and transports me back into time when life was harder, yet at the same time much more simple. This is a perfect place to meditate and search the soul."When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
when sorrows like sea billows roll;
whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say,
It is well, it is well with my soul."
~ Horatio G. Spafford
Submission for Thursday Challenge topic "peaceful". (end of post)
Yum!(Click for rabbit's eye view) "To make a good salad is to be a brilliant diplomatist - the problem is entirely the same in both cases. To know how much oil one must mix with one's vinegar." ~ Oscar Wilde (1854-1900)
Spring greens mix, young spinach, purple onion, sliced mushrooms, celery, carrots, halved grape tomatoes and shreds of mozzarella and cheddar cheese combine to make this tasty treat. Top it off with an oil and vinegar, ranch or cheesy parmesan dressing and perhaps add slices of grilled chicken breast and you have a meal....... yum! Salads are fun to photograph at our house. With five for supper, there will be five different variations. Dad is allergic to cucumbers, Mom cannot have croutons. Nyssa doesn't like onions or mushrooms and Stephen couldn't have any sliced grapes or mandarin oranges or dried cranberries on top. With salads like this our table is always festive!
Submission for Thursday Challenge topic "food". (end of post)
....for a castle in the clouds. ~ Gilbert K. Chesterton "Every time a student walks past a really urgent, expressive piece of architecture that belongs to his college, it can help reassure him that he does have that mind, does have that soul." ~ Louis Kahn
In the new dorm complex, Jamestown North and South, colonial architecture comes face to face with that of the modern era. It sounds incompatible, but it works. Sleek rounded walls mix with arches and large off angled windows pair up with rows of small classical dormer windows. Inside, each dorm room is different, some have floor to ceiling windows in their outer concave wall and interesting angles are are everywhere. Jamestown dorms are unique and modern, yet reflect the colonial spirit, right down to the cane back rocking chairs that line the long arched and columned porch. I wonder if there should be a new name for this blending?
Submission for Thursday Challenge topic "architecture". (end of post)
A true gaggle of geese!
(Click for larger view) "Much outcry, little outcome." ~ Aesop
This picture cracked me up. The geese were gathered around in a group and honking at one another and whoever else would listen. The noise was deafening and persistent. Each goose trying to out do the other. My favorite honker is at the far right... proving the point that a goose can run and honk at the same time. Now! Where's the food?
Submission for Thursday's Challenge topic "noisy". (end of post)
..... And they only fell out once!
(Click picture for larger view) "Love bravely, live bravely, be courageous, there's really nothing to lose. There's no wrong you can't make right again, so be kinder to yourself, you know, have fun, take chances. There's no bounds." ~ Jewel Kilcher
Take a hot day late in the month of May, add sunshine, a breeze, water, a pontoon boat, a huge blow-up float and kids. What do you have? The perfect recipe for fun. These two little boys were the daredevils... their parents may have held tight to the side grips on their ride, but not these two... they ride the choppy wake with arms raised high over their heads. What fun! Not my idea of fun, but obviously theirs. Give me the camera, a long lens and solid footing on shore... I'll stick to that.
Submission for Thursday Challenge topic "fun". (end of post)
"Two birds disputed about a kernel, when a third swooped down and carried it off." ~ Proverb (Congo)
Seagulls fight over crumbs of bread.
(Click picture for larger view) "Splendid wildlife sights are a reminder that, while the gardens derives much of its beauty through our own endeavor and creativity, nature is still the world's most abundant and talented artist." ~ Jane Camp
Caught in a mid-air "dogfight", these two gulls spar over a piece of bread; their frenzied dance, with wings flapping will be for naught. The single slice of bread draws a crowd of twenty birds withing seconds; a mixture of geese, ducks, starlings and the ever present choir of seagulls; the cacophony of honks, quacks and screams of "mine, mine" are almost deafening. A moment after this picture was taken, the bread broke and the largest pieces fell into the water. The other birds commenced their feeding frenzy and these two were left hovering with only the tiniest of crumbs left in their greedy beaks. I always feel for the geese and the ducks... they don't have the fastest reflexes and more often than not, get food only after the gull's attention is drawn across the lake by someone else with a bag of bread. What a perfect object lesson for a child.... the pitfalls of greed!
Submission for Thursday Challenge topic "wildlife". (end of post)
Circles in a row. Wrought iron fence.
(Click picture for larger view) "So then time has two aspects. There is the arrow, the running river, without which there is no change, no progress, or direction, or creation. And there is the circle or the cycle, without which there is chaos, meaningless succession of instants, a world without clocks or seasons or promises."
~ Ursula K. Le Guin (1929 - ), "The Dispossessed"
It was my father's birthday and we went to lunch at Erma & Max's. This fence surrounded the patio dining area, closed for the winter and I thought the black circles or wrought iron and shadows of the bars made a great still life. Sunny days in February are not always easy to come by after all.
Submission to Thursday Challenge topic "circle". (end of post)
Colorful patterns in constant motion.
(Click picture for larger view) "At the height of laughter, the universe is flung into a kaleidoscope of new possibilities." ~ Jean Houston
Every second a different pattern, different colors, always in motion and different... no two designs alike; colors glow through Nyssa's kaleidoscope. Each day is a new sunrise with endless possibilities, each different, no two days the same; and life moves on. It's Spring, that time of year when nature shows off its most glorious color. In our area the redbud and cherry trees are in bloom in vibrant pinks and burgundy; the dogwood in white and pink are filling in and the bright yellow forsythia are hanging in there. Our lilac is still just a promise, but the azaleas in white, rose, and red are already attracting the first bumblebees of the season. Vinca and wild violets grow amid the left over dead leaves with purple and blue flowers popping to life. And I am planting... lilies, dahlias, carnations, sunflowers, columbine... and wildflowers. Soon we will have a kaleidoscope of color in our garden, always different, always beautiful.
Submission for Thursday Challenge topic "colorful". (end of post)
Mr. Robin comes to visit.
(Click picture to enlarge) Spring Is Coming
March has warmed the icy blasts,
And the wintertime is past.
Now we hear the robins sing-
Happy harbingers of spring.
Little buds will wake from sleep,
From the ground their faces peep.
Do you know why all the fun?
Spring is coming on the run.
~ Dorothy Hevener
In some areas the robin is the last bird to leave in the fall and the first to arrive in spring. Here the robins are at home all year, but in spring their numbers are amazing. The other evening my mom and I saw a flock of almost fifty robins on a freshly mowed lawn. All were doing the robin dance... hop..hop..hop... tilt the head.... stab the ground... swallow the worm. Today this fellow showed up in the flower bed after I had pulled all the weeds and raked the topsoil. I did all the work; he reaped the reward. I didn't mind, how could you when the air is alive with a symphony of songs. It really is Spring.
I almost used the crocus entry for Thurday's Challenge as well. But decided this would be another colorful take on "spring". (end of post)
Green: a blackboard for Spring.
(Click picture for larger view) "A little Madness in the Spring
Is wholesome even for the King,
But God be with the Clown,
Who ponders this tremendous scene--
This whole experiment in green,
As if it were his own!"
~ Emily Dickinson, "No. 1333"
Winter's gray is slowly replaced with the vibrant colors of Spring; the yellow daffodil, blue periwinkle, pink hyacinth, purple crocus, red tulip. All the colors of the rainbow and more. And the backdrop for this wild Spring painting? Green. Forest, emerald, grass, mint, chartreuse, and fern green; what flower does NOT look good on a slate of soft, clean, luscious green? Who does not look forward to the exquisite smell of freshly cut green grass or the rustling of green leaves in the warm breeze? There would be no Spring, without "green".
Submission for Thursday Challenge topic "green". (end of post)
