beautiful moments by chance

post #361
        I have been busy this week reviewing all the photo notecards I make as I prepare for the Arts and Crafts Holiday Market coming up December 2. This process includes looking through my images so far in 2017. What did I find but some photos made in a favorite place off of Mauk Ridge where I sometimes go to make quick check to see if anything's going on. That's where this summer I found the unexpected discovery of this year's best milkweed plants. 
        At the moment my best way to share that place during another check is on this blog, so today I'm sharing from there today. Reviewing one's work can have its own reward.

the drive in

five photos, showing from left to right, sharing the misty cover

        This "stop by" took only 15 minutes, around 7 p.m., in mid May. There I was, with the quiet, the peace, and the beauty of the evening mist. I must not have had time to stay longer; indeed it was the last week of my photo class. I don't take for granted that I will discover hidden beauty, but I do try to stay open to being available for possibility. These images of mine show as much about Appalachia as those other photos that claim to define this place. 

        For the Americans who read this post, have a safe and loving Thanksgiving. For those who read this in other countries, please know that many, many, many of us here are trying to steady the current turmoil our government is fostering. We are doing this by speaking out, by voting, by persisting, and by renewing our commitments to a caring community that turns away from all the lies and greed driven nastiness. Please hold us in your hearts.

hay rows and sycamores

post #312
        After posting last week's blog, it occurred to me how much I love that sycamore tree, almost as much as I love watching hay rows take shape on their way to being bales or rounds.  So this week I am going to pull more photos of these "themes" in my work, and see what shape I can give them by doing so.

our field, in progress

a nearby field, finished

 Then here are four different perspectives from the field I showed last week:

curving rows and road

Sycamore, more or less by the season:

        Maybe more another time, but this is a busy week - still processing the election, looking forward to Thanksgiving this year with my son-in-law as super chef, and appreciating all the help I am getting while I continue to move in  --- while giving away as much stuff as possible, including books.  Today I will say just one thing about Donald Trump -- there is one lie he was making that I hope he didn't believe at all. He proclaimed that he would win, but in the meantime he made no effort whatsoever to be prepared when he did win!  If he really did think he would win, and this is the amount of preparation he made, we are in for a lot of trouble just on organization alone. Instead there's not much forethought, and certainly no creative use of America's talent in the choosing of cabinet members. I for one don't see any worth in having a cabinet of only angry white men. All those egos will be fighting for dominance, and not for us citizens. I'd shudder even if I were just a fly on the wall. 
         Sycamores and hay rows bring me a feeling of some kind of harmony in the world. I hope everyone has such delights in the world he or she notices each day.