Pokeweed raceme stalk, upon which
the white flowers, and later
the purple berries, grow.
Myladylove says I'm too easily distracted by beauty.
River rock near cottage.
Generally when she says this, she does so with an affectionate, if somewhat resigned, smile. The comment usually comes when we're working on some small task outside, and I've just happened to glance around and noticed a bird or bug, or a particular cast of fleeting light upon a bit of riverside landscape…and decide to make a dash for the camera.
Hummingbird on canna lily.
(Pix NOT take through window this time!)
Should her long-suffering indulgence of my photo-fickle ways have temporarily worn a bit thin—sometimes the case when we've been working together several hours and I've spotted a dozen or more subjects requiring my immediate photographic attention—I can usually get back in her good graces by replying: "I am indeed distracted by beauty…which is why I'm always so attracted to you!"
Cabbage white butterfly on sedum.
(Yes, she knows what I'm glibly up to—but I say it with such honest sincerity that she just can't help succumbing. The truth shall set you free…)
Some sort of bee or fly on a fancy marigold.
(No, I didn't key it down…my laziness gene got the better of me.)
Yard chores and a graveled walkway were the outdoor work which occupied us throughout most of the recent extended holiday weekend and Myladylove's subsequent day off. For once the weather cooperated; fair skies and cooler temperatures made our sweat-heavy labor, uh, less sweatily laborious. That same nice weather also provided ample impromptu photo ops…and concurrently revealed the genuine depth of Myladylove's devotion to her hopelessly incorrigible mate.
Young goldfinch on another canna lily…
again, shot plein-air and
not poached through the study window.
What you see here are the results of those recent brief desertions.
Silver-spotted skipper, looking a bit worse for wear,
on another sedum.
Beauty is always worth pausing to savor…
Bluejay feather on hackberry stump.
…even Myladylove agrees!
Morning glories by the back door.
———————
14 comments:
These, as are all of you photos, are simply stunning. I thoroughly enjoyed the running dialogue.
You are incorrigible, indeed, Grizz, and may you always remain so. My guess is that your Ladylove knows this and wouldn't change a thing. It's important, however, that you continue to remind her at every chance that your addiction to beauty explains at least part of your relationship with her.
I love this little potpourri of photos, especially the bluejay feather on the stump. With so much beauty around every corner, how do we ever get anything done? It may be that paying attention, coupled with taking photos of what we are paying attention to, is the very thing we are supposed to be doing. Long after the driveways have eroded, the stones have fallen, and the roof shingles have been cast to the wind, we will remember the the little messengers who came into our lives daily, leaving us with color, dance, song, and wonder.
Keep on clicking, my friend, and keep on reminding your Ladylove that nothing can distract you from her.
Deus…
First off, thank you for the nice words re. photos and piece.
Second, welcome to the riverbank! Or welcome to the comments section if you've been lurking for awhile. Either way, I hope you continue to enjoy your visits.
I made a quick visit to your blog and see we share many of the same interests. BTW, those black cherry preserves look great, even if they did turn out bitter!
The hoary old romantic lines are evidently still the best, Grizzled! Or at least they seem to work for you. Directed at my own lovingpartner, however, I might just have got a raised eyebrow, a sardonic smile and an invitation to fix a piece of loose guttering!
Lovely photos!
George…
My mother would have said, matter-of-factly, that I was "set in my ways," though she might have opted for "mule-headed," instead. Either of which indicate to a degree that one is too old, too dumb, or too belligerent to change. I like the sound of "incorrigible" better, though it still means one's personal tendencies to not be able/willing to be corrected, improved, or reformed. There's an appalling lot of me in those synonyms. Myladylove does, indeed, put up with me.
Every so often I like to post a handful of photos that aren't necessarily alternate takes on a single subject, but rather connected to time or place or mood—something perhaps not immediately apparent. These were, for the most part, really just quick snaps. I think the one exception might be the rock in the river, though even there I didn't spend more than a minute or two making the pix, but did keep a careful eye on the shaded, early-morning light beforehand. For me, that photo is all about the light…as is the magenta pokeberry raceme with the morning sun causing it to glow.
BTW, that jay feather on the stump was made in situ, exactly as found—though I considered moving it an inch one way or another because it looked too perfectly centered. And I like that pix a lot, too.
I don't harbor any real notion that my photography (or writing) will endure—though I'd like to think that somewhere down the road, someone with a heart for nature and especially rivers might read an old piece, or study an old photo, and know that I tried to at least capture, in one way or another, some of the holy solace and pleasure I find in wind and sky and trees and moving water.
Yes, our houses will age and crumble…even this nearly century-old stone cottage. But I pray that long after that happens, a blue heron will still stalk its meals in the river's shallows, and folks then living will still care about the old bird's welfare. In a very fundamental way, when we pay attention to, as you say, those "little messengers who [come] into our lives daily," I think it's incumbent we subsequently try and pass their messages along.
Thank you, as always…
Solitary…
Oh, have no fear… those gutter fixing invitations are extended to me quite regularly, too. In fact the "to do" list Myladylove regularly invokes is somewhat longer than Marley's ghost's chain.
And in my defense, those "hoary old romantic lines" are effective because they're truly spoken by Myladylove's hoary old romantic.
HI GRIZZ_
your pictures thrill me, delight e and bring me such joy. :-) ANd I loved the banter bewteen you and your lady-love. And here too the weather was perfect for bring outdoors. Cool, dry, breezy.....perfect sleeping weather. :-)
Enjoy your world my friend.
Love to you always
Gail
peace, hope and healing.....
Gail…
We did have lovely weather last weekend, and it has remained all week—though things are really dry. But it's finally getting back to the point where I feel like putting in long hours outside. I just hate hot weather, and not much gets accomplished when it's 90˚F. Not by me, anyway.
Hope you're healing—or better still, all healed!—and feeling primed and sassy. At any rate, take good care of yourself—and enjoy this lead-up to autumn.
You sure have an eye for beauty Jim - that feather on wood is beautiful in its simplicity. Have missed you lately so it is good to read you again.
Weaver…
Don't know why I haven't written more lately…can't think of a single good excuse, let alone reason. It certainly wasn't because the well had temporarily gone dry, or the fun I get out of posting had begun to wane. I appreciate your nice words a lot.
That bluejay feather on the hackberry log is interesting, I think, in that so much is left to the imagination of the viewer…the scenario's how and why which created the juxtaposed image. It's a still-life with implied action and history; the imaginative detective in all of us begins to fill in the blanks.
Your words and photos revive me. I'm going out for a walk to the creek.
Wanda…
You can't beat that as a reaction to a post! Hope you have fun.
Griz
Sounds like a wonderful weekend, outdoor work in pleasant weather and time to watch some of the beauty around you. If the yard work was as productive as the photography then yourladylove has no other option than an affectionate smile.
Good to catch up with the comments here.
...Tramp
Tramp…
First off, I sincerely hope the back pain has eased off. I don't think anyone who lacks first-hand experience can truly understand its debilitating nature. I really wish you well, my friend. Take care of yourself.
It's always good to find one of your comments here, of course. And in all honesty, Myladylove and I work well together, and always enjoy each other's company…if not the task at hand. We had a good time building our walkway, though, the weather was lovely, I fixed us some great meals which we ate outside—and I got a few good photos. Probably not everyone's idea of a fun holiday. But it seems better and better every time we notice our new walkway.
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