Lord Maximus and Lady Belle, Protectors of the Hollow

I take lots of photos.

 90% of the photos I take are of my sweet puppies.

90% of that 90% aren't any good at all. They're either blurry or too dark. 

(It's tough getting good pictures of two black dogs in the woods before the sun has even fully risen!)

But every once in a while, I get lucky. These are a few from this past month...

To sit with a dog on a hillside on a glorious afternoon is to be back in Eden, where doing nothing was not boring - it was peace. 

~ Milan Kundera

Where Shall We Go?

Out running errands earlier this week, 

I spotted this train, 

and, 

well, 

you know...

The only way of catching a train I ever discovered is to miss the train before.  

~G.K. Chesterton

The World is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page.  

~St. Augustine

I soon realized that no journey carries one far unless, as it extends into the world around us, it goes an equal distance into the world within.  

~Lillian Smith

(shot this one through a cyclone fence... but I think it gives it a sense of movement... can you see it?)

I travel not to go anywhere, but to go.  I travel for travel's sake.  The great affair is to move.  

~Robert Louis Stevenson

I travel a lot; I hate having my life disrupted by routine.  

~Caskie Stinnett

The most important trip you may take in life is meeting people halfway.  

~Henry Boye

This is the Hill Country Flyer, a vintage train that runs between two small towns near us. Tom and I rode it a few years ago on my birthday - I highly recommend riding an old train at least once in your life, just to experience that feel and rhythm of the tracks. Music for the soul.


Linking up with...

Character Lines

I find beauty in a woodpile.

Is that strange?

On this morning, I was drawn by the light playing on the wood

and by the different textures.

These were all sections of oak

but all so unique

worn by time and weather.

Just like us... humans... touched by time...

gathering our own textures and character lines,

becoming more unique and beautiful, inside and out, with every passing year.

It is the common wonder of all men, how among so many millions of faces, there should be none alike. 

~Thomas Brown, Religio Medici

Colors of Autumn

After a dull, dry summer that followed a near-flowerless spring, these splashes of color in the Hollow, washed in autumn's golden light...

Sigh. 

They make my soul sing.

Chrysanthemums, splashes of yellow and red to welcome my guests... courtesy of my sweet friend Rae.

A stray leaf, just a splash of orange on the dirt road.

Young acorns, splashes of green and symbols of hope for the squirrels.

From green to deep orange in the blink of an eye - no middle ground here.

Wildflowers, splashes of purple, color of spring and autumn. 

Color of transition.

Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns.

George Eliot

English novelist and journalist, 19th century

From Czechoslovakia, with love...

Czechoslovakia...
My favorite word since its melodic syllables first danced into my ears years ago.

Czech Republic... no music there.

I knew the odds were slim that my boys would be able to find something with my favorite word written on it during their travels to Prague.
They did their best, but no luck.

However, they found this and remembered my stein collection...

Beautiful, isn't it?
And I think Česká Republika has a nice ring to it.

(Thank you, boys!)

Once they returned home, I put the whole Czechoslovakia thing behind me.

And that's why this was such a surprise...

It says "Czechoslovakia".

Yeah, I know. It's hard to see.
Here, is this better?

Would you believe my brother-in-law found this on e-Bay for me, knowing the boys hadn't found anything?
So sweet and thoughtful!

Seeing my favorite word on the back is actually kind of amazing to me.

But even better is the vision I have of onyx beads draped through work-worn hands... fingers working their way from bead to bead... scarfed-head bowed over the tarnished silver crucifix... lips moving in silent prayer.

So much history. So much faith.

(Thank you, Ralph!)

Linking up with Lisa's Creative Exchange and Tones on Tuesdays.

Politics aside...

I spent a few hours near our State Capitol today.

My destination was the State Library and Archives building, a great place for research.

But this fence distracted me.

And so did the sunlight on the capitol dome.

I couldn't pass up getting a close-up of the Goddess of Liberty.

This cowboy stood nearby... I couldn't leave him out.

...or this one keeping him company, enjoying the beautiful morning.

Finally, I made it to the Library building.

But was distracted again by this wonderful scent...

...Japanese ligustrum. Heavenly!

Sam Houston reminded me to focus on my goal, and I finally made it into the library.

Thanks, Sam!


(for more on the rest of my day, click HERE.)


Linking up to Lisa's Creative Exchange