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

Sisters of the Sea

Don't these little girls just melt your heart?

Of dozens and dozens and dozens of photos I took during four days on the coast with my own sisters of the sea (story here)

this is my favorite.

(I'll post the rest later.)

(No, not all of them, I promise.)


Thanks for choosing this as a Post of the Week, Hilary!

Last, but not least... the Pigeon! (Georgetown Flashback #5)

I'm just returned and not quite recovered from a weekend at the coast with 15 other women and haven't yet had a chance to sort through the zillions of seagull and pelican and sunrise photos I snapped. 

In the meantime, I remembered these shots of a Georgetown pigeon I met while looking up at the glorious buildings.

He couldn't quite figure me out...

"Aren't you through snapping?"

(I know what he was thinking because I see that look on Tom's face all the time!)

Little Church on the Square (Georgetown Flashback #4)

I'm drawn to old churches, anyway, 

but this one just a few steps off of the courthouse square in Georgetown, Texas, 

especially caught my eye, 

with its castle-like, fleur-de-lis tipped architecture. 

  

But what I loved most about it (as you'll see) 

were the windows, the clapboard siding, 

and the pretty red flowers lining the ramp.

Beautiful combination, right?

It doesn't take much to make me smile.

It's now the home of the Georgetown Heritage Society. 

Very fitting.