I happened upon a gathering of daffodils a few days ago…basking in the spotlight of the afternoon sun. One was gazing into the distance as if surveying the crowd. Which, at that point, was just me and the tall arborvitaes off to the side. The trio to its right? Ready and waiting.
It was a glorious warm afternoon and the entertainment was enjoyed by all…well, just me and the arborvitaes. But well worth it as the finale ensued…
…and the spotlight moved on as the afternoon came to a close.
During one of my treasured walks in the woods last November, the darkness of night began early…as it does that time of year. It crept up on me as I searched for bits of leaves, vines and milkweed pods and whatever else was hanging on despite the cold. Many deserved a close up as the light provided center stage opportunity. Click. Click. Click.
Hold still. The light is perfect. Thank you!
Then the sun began its predictable disappearing act…leaving a bit of brightness in the sky long enough to be captured. I appreciated the opportunity…as a few minutes later it was gone. And I was on my way back home.
The theme for April is “Bright” in all its manifestations.
I enjoyed a beautiful walk in the woods a few weeks ago and noticed a bright spot in the sky. The sun was shining and reflecting off trees still waiting for leaves to bud. Even though it was only 4:20 pm, the moon showed up too…showcased in a perfect frame for capture.
Today is the last day of BeckyB’s October squares challenge. In the spirit of the theme – all things kind – I wanted to end on a kind…soothing…musical…note. Songs like There’s A Kind of Hush, One Of A Kind (Love Affair), A Sunday Kind of Love went through my mind.
I started looking through our vast LP collection in search of just the right kind of song. As I got closer to the K section searching in vain for the apparently donated Herman’s Hermits album (they are alphabetized courtesy of my musician husband), I heard a familiar voice in my head…🎶…some kind of wonderful....🎶
That’s it! It was very surreal. But I suppose not too surprising…since I only listened to this album thousands of times “back in the day.”
If, in this stressful day and age I am now hearing voices, this is a most wonderful kind.
Some Kind Of Wonderful is on Carole King’s album Music, the LP that followed her signature release of Tapestry.
The booklet inside the album listed the lyrics to every song.
I was pleasantly surprised to discover a pair of daisies still blooming…despite recent cool temperatures. An older daisy intertwined with its younger counterpart…kindly sharing the sunshine on a beautiful fall day.
I really love this photo of (as my Grammy from Tennessee would say) my kinfolk. I discovered it in a musty box full of envelopes and files labeled “old family photos” – which might as well say Treasure Chest! I was kinda excited, to say the least.
The photo was taken when my grandfather Opa was about 8 years old. There he stands front and center, squinting and smiling at the camera. His grandparents stand behind him. The others most likely include his parents (in the back), uncles and aunts, but I am not entirely sure.
I was thinking of Opa and my other grandparents when I was writing yesterday’s post about life during the COVID-19 pandemic (and wondering how they would have dealt with the same crazy issues I was). I realized that he and Oma were 12 years old when the 1918 pandemic hit. My other grandparents were 26 and 32 years old. None of them ever mentioned it, even though I imagine it must have been a traumatic time. When I was growing up, Opa was full of stories about the “old days” but surprisingly (I think now) what happened during the 1918 pandemic was not among them. I wonder why.
I recently asked my cousin if our grandmother Grammy had ever mentioned the 1918 flu epidemic. She said no, Grammy never talked about it…except for one fact…my aunt (my cousin’s mom) was born in 1918 and was infected by the virus as a baby. As a result my aunt (Grammy’s firstborn) developed lifelong cardiac problems.
My cousin also told me she has read that once the 1918 epidemic was over, nobody ever talked about it. Nobody wanted to. Perhaps it was easier that way.
one letter UP ~ diary 2.0 