The Oak

Photo by Matthew Jamieson, source: http://jamiesongallery.com/mj.html

Live thy Life,

Young and old,

Like yon oak,

Bright in spring,

Living gold;

Summer-rich

Then; and then

Autumn-changed

Soberer-hued

Gold again.

All his leaves

Fall'n at length,

Look, he stands,

Trunk and bough

Naked strength.

-Alfred Tennyson

The Burning In My Heart: Autumn Leaves and Wild Winds

Looking at the autumn leaves blazing with fire on the trees, I can feel their light pouring into my soul and lighting me on fire from within. It's almost too much to bear to look at them for long, and yet I am a glutton for the beauty. The wind just fans the flames higher.

all photos by Grace Robert

Farewell to Summertime

"In the fields of summer, I will dance away with you..." Sirenia, "Glades of Summer"

This has been a beautiful summer. I have swum, explored, gardened, and dreamed. Now it's time to say goodbye and welcome fall. Here are some images from my summer.

The Dawn

The dawn is a wonderful time. The world is still and quiet, waiting for the new day to start. There are so many possibilities for what it might bring, but in the dawning one is simply content to sit and feel the peace and magic of a beauty that is thunderous in its silence.

Maxfield Parrish, Daybreak, 1922

Nelleke, Stil Leven, 2012

Maxfield Parrish, Morning, 1922

To Bad Beginnings and Happy Endings

Yesterday morning started out badly for me. Despite having aced algebra in college, I still cannot, it seems, correctly calculate the width of a matt when it comes to framing my art. Consequently, I ordered half the matting space I needed for the frames for my BFA show coming up this month, and yesterday morning I had to call the framing company bright and early hoping they hadn't already cut my frames and I could cancel my order without the restocking fee. But they had cut them. And I did have to throw a decent bit of perfectly good money out the window to cancel my order, and then reorder my frames in the correct dimensions.

Being a very frugal person, I wasn't one bit happy with myself. So I had a few sniffles, reordered my frames, and then had a few more sniffles. Until my husband called around lunch to see how my ordeal had gone, and upon hearing about it, notified me that, as it was a lovely, sunny day, we were going on a picnic to a wonderful park he had discovered along the Arkansas River. Somehow, he had hit upon the only thing that could really take my mind off my misery: a picnic in a gorgeous park on an early spring day, along the a river no less.

So I packed some soup and sandwiches and a thermos of tea, and off we went. And it was such a beautiful park! It wasn't the usual sort of park, the sort with swing sets and picnic tables in the middle of some trees. It was a little ways out of town in some steep hills covered in woods, with the river flowing lazily past. The trails were wild and rambling, and there were rocky bluffs to sit on top of and look at the river below. But best of all was the abundance of ferns and moss and lichen growing all over.

We rambled all afternoon, and then watched the sunset, which was simply exquisite. No painting can ever capture the flaming glory of a sunset. No colors are gaudy enough, vibrant enough, thrilling enough! It was just perfect. A lovely end to a bad beginning.

The Silver Light of Dawn

I ran across this painting by Dan McCaw and I was of course immediately enchanted. Have you ever seen the sun rising on a frosty morning with a week, pale glow from the cloud cover and cold air? He has captured the light perfectly in this piece.

Dan McCaw, title unknown, from his Facebook page.

Here's another morning painting by him, even titled such. I'm afraid I don't look that put together this morning... or most mornings... but the light here looks about the same. If you can't enjoy anything else in the bleak midwinter, then admire what sunlight there is and wait for me to post up pictures of MY SEEDS WHICH ARE ALREADY SPROUTING! Yes indeed, I am starting seedlings indoors and after only three days of watering and a grow light bulb, they are sprouting.

Dan McCaw,  Morning Light, http://mccawfineart.com/

I Dreamed of a White Christmas...

...and I got one! This evening it started snowing and now the world is white and glittering. I am so happy! At last I have snow.

A Walk in the Woods

Today I went for a walk in the woods on the edge of town. The park where I walked is more like a network of rough trails winding over a steep hill that is entirely wooded, and I am delighted to have discovered this spot.

I was rewarded at the end of it by a lovely sunset against the trees, with a crescent moon hanging over it.

But that wasn't the only pretty thing I saw. There was a bed of some feathery plants in the carrot family, the last of the goldenrod, and the lovely branches of the trees against the sky.

Jean Baptiste Monge: Fae on Unusual Steeds

I just discovered the art of Jean Baptiste Monge. He paints the most enchanting scenes of elves and gnomes on steeds of birds or small animals. I love his technique and composition. His style reminds me a bit of Arthur Rackham, though what illustrator of fae hasn't been influenced by Arthur Rackham.

Jean Baptiste Monge

I think the tree in this one is extremely well done. For whatever reason, trees such as this one instantly call to mind spooks and goblins, and Monge has done an excellent job of obscuring it with mist. The bent form of the woman echoes that of the tree. I wonder what she could have in that cage; perhaps some maiden or child who wasn't wary enough to escape her.

Jean Baptiste Monge

You can see more of his art at http://www.jbmonge.com/ .

The Dark Hedges in Antrim, Ireland

I ran across this photo a few weeks ago that stopped me dead in my tracks. I was held spellbound by the beautiful trees arching over the road, creating a shadowy tunnel with their black, twisting arms.

Photo by Pawel Klarecki, http://www.flickr.com/photos/33945934@N08/

 My initial reaction was that it couldn't possibly be real. I'd never seen trees create such a perfect tunnel. However, upon researching the title, "The Dark Hedges", I found that it was indeed a real place and what's more, it was in Ireland, a place that is at the top of my list to visit one day. I should have guessed that such a magical scene could only exist there.

Photo by David Patterson, http://storiesfromhome.wordpress.com/

It turns out the Dark Hedges, as they are called by the locals in County Antrim, are beech trees planted over 300 years ago to line the road leading up to Gracehill house, which was so named by James Stuart, the builder of the house, after his wife, Grace Lynd. It is said that there is a spectral Grey Lady who walks the lane, though I'm not sure if this is made up to promote tourism or is actually something the people who live in the area have observed. Although in all honesty, I think I would haunt that place too if I could. Who wouldn't?

Photo by Robert Liberace, http://www.robertliberace.com/workshopPhotos.htm

Imagine how exciting it would be to walk this lane at dusk, or how terrifying it would be to walk it some stormy night. It reminds me of Anne's Haunted Wood. It can be fun to give oneself a little scare now and then.

Hurricane Issac Rain

When the rain from Hurricane Issac came rolling through our part of the country, I was elated to finally have a good, long thunderstorm. It has been so dry here that I don't think anyone minded the rain. Thunderstorms excite and invigorate me; as a child I had to be told not to run about in the lightning and thunder, and even then I didn't listen sometimes...

Rain also inspires reflection in me. I love to curl up with a hot cup of tea and just think and look and listen to the rain, on the (now rare) occasions when I don't have anything pressing to do. Rain is soothing, relaxing, and renewing.

When the rain slowed down a bit, I ran out into the back yard to the bird bath, and found that the birds had been enjoying the rain as well; there were several tiny grey feathers floating in the bird bath. Seeing the little birds bathing in the bird bath always gives me a good laugh. They're so business-like about it, which just makes them look even more hilarious.

Oh, such a tiny little feather!

Autumn Dreaming

I am just about desperate for fall to get here. This summer in the Ozarks has been terribly dry and hot, and I am yearning for autumn storms and colors. There is nothing to compare with the snap in the air that comes with that time of year, and the exhilarating feeling of the wind rushing past, blowing one's hair about and tossing around leaves; it makes me feel as though I can fly if I only try hard enough.

photo by Tim Ernst, www.timernst.com

This photo perfectly captures the autumn glory of my neck of the woods, the Ozarks. For more gorgeous scenery, visit Tim Ernst's website.

Alphonse Mucha, Autumn, 1896, photo courtesy Wikimedia Commons

photo by Tim Ernst, www.timernst.com

John William Godward, Autumn

Gale Rainwater, Soft Autumn Hills in Ozark Mountains, gailrainwater.com

Maxfield Parrish, Morning, www.tendreams.org

Mark Karpinski,  Ozark Region of Southern Missouri, liquiddrift.com

Maxfield Parrish, Reverie, www.tendreams.org