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Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Winter Solstice, Grays, and Retreat

The lengthening of the days begin today and I join the journey towards more light and the renewal of Spring...
Winter Solstice
I have been enjoying the grays, the short days, the few frosty frozen mornings. Above I found a whimsical sun enshrined in a sidewalk, as if to remind me, yes, there really is a sun up there hovering above the ever present gray cloud cover here in the Northwest. A reminder, perhaps, to savor this different time of year, the season of resting underground, inside... full of the promise of the new cycles and color to come. Being a painter who uses lots of color, I wonder at the beauty of simple images with that contrast and light. Almost like the difference between seeing an old black and white film versus a color one. Perhaps color can be a distraction from the subject.
Hoar Frost
We've only had a few frosty mornings, but one day I chanced to actually find hoar frost, which I read comes after especially clear cold nights. The frost was fascinating little stems shooting up everywhere on our deck railing. I remember seeing hoar frost a couple of times before. The most memorable time was at the top of Haleakala volcano very very early in the morning as we wanted to be able to greet the dawn and see the sun rise in that gorgeous place.

Retreat
More exquisite grays and blues, lots of contrast is reflected in the photo below. It is from our recent short winter retreat near a favorite Canadian lake nestled between mountains with sprinklings of snow.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Beautiful - such lovely celebration of winter. I just love that sun and think I need to make one in my garden. Hope you are well, and happy Christmas.

HeartFire said...

Ann,
So nice to hear from you again, must have esp, I was just thinking of you and your English garden yesterday... There were quite a few different lovely rock patterns inlaid all along the sidewalk that edges above the lake. When I walk with the fresh air and scenery like that, it sends me off into imagination!
Happy Christmas to you too!
Delorse

JonesMoore Studio Art, Lisa JonesMoore said...

Beautiful photos and words!

HeartFire said...

Thanks Lisa!