Easter tucked in a box

Spring is here. The cool morning chill does not last long. The sun's warm rays quickly welcome the day. The young blossoms are swept in the soft winds. oh, how I could spend hours and hours capturing the changing light of the seasons.

My younger daughter also loves photography. Just the other day, she showed me an unusual image she had created in class using Photoshop, explaining her process at length, interjecting words like masking, dodging, burning - words reminiscent of my college years at the San Francisco Art Institute where I would hide in the darkroom for hours exposing light to negatives to paper - the old fashioned way if you will - with my hand shielding the light from the paper or giving it an extra burst of exposure for added effect. I also loved finding the right chemical balance for a 'sepia' effect - that monochrome vintage mood of days gone by. 

Today, modern technology has removed the darkroom from my world, but I still long for those nostalgic effects. Be it that the Easter holiday usually lives in pastel shades; I found myself envisioning the handful of  vignettes I had set up around my home, etched in hues of olden times. I wanted to imagine that they were not just about a fleeting week of joys and symbolic festivities. This is what I saw.

I want to print these images and tuck them in a little beat up tin box, then wrap the whole thing in a frayed satin ribbon - and place it in yet another vignette around the house, to be rediscovered at random times of the year - to be cherished - maybe next month, maybe next spring. 

In closing I am drawn once again to Rainer Maria Rilke, the German poet~

Harshness gone. All at once caring spreads over

the naked gray of the meadows.

Tiny rivulets sing in different voices. 

A softness, as if from somewhere,

is touching the earth. Paths appear across the land and beckon…

Springtime blessings… they are always good for the soul don't you think? Enjoy, Adeline 

A gift of Spring ~ A Happy Easter

Outside in the front garden, the wisteria is in full bloom with its periwinkle blossoms drooping lazily, soon to be swept away by late afternoon winds. Dainty purple flowers dot the surface of  the rosemary plants while the tulips in full bloom on the back deck welcome the morning sun.

The sweet temptations and the soft pastels of Easter are here as well, with my younger daughter clearly reminding me that last year she was away camping when the Easter Bunny came through town. In her honor this year, I have captured Easter vignettes around the house: you will find hand-blown glass and hand-painted eggs from places near and far - including my own feeble attempt at Ukrainian egg design; traditional French 'dragées' - those irresistible candy coated almonds with that perfect crunch - too pretty to be eaten truly; outlandish floral crowns and hats; and a few Victorian inspired springtime treasures. 

I think I will let them all linger around well into April ~ and I believe even the Easter Bunny will stay a while, and be tempted to read the beautiful words of the poet Rainer Maria Rilke. I found this excerpt from his poem "Spring!" to be just so... read on.

"Spring!" - Sonnets to Orpheus I,21 - by Rainer Maria Rilke

Earth, school is out now. You're free

to play with the children. We'll catch you,

joyous Earth. The happiest will catch you!

All that the teacher taught her - the many thoughts

pressed now into roots and long 

tough stems: She sings! She sings!

A Happy Easter ~ A Happy Spring ~ A Happy Daughter... I know this must be good for the soul...

Stillness Speak

There is a marina just a short walking distance from my home. I know I could look up and notice the boats and yachts with their majestic and eclectic names, but it is the water they stand on that speaks to me. It is the warm light caressing this water that speaks to me. It speaks of quiet; it speaks of glimmering light streams, of ripples gracefully dancing in slow motion in the fading twilight of another day; it speaks of stillness I seek. It speaks to me. 

I recently read the poem "May what I do flow from me" by Rainer Maria Rilke. Perfect for my mood... Perfect for this post... do read it; it is at the end of the photos.

May what I do flow from me ~ by German poet Rainer Maria Rilke

May what I do flow from me like a river,
no forcing, and no holding back,
the way it is with children.

Then in these swelling and ebbing currents,
these deepening tides moving out, returning,
I will sing you as no one ever has,
streaming through widening channels into the open sea.
                                                                            ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Stillness speaks ~ it is a new day ~ there is a blessing within my reach ~ ahhh... it is good for the soul... Adeline