Silent Sunday: December 1

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“It is December,

and nobody asked if I was ready.”

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Sarah Kay

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“I followed the footprints

until they stopped in front of a very old mysterious tree

– a grandfather tree”

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James Barbato

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“Find the sweetness in this holiday season.

Embrace the endless love that surrounds you.”

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Amy Leigh Mercree

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“A gift for the holidays?

A holiday is a gift in itself.”

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Ljupka Cvetanova

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“I heard a bird sing in the dark of December.

A magical thing. And sweet to remember.

We are nearer to Spring than we were in September.

I heard a bird sing in the dark of December.”

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Oliver Herford

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“Now is the time of fresh starts.

This is the season that makes everything new.

There is a longstanding rumor that Spring is the time of renewal….

Spring is too busy, too full of itself, too much like a 20-year-old

to be the best time for reflection, re-grouping, and starting fresh.

For that you need December. …

December has the clarity, the simplicity,

and the silence you need

for the best FRESH START of your life.”

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Vivian Swift

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Photos by Woodland Gnome

the orchid tree can be found at The Great Big Greenhouse

at Huguenot and Robious Roads, Chesterfield County VA

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“From a little spark may burst a flame.”
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Dante Alighieri

 

Sunday Dinner: Ever Turning

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“There’s magic, positive magic,

in such phrases as: “I may be wrong.

I frequently am. Let’s examine the facts.”

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Dale Carnegie

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“Everyone thinks of changing the world,

but no one thinks of changing himself.”

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Leo Tolstoy

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“Once time is lost, it can never be earned by any means”

“Time never stops for anybody

and never shows kindness to anyone”

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Sunday Adelaja

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“You couldn’t erase the past.

You couldn’t even change it.

But sometimes life offered you

the opportunity to put it right.”

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Ann Brashares

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“There are times when the world is rearranging itself,

and at times like that,

the right words can change the world.”

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Orson Scott Card

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“The strangeness of Time.

Not in its passing, which can seem infinite,

like a tunnel whose end you can’t see,

whose beginning you’ve forgotten,

but in the sudden realization that something finite,

has passed, and is irretrievable.”

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Joyce Carol Oates

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Photos by Woodland Gnome 2018

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“I change the world,

the world changes me.”

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Libba Bray

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Sunday Dinner: Illumined

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“The sun rises each morning to shed light

on the things we may have overlooked

the day before.”

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Tyler J. Hebert

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“Grace is darkness and light,

peacefully co-existing, as illumination.”

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Jaeda DeWalt

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Even plants know to lean toward the light.”

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Meredith Zelman Narissi

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“…the basic stuff of the universe, at its core,

is looking like a kind of pure energy

that is malleable to human intention and expectation

in a way that defies our old mechanistic model of the universe-

-as though our expectation itself causes our energy to flow

out into the world and affect other energy systems.”

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James Redfield

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“One passionate heart can brighten the world.

From person to person the chain reaction burns through us —

setting heart to heart ablaze,

and lighting the way for us all!”

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Bryant McGill

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“Here’s to the bridge-builders, the hand-holders,

the light-bringers, those extraordinary souls

wrapped in ordinary lives who quietly weave

threads of humanity into an inhumane world.

They are the unsung heroes in a world at war with itself.

They are the whisperers of hope that peace is possible.

Look for them in this present darkness.

Light your candle with their flame. And then go.

Build bridges. Hold hands. Bring light to a dark and desperate world.

Be the hero you are looking for.

Peace is possible. It begins with us.”

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L.R. Knost

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Photos by Woodland Gnome 2018

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Sunday Dinner: Tranquility

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“Quiet is peace. Tranquility.

Quiet is turning down the volume knob on life.

Silence is pushing the off button.

Shutting it down. All of it.”

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Khaled Hosseini

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“It is in your power to withdraw yourself whenever you desire.

Perfect tranquility within

consists in the good ordering of the mind,

the realm of your own.”

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Marcus Aurelius

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“Our life depends on the kind of thoughts we nurture.

If our thoughts are peaceful, calm,

meek, and kind; then that is what our life is like.

If our attention is turned

to the circumstances in which we live,

we are drawn into a whirlpool of thoughts

and can have neither peace

nor tranquility.”

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Thaddeus of Vitovnica

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“Sometimes you just have to find something

to keep your body grounded,

your mind flexible, and your heart open.”

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Imania Margria

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Photos by Woodland Gnome 2018

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“Peace is not the absence of chaos.

It is the presence of tranquility and joy

in the midst of chaos.”

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Debasish Mridha

Sunday Dinner: Courage

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“We believe in ordinary acts of bravery,

in the courage that drives one person

to stand up for another.”

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Veronica Roth

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“Your strength doesn’t come from winning.

It comes from struggles and hardship. 

Everything that you go through

prepares you for the next level.”

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Germany Kent

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“I love to walk.

Walking is a spiritual journey

and a reflection of living.

Each of us must determine which path to take

and how far to walk;

we must find our own way,

what is right for one may not be for another. ”

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Edie Littlefield Sundby

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“I am the bended, but not broken.

I am the power of the thunderstorm.

I am the beauty in the beast.

I am the strength in weakness.

I am the confidence in the midst of doubt.

I am Her!”

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Kierra C.T. Banks

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“I know that the future seems hard and scary,

but it will get better, I promise.

It’s time for you to move on.

Get going.”

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Asper Blurry

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Photos by Woodland Gnome 2018

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Sunday Dinner: Retrospective

January 2017, Jones Millpond

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“That’s what pictures are for, after all:

to stand in place of the things that weren’t left behind,

to bear witness to people and places and things

that might otherwise go unnoticed.”

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John Darnielle

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February 2017 Powhatan Creek

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“In retrospect,

we can only be thankful

to all the mistakes that we made

and to all the lessons

that we learned from them!”

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Avijeet Das

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March 2017 James River at Black Point

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“The Naga laughed softly, ‘There’s a thin line

that separates courage

from stupidity.  And that line

is only visible in retrospect, my friend.

If I’m successful,  people will call me brave.

If I fail, I will be called foolish.

Let me do what I think is right.

I’ll leave the verdict to the future.”

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Amish Tripathi

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April 2017 York River

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“It is a simple

but sometimes forgotten truth

that the greatest enemy

to present joy and high hopes

is the cultivation

of retrospective bitterness.”

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Robert Menzies

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May 2017 Jones Millpond

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“Remembrance of things past

is not necessarily

the remembrance of things as they were.”

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Marcel Proust

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June 2017

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“Memory believes before knowing remembers.

Believes longer than recollects,

longer than knowing even wonders.”

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William Faulkner

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August 2017 Powhatan Creek

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“Remember your connection with the cosmos.

Remember your connection with the infinity

and that remembrance

will give you the freedom.”

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Amit Ray

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September 2017, a waterway on Jamestown Island

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Photos by Woodland Gnome 2017

Wishing you happiness, prosperity, good health and good gardening in 2018!

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October 2017 The ‘D’ River empties into the Pacific Ocean

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“Photography is never real,

it’s merely one of many ways

of telling the truth.”

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John Thai

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November 2017

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“Ever poised on that cusp

between past and future,

we tie memories to souvenirs

like string to trees along life’s path,

marking the trail

in case we lose ourselves

around a bend of tomorrow’s road.”

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Susan Lendroth

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December 2017

 

Sunday Dinner: In Peace

Christmas Eve morning in our garden

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“In the end, only three things matter:

how much you loved,

how gently you lived,

and how gracefully you let go of things

not meant for you.”

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Gautama Buddha

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“There is no path to happiness: happiness is the path.”

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Gautama Buddha

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“The day the power of love

overrules the love of power,

the world will know peace.”

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Mahatma Gandhi

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“Truth is the same always.

Whoever ponders it

will get the same answer.

Buddha got it.

Patanjali got it.

Jesus got it.

Mohammed got it.

The answer is the same,

but the method of working it out

may vary this way or that.”

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Swami Satchidananda

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“You are the community now.

Be a lamp for yourselves.

Be your own refuge.

Seek for no other.

All things must pass.

Strive on diligently.

Don’t give up.”

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Gautama Buddha

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Photos by Woodland Gnome 2017

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“As you walk and eat and travel,

be where you are.

Otherwise you will miss most of your life.”

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Gautama Buddha

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“For the good of the many,

for the happiness of the many,

out of compassion for the world.”

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Gautama Buddha

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Solstice Sunset

Powhatan Creek at sunset on Winter Solstice.

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Today we celebrate the Winter Solstice, that time of year when days are short and nights are long.  Our day in Williamsburg, Virginia, began at 7:17 AM with sunrise, and ended at 4:53 PM as the sun set.  Our day was nine hours and 36 minutes long today.

But, as I look at a table of sunrise and sunset times, I notice that yesterday, and everyday since last Sunday, has been exactly the same length.  The difference is that the sunrise was a minute or two later, but so was the sunset!  In fact,  our earliest sunset of the year, at 4:49 PM, occurred on December 2 this year.  The sun has been setting a minute or two later each day since the 12th, when sunset occurred at 4:50 PM.

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Sunrise continues to come a bit later each day.  Today the sun rose at 7:17, but by Saturday it will rise at 7:18, and on Christmas Monday it  won’t appear until 7:19 AM.  The sun will continue rising a bit later each morning until December 31,  when it rises at 7:21 AM.

It isn’t until the 13th of January that the rising sun reverses itself and comes up a minute earlier, at 7:20.  By January 13, the day will have grown to nine hours and 50 minutes, as the sun is setting at 4:50 once again.

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Each day between now, and December 27, will continue on at exactly nine hours and 36 minutes.  That means that we will have a run of 11 days of ‘the shortest day of the year,’ of only nine hours and 36 minutes of daylight.  As the sun sets a minute later, so the sun also rises a minute later, in perfect choreography, until December 28, when the day grows by a minute to nine hours and 37 minutes at last.  On New Year’s Day, our daylight will have grown to nine hours and 38 minutes, with sunrise at seven 21 and sunset at 4:59.

Perhaps this very long run of short days and worsening weather is why we need the brightness of the  holidays to cheer our souls and help us through this extended period of darkness.  I feel grateful for every light display I see along the way, as darkness gathers in late afternoon, and the wind bites with cold.

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I relish these early evenings, too.  Watching the sky turn bright with sunset color, and seeing our beautiful trees silhouetted against the deepening sky is a breathtakingly beautiful way to end our day.  Except it isn’t the end of the day, is it?

The early sunset may send us indoors, but we enjoy the long, quiet winter evenings together.  We may hear the owls calling to one another in the ravine.  I make tea, fix snacks, and work on holiday chores.   I paint and sculpt, read and crochet.  It may be long past midnight before I give up the day for sleep, knowing that morning will dawn quite late on the morrow!

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We are in the darkest part of the year: Yule.  And that has been amplified this week with the new moon on Monday.  Settling comfortably into darkness, we gather with friends and loved ones, forming our intentions and making our wishes in anticipation of the year’s turning and return of longer days of sunlight.

Some light a Yule log and keep it burning until the days grow longer once again.  Some light candles to warm winter’s long nights, or light lamps.  Here, we string Christmas lights and enjoy their nightly glow.  We keep them up and burning deep into January, when we can feel the year has turned and days have grown longer once again.

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Tonight, we went out to watch the Solstice sunset.  We left soon after four, camera in hand, and enjoyed a beautiful late afternoon drive on the Colonial Parkway.  We were driving west towards Jamestown, and the sun was brightly blazing even as it dipped towards the horizon before us.  I had to wear my shades and still shield my eyes against its intensity.

We may have made a detour…. there may have been mint ice cream involved…

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Suffice it to say, we were running a bit close when we headed back to the Parkway to photograph the setting sun.  Seconds count, and that fiery orb had already dipped below the James River before we were in position.  But the sky was still ablaze, and the new moon hanging in a pristine sky, growing brighter with each passing minute.

Winter Solstice is one of my favorite days of the year.  We have celebrated this day since my own little one was tiny, with special food, and gifts, and music and merry-making.  It marks the passage from weeks of preparation to conscious celebration of the waning of one year and fresh beginnings of the next.  I envy friends born on this special day, and always keep it as the beginning of our Christmas celebrations.

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My mind turns to The Holly King of legend, who shines brightly in our barren, wintery woods.  Aglow in bright red berries, hollies shine through mist and snow and gloomy winter days.  Winter is their prime time, when the oaks and other hardwoods have gone dormant and dropped their leaves.

I wish you a happy Solstice and a Merry Yule.

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These are special days, and I hope you keep them well.  With love shining brightly in our hearts, we journey through these last days of 2017 and find our way into a new solar year.  May peace and happiness journey with you, and may 2018 offer you fresh possibilities, new opportunities and abundant joy.

Woodland Gnome 2017

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The James River

Winter Storm

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A winter storm blankets the East Coast of the United States today from the Gulf to New England.  After a mostly balmy fall, we are a bit surprised by this early snow.

Thus far, we’ve been to the east of the rain snow line, which means we woke up this morning to a light slush gathered on the porch furniture and on our cars; but otherwise, cold rain.   Friends and family living west of us woke up to ice and inches of snow, with more still falling today.

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It is a good day to remain indoors, keeping an eye on the birds and the garden from the windows.  All of this wet will freeze this evening as temperatures dip below freezing.

I brought in a few of the last hold-outs of potted plants before dusk yesterday.  I found a few more inches here and there for pots, and dug up a couple of little hold-out Begonias.  I finally simply tugged a still blooming geranium out of its pot by the kitchen door.  It came with enough roots that I tucked it into a pot with a little soil, wished it well, and wedged  it in with other potted geraniums in our garage.

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Still blooming by the kitchen door yesterday…

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There is nothing like impending ice and snow to force those last decisions about which plants can come indoors to survive the winter.

But as the weather turns outdoors, a friend and I are finishing up our collaboration on ‘fairy tree’ vignettes.  While I have sculpted and mounted the trees, she has been sculpting and placing a fascinating collection of miniatures to bring our vignettes to life.

She has already created a flock of cardinals and parliament of owls.  Male and female, she has sculpted and painted them.

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In addition to the birds, she has also sculpted a sleeping cat, ice skates, boots, rabbits, gnomes, mushrooms and assorted gardening tools.  It is quite amazing to see how the little vignettes come to life under her meticulous care and vibrant imagination.  I spent a happy afternoon with her this week exploring the finished vignettes, and collaborating on those still in progress.

I expect to photograph all of the finished vignettes on Monday afternoon, as we place them as centerpieces for a luncheon coming this week.

This gnarly weather simply must turn mild again for the early part of the week, so that we can enjoy this long anticipated gathering of friends!

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Today I’m showing you the last in this series of trees, finished earlier this week.  Imagine it as it is now with bright red cardinals feeding on the ground, and the boss cardinal keeping watch over them from his perch in the tree.

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I hope our friends will enjoy seeing these fairy trees surrounded with ‘wildlife’;  and that you will, too, when I post the photos next week.

As our garden slips into its winter slumber, the mediums of metal, stone and clay feel appropriate for capturing the illusion of an enchanted forest, so we can enjoy it in comfort-  indoors.

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The stones used to mount the fairy trees have a special meaning for me. My daughter and I picked them up while walking together along the beaches of her coastal Oregon town, back in October.   I brought them home with this project in mind.   She kept the rest of our collection to use in her own garden.   The crystals are specially treated quartz.   The trees are made from a variety of wires of different gauges and metal content.

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Woodland Gnome 2017

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Sunday Dinner: Faith

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“All the world is made of faith,

and trust, and pixie dust.”

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J.M. Barrie

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“All I have seen

teaches me to trust the Creator

for all I have not seen.”

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Ralph Waldo Emerson

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“I have come to accept the feeling

of not knowing where I am going.

And I have trained myself to love it.

Because it is only when we are suspended in mid-air

with no landing in sight,

that we force our wings to unravel

and alas begin our flight.

And as we fly,

we still may not know where we are going to.

But the miracle is in the unfolding of the wings.

You may not know where you’re going,

but you know that so long as you spread your wings,

the winds will carry you.”

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C. JoyBell

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“And still, after all this time,
The sun never says to the earth,
“You owe Me.”

Look what happens with
A love like that,
It lights the Whole Sky.”

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Hafez

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“Do not be afraid; our fate
Cannot be taken from us; it is a gift.”

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Dante Alighieri

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Woodland Gnome 2017

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“None of us knows what might happen

even the next minute,

yet still we go forward.

Because we trust.

Because we have Faith.”

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Paulo Coelho

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