longing for spring

Color!  Oh how I miss you so!  In truth, I actually love the bleakness of Winter, but after so long, the eyes and brain begin to crave the stimulation that only the colors of the rainbow can bring.  I guess one of the beauties about winter months is that they make us appreciate the glory of warmer temperatures and the vibrancy of nature in bloom.  

So, with camera in tow (the new to me Pentax K1000) I headed over to the Wilmington Arboretum to see if perhaps Spring decided to send any messages about her impending arrival.  There were a few. Many of the camellias were already in full bloom, however, perhaps as a way to remind us that this is still her time, it looked as if Winter's frosty fingers could not help but to pinch their soft petals 'til they wilted just a little.  She still technically has 3 weeks to hang around you know.  

I'll be sharing my film scans from today's adventure tomorrow.  So stay tuned!  Happy week friends!

on a rainy day

The rain has been falling all day.  Through the dark morning hours and into this bleak afternoon, there are no signs that it will cease.  And that's okay.  This morning, it seemed almost impossible to get up and be motivated to do much of anything.  I scanned through films on Netflix hoping that something would rouse my mind from its slumber, but nothing.  Then I opened up the kitchen window, allowing some cool air to flow in, and that's when it hit me:  the gleeful sounds of birds singing in the distance, perhaps a tune of how much we all anticipate the arrival of Spring; the pattering of raindrops as they descend from the roof and into a small stream that now flows over the gravel in my driveway; then the hurried wind as it rushes through the pane and into this room as if to say, "Yes!  I too am here!"

Nature has a way of grounding me like nothing else.  The sacred connection between man and nature cannot be replaced or replicated by anything else.  It is pure in every sense of the word.  

And this, our life, exempt from public haunt, finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks, sermons in stones, and good in everything.  ~ William Shakespeare

And so, today, I will continue to write, read, and enjoy a nice warm cup of coffee.  Enjoy your day friends, whether it be rain or shine.