postcards

  it is a quiet afternoon at my mother's house.  we've been doing little piddling things:  i cut her little strip of a backyard, then trimmed the edges with a weeder.  strings were tied for creeping lady bankia roses.  the dogs have been walked, a lot.  it is hot here, very hot, and walks are either early in the morning or after the sun has set.  i've read, and she has read, and we watched parts of Lonesome Dove on tv last night.  this is a quiet stretch, now that things have settled in a bit.  i'm sitting at my computer, have sorted through some photographs i took a week or so ago, then thought i'd send them on their gentle way to you. i came across the four leaf clovers a week or so ago, when i flipped through some books to send on their way to the library's used bookstore.  i have to do this - like checking pants pockets before running a load of laundry - because inevitably i will have tucked something within a book's pages.  photographs, snippets of notes, a five dollar bill, a piece of lace, and dozens of lucky clovers have turned up:  flat treasure hidden for me to find again. evening light, aglow

heart rock, perched at the edge of lingering light 

 
after the rain

i love this photograph of june at home.  do you notice anything special, other than the mist that hovers over those beloved mountains?  i had stepped out onto the deck in the twilight as hundreds of lightning bugs began to rise from the grass, from between the branches of trees.  there, in the bottom right corner of the photo, is captured the magical, luminescent flight of one of the little lanterns of firefly road.

 blending into the rain, like stars in the midnight sky
revealed

 and my little friend was not shy, in the least

and down at my mother's house, sweet beauty in her placement of the simplest of things:

unpolished silver, tarnished to a lustrous iridescent sheen -

and shy willows, basking in the light of late afternoon sun.
they quietly dream.
xo

Comments

[Dinahsoar]

Wonderful postcards..yielding tranquility to the soul. Your mother's house is beautiful...simply elegant. And your mountains...I know them well...I never tire of them. They are magical. Last weekend we went to Gatlinburg hoping to see the synchronized fireflies, but there were so many people we were not allowed into the viewing area.

[hhb]

Little images of peace. The 'Pussy Willow' has made me homesick for the UK. xo

[Monica]

Loving those four leaf clovers =-)

[Martha]

My father died 25 years ago when I was 35. My 9 year-old daughter, our old dog, and I stayed with my mother for a few weeks afterward. It was summertime and very hot. My mother and I painted an old safe and made red checked curtains for its doors. Shared grief and quiet love mingled together, a cherished time remembered still.

[Tina in McLeansville]

enjoy those quiet moments. love your froggie friend! hugs to you and the mama...xoxo

[julie whitmore]

Woodrow and Gus are good companions.
Not to mention pussywillow and fireflies.
and frogs!
xx
julie

[sandra]

oooooh.
Thankyou for these views into your heart.
Take care now.

[Farmlady]

I've been thinking about you. Hope this is a healing time with your Mom.

[Sharon]

Lovely post. Thank you for sharing with us. Hugs to you and to your mom.

Sharon

[julie]

what a proud toad. he was worth getting a bit rain soaked to capture him with your camera. xx

[Katie]

what beauty...especially the firefly...and the toad :)

[Ramona]

Oh Nina! The photo of the firefly's rising path in the dusk just delights me! Thank you, dear one!

[Sharon]

~smiles~

[missy bendiksen]

and so the healing begins.......
missy

[Ann]

Your thoughts and images give me hope.

[Jaliya]

Thank you, Nina. I always enjoy a sense of deep peace whenever I visit your blog. The firefly trail is a marvel! They are such magical creatures ... There is so much beauty in the world, and your blog reminds me of this :-)

[lilylovekin]

You write so beautifully of little things-I'm glad to hear you and your mother are finding comfort in those little things.

[Linda Byrd]

Beautiful photos, especially the lightning bug's flight! And that phrase -- instead of "firefly" -- gives you away as a sister of the South! I enjoyed your post, as always.

[annar]

Lovely photos. Yes, I also cannot give a book away without leafing through to make sure I haven't forgotten some precious photo, bookmark, or notes that have been waiting for me to find them.

[Diane]

to martha: what sweet memories. i am wallowing in memories lately. they sustain me.

[susan]

Such quiet peaceful days. Just what you need. Thank you for sharing, dear Nina.

xo dusan

[Teri Mahl]

Your photos are lovely, as usual. I love the presence of what I see at your Mom's place. So simple yet so elegant. I can see where you get it! I am hoping that you and your Mom are doing well and that healing is happening. It is a rough road Nina. I am thinking of you all.

[Stefanie]

Enjoy the time with your mother - after my father died the realtionship between my mother and I deepend even more. So stay with here and let your wounds heal! And your pics are beautiful - so peaceful.

[Nilene Thompson-Finn]

Beautiful post dear one!

[Minnie]

Your work is stunning,,,a reminder that the journey is sometimes very hard, hopefully the compass of our heart will lead us, and you brought that message so beautifully.