white

these are white feathers. i’m hardly sure what that means anymore, after removing the “white” paint from my walls this fall, and replacing it with paint that was so much whiter it made the previous paint look a deep buff-peach. these feathers happened to catch some late afternoon light in mid-november in minnesota. at the same time of year in southern france they would have had a faint magenta hue. north of here, perhaps a bit more blue. i’m beginning to think white feathers have terroir, they are so susceptible to local conditions.

white mallard feathers

war weary

i only remembered that it was veterans day last night when i pulled up this photo. it looks so sort of proud but also so tired, with what could very well be bullet holes up high near its shoulders. i did not intend this as a tribute, but i’m letting it stand as such, with hopes that that our soldiers, both healthy and not,  feel they are getting what they need from us,  and with hopes that we will need less sacrifice from them someday soon.

basswood leaf in november

you take what comes your way

yes, i really did ask my husband  to hold a piece of black paper up to the outside of our car windshield at 7 AM on a cold november morning, as i sat in the driver’s seat and photographed the frost pattern, and our underdressed son shivered in the cold, waiting to get taken to school. sorry, son. when nature gives you a surreal woodcut pattern on the window of your prius, you take it. go put on a coat. i’m almost done.

morning frost on the windshield

slowing down

our household is coming to the end of a two month busy stretch. it was self induced, but we are all glad to be done. we are all  in desperate need of long, quiet evening in front of the fire with stacks of books, hot tea, and foot rubs. i’ve started reading again about wabi-sabi, the japanese philosophy and aesthetic of imperfect beauty and simplicity. it’s reminding me how i often prefer the simplest STILL compositions. today i tried to put my recent learning into practice: a single downy white feather, probably from the flank of a humble waterfowl.

white feather (maybe mallard)

inspo

i keep a file of images i love that i can refer to when i feel as if my own inspiration is running dry. in this case a rough oblong shape of white cedar sprays in my inspo file got me through the day, although i have to say in this case that my inspo remains more inspiring than what it inspired. oh well. tomorrow waits.

cedar tips (Thuja occidentalis)