Yesterday morning there was a lovely warmish mist about the gardens. I enjoy the landscape this time of year, as the fields have just been cut again, revealing the sensual lay of the land. Dialogues between trees are poetic. The mist is so thick . . . that while standing down in the far north field . . . I can hardly see the giant Rock Maples up by the house.
The funky Crabapple Orchard is dreaming of spring blossoms and lovely tea parties. I inhale a pleasant fragrance, while strolling under the small orchard and other Apple trees. Most of the fallen apples have been eaten but there is still a sweetness in the air.
This yearling might find a few more fallen apples along the garden floor.
My favorite native Black Cherry solidly stands before the ghostly White Birch . . . barely seen through the veil of mist.
Then further over and down east, Gray Birches and native Blueberries clump together below an old Apple carrying its burden of branches.
Blueberry tips are a beautiful rosy tone adding a splash of bold to the more muted landscape.
Shimmering bejeweled spiderwebs are draped between sleeping buds.
Queen Anne's Lace is all closed in on herself holding seeds and captive Milkweed fluff.
A Milkweed seed may have landed on the open flower and became a prisoner as the 'Queen' folded her lace tightly in.
Empty and emptying seed cases of Milkweed still stand as ornaments in a fall garden.
Mist seen in the landscape appears like a gauzy, gossamer swathe softly enveloping the plants, shrubs and trees. Upon closer observation of Milkweed seed fluff, I find hundreds of tiny drops of clear spheres clinging to the silken threads.
These native wildflower seeds will not be flying today, for they are bedecked with heavy drops of moist gems.
The saturated white silk is akin to that of snow in the subdued autumn gardens. I am thankful for the absence of the other wet stuff thus far.
A dainty Milkweed seed caught by a wild aster is equal in beauty to any crystal chandelier creation.
Most of the seeds have escaped this Milkweed pod, while precious new tenants have taken up residence. They will not reside inside for too long, and once dried out . . . the remaining seeds will fly away in a cool wistful breeze.
These are my wildflower offerings for the very gracious Gail's Wildflower Wednesday. I hope you will visit her over at Clay and Limestone . . . to see other wildflower contributions. I am also making this my Blooming Friday post, for there is a bit of white in most every photo. You can visit lovely Katarina's Roses and Stuff to see other touches of white from around the world.
I would like to end this post with a special thanks to all of my readers for your enduring support in my venture here. I am truly so thankful for you all and wish you a safe and Happy Thanksgiving! I know there are many, who do not celebrate this American holiday, but I am wishing you a lovely day as well.
Each year at this time many gather with loved ones and friends to celebrate Thanksgiving . . . it seems like the perfect time of year to discuss our true native 'wildflowers' . . . the Native Americans and what they had to endure from the Puritans . . . who were far from pure . . . from where they came . . . or here . . . where they remained. Our President did sign a Native American Apology Resolution back in December 2009, though I never heard it spoken. I am happy for this beginning in working towards a healing of our tragic and violent beginnings here on this great land. A vast land we call 'our' land . . . this land is 'your' land . . . this land is 'my' land . . . was, when the settlers arrived . . . inhabited by Native Americans, who were soon overcome and uprooted by the invasive settlers we call Pilgrims. Our Thanksgiving story is such a myth. The true story deserves to be told and retold. Here is a link you might find helpful. History can be honest and even though there is shame and heartbreak within the seeds of our country, there is always a place for healing and reparations, when we own our true story. A mist can be beautiful in a landscape, but in our history . . . lies that hide within intentionally woven veils of deception . . . must be unwoven and hung out into the full light of day and truth, to be understood . . . so that perhaps we will grow and learn not to repeat the same unjust mistakes over and over again. Peace be with you.
































55 comments:
like a caramelos blancos
Your photos are, as always, AMAZING! I admire the way you look at your garden and find beauty in everything. Impressive!
Take care,
Charlotta
Dear Carol, I so much agree with you about the Thanksgiving "myth"; as lovely as the celebration is for many families, it still is a strong reminder of the not so lovely past of this and so many other continents that the nations of Europe handled as their own. Nothing can be reversed, but it is our duty to be thoughtful of that past. I loved your pictures, especially the "milkweed candelabra"; thank you for sharing these delicate moments with us.
Hi Carol. Spectacular images!I think I need a birch tree. Every time I see yours I think how beautiful the bark is on it. The Milkweed pod images are so beautiful.
Have a wonderful and Blessed Thanksgiving!
Dear Carol, your photographs are a pure delight! i love, love, love your Milkweed seed images! Now, I go check that link.
The silhouette of the huge tree seems to symbolize strength of the earth...
The fog gives me an impression of soft space.
Thank you.
ruma
Absolutely spectacular, both the photographs and the writing. You discussion of Thanksgiving and what it means is very moving. I hope readers take this to heart. Carolyn
. . .and peace with you. Happy Thanksgiving.
It's just so peaceful and restful looking there. I would never get tired of watching the landscape change. I love that you can see the outline of each tree, beautiful.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Thank for a lovely and thought provoking post. Every photo is a masterpiece of mood. I alway appreciate this time of year as winter approaches. Your post illustrates the special beauty of the season.
I am in awe of your photography. These are some of your best. The deer was a great shot, but the milkweed was my favorite. The water beading up had so much feeling in that shot. So temporary, so delicate.
Your pictures are wonderful. Thanks for the comments. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving. jim
Your place looks like it's almost ready for snow. Milkweed seeds are lovely, and their beauty only enhanced by the water from the lowlying mist.
Re: the Thanksgiving myth -- it is amazing how even tragic events can get turned around, isn't it?
Wishing you a bountiful and wonderful Thanksgiving.
Hi Carol, nobody can put them all together, text, message and photos as profound, poetic, meaningful, kind and soulful as you. The title itself denotes profoundness difficult to fathom. I love it. thanks.
Lovely! Your pictures gave me fond memories of this day.
I love the title and this very beautiful, important and meaningful post. Your photos are just stunning! I can picture myself lost in the beauty of this sceneries.
Kram/Randi
I love these pictures, especially the one with the blackcheery and the birch almost invisible behind.
I see in the post before your paintings are in relation with your photography. The weather in your graden loooks more nice than our, right now it is snowing after a period og intense raining, all rivers are flooded and threre is water almost ewerywhere in the landscape.
kram
amazing photos! love the little blueberries and the one with the tree trunk. It must be great to see them up close.
Carol girl .. I know this post has a much deeper contribution behind it. I appreciate it when people speak openly about "history" and how full of holes ? that it is .. but for now I just want to wish you a peaceful loving day and also remark upon how gorgeous these pictures are .. I love that blueberry bush and the birch, the deer was sweet : ) and I also took pictures of my milkweed when it was frosty .. they are so interesting aren't they !
Joy : )
Dearest Carol, What eerily atmospheric images you show here. The whole landscape has become shrouded as if snuggling down for the winter and await spring.
And, your talk of spring and tea parties in the Orchard......oh how blissful that sounds. That is definitely something to lok forward to in the cold months ahead.
I do so hope that you are enjoy a Happy Thanksgiving!!
Beautifully atmospheric photos. The birch trees are beautiful.
fantastic atmospheric photos - I am forever wishing I had my camera with me when I see such views but they are generally on the way to work - must slow down!
Lovely photos of the mist Carol. Your fields looks wonderful and so very peaceful.
As Thanksgiving has passed, I am in a melancholy mood. Your post was important therapy, as I struggle for meaning of this holiday after sixty years and more. As always, evocative images. Thanks to your careful and attentive eyes, you offer scenes that would be otherwise unknown to us. I believe it is Rilke who wrote that we are here to bear witness; and you do it with absolute empathy for all living things. The captured milkweed in the Queen Anne's Lace and another snagged on the aster are metaphors for life, itself. Forgive me for such weighty comments. However heavy they seem, my consciousness is expanded through your words and images. Thank you. And may peace be with you.
Thank you so much for your comments and wishes for Thanksgiving. I hope those who celebrate the holiday had lovely family gatherings. Andrea you honor me greatly. Truly you are too kind. You all honor me with your kind and meaningful words. Eva, I agree completely about the metaphors and do not think your beautiful words heavy but more enlightening. I am very thankful to each of you for taking the time to be with me in these moments.
Amazing picktures,so beautiful.
hugs
Stunning macro shots!
Lovely, dreamy pictures! :)
Have a nice weekend!
//Anna-Karin
Your photos are all spectacular especially the milkweeds. I think there is a lot out there which are myths more than truth. It is good that these myths are pointed out.
Fantastic photo suite, beautifully presented as always Carol.
I wish you a lovely weekend/ Tyra
Your photos are absolutely stunning, Carol! And your narrative reads like poetry. I'm amazed that some of the milkweeds are still holding their seeds; you've captured them beautifully.
Exhausted after a day of getting ready for Thanksgiving, I plopped down on the couch Wednesday night too tired to change the TV channel. My husband was watching the History Channel, and the program was about the "real first Thanksgiving." It was certainly an eye-opener, not the harmonious myth we have been taught for years. Thanks for reminding us of this.
I hope you had a great Thanksgiving!
Thank you Carol for your beautiful pictures and your words of peace in your post. I enjoyed so much visit your blog
MERAVIGLIOSO:)
Your photos are lovely, very lovely. I especially like the photo of your favorite black cherry.
Like many native Virginians, I carry a chip on my shoulder about the early history of this country. Everyone seems to forget that the Pilgrims with their ideals were not the first English to arrive. The first to arrive and make a go of it were not after God, but after riches, probably a truer expression (rightly or wrongly) of what this country turned out to be. Perhaps the fact that so much ugliness occurred during those early Va. years, makes it easier to celebrate a different story.
Not matter why they arrived, where or when, and despite what happened to the people who already called this place home - I am thankful they came here and am thankful for much of what it led to.
Wow...beatiful pictures!
Have a nice weekend! / Irene
Carol thank you for the link in this post I have learnt a lot, I didn't know before that your thanksgiving was based on a myth about a first thanksgiving, I had thought it was just a bigger celebration of our Harvest festival celebrations, I've known of the bad side of the Puritians all my life since school, there was/is nothing 'pure' about them, I also knew that the whites couldn't have survived their first year in the americas without the help of Indians they later took arms against, I noticed one commenter says the europeans, I have found before that americans have this way of saying the british did it as if it had nothing to do with them conveniently forgetting that they were the british at the time and it was their ancestors not mine who did these things, thank you so much for showing me that at least one american cares, Frances
p.s. I like the photos,
Seed heads are a constant source of wonder when you look closely. I like the kink in the Black Cherry - looks like it is doing a hip shaking dance :-)
Have a great weekend.
Your photos are absolutely stunning.
Have a nice weekend
Birgitta
Your landscape looks surreal! What fabulous photos! I like the dark tree against that white. As for the milkweed, loved your amazing close-ups!
Thanks for the link...it'll be interesting to read about the myth of Thanksgiving.
Dear Carol, I think we are so lucky to have different seasons of the year. I love that at this time you are seeing different shades and textures of white, other times are for bright colours.I would rather have jewelled drops like those in your photos than real diamonds.
Re Thanksgiving, at least we are gradually rethinking history with empathy for the dispossessed.
Cheers, catmint
so many great shots I can´t comment on each. :)
Amazing photos!! You always succed to catch a magic feeling in your pictures ...
Tjingeling
Carol,
Thank you for this lovely and heartfelt post. I love that you have called native Americans, wildflowers, I can not speak for anyone else but that sure sounds like the highest compliment.
Your photos are so beautiful and you know i love the mist on the seed pods. Thank you.
beautiful and full of truth...
Truly magical!
Carol, unfortunately all history is woven with lies and self-deceptions. We rewrite history everyday. I live in a state with thousands of Native Americans. Some are sad. Some are still angry. Others have taken what they were given (after being moved and moved) and made homes here and now. I know many of them because Bill does paving work for some of the tribes.
I like to look at Thanksgiving instead as a chance to be grateful for all of my blessings. I am grateful to call you friend. Happy Thanksgiving.~~Dee
Amazing photos! Thank you for visiting my blog. Have a nice evening!/Gela
Oh wow, these are stunning! There is always something beautiful to see if you look long enough. I am completely in awe of your talent!
Wow, that is so beautiful and creepy at the same time. I almost expected some kind of monster, zombie, headless horseman to come stumbling out of the fog.
Never thought seedpods could look as beautiful as the flowers what with the spiderwebs, the droplets and the misty look background. Stunning shots Carol. Three Cheers to World Peace.
Hi Carol, you have captured such a beautiful "soft day" on your farm. Your trees are gorgeous. We have our own tragic story here in Canada, and on Van. Island there are still many reparations to be made. Fortunately, the First Nation traditions here have become "cool" with art, plants, and traditional clothing coming into the mainstream consciousness. I hope that with that will come respect for the people who were here for so many thousands of years before us new immigrants arrived.
Lovely, Carol!
Carol I thought that your monarch butterfly photos were amazing but the seedheads to the milkweed are just as beautiful especially when bedecked in those beads of moisture. I really like the little visitor to Flower Hill. He doesn't seem too shy. We have a mama and baby roe deer nearby but they don't let me get too close to them. They have been finishing off the windfall apples around here too.
We are now in the thick of winter - remember that berried treasure you liked - well it is buried in snow now lol
These misty photos are gorgeous. We had similar weather in Maine on Tuesday but luckily our plane took off to NYC anyway. You captured so much expression on the startled deer’s face and the beauty of a trapped milkweed. I liked how you tied in wildflowers to the other natives in time for Thanksgiving.
You've managed to take a gloomy day, and turn it into something lovely!
You are a true artist. Your photos are very very beautiful and creative. How I wish I can visit your farm one day! Happy Thanksgiving!
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