Friday to Tuesday in the "little house by the side of the road with a friendly welcome" where chirping morning greetings and evensong of cricket, cicada and katydid,
trees giving voice to wind, a garden to water as the sun moved East to
West, cooking, eating, napping, reading, writing and some art making in
blissful alone where I could hear my thoughts, pay attention to them or
not.
First to greet my arrival - the Frog Prince
...and this center piece
All beings are equal here
Step inside
There, Five thoughtfully typed and drawn pages with maps of the garden hose set ups, route from train to house, from house to nearby Grocery store and other shops, as well as detail on how to operate VCR, TV, A/C, and lights, plus little gifts awaited me.
Everything within speaks the history and thoughts of people who live here in the graphic language of placement, color, artifacts, art, books, furniture, materials and music.
My plan was to take a few shots each day--eclectic still life fragments, all the bird visitors, garden specifics in high Summer turning toward fall, and skies.
There, Five thoughtfully typed and drawn pages with maps of the garden hose set ups, route from train to house, from house to nearby Grocery store and other shops, as well as detail on how to operate VCR, TV, A/C, and lights, plus little gifts awaited me.
Everything within speaks the history and thoughts of people who live here in the graphic language of placement, color, artifacts, art, books, furniture, materials and music.
My plan was to take a few shots each day--eclectic still life fragments, all the bird visitors, garden specifics in high Summer turning toward fall, and skies.
Food stuff purchased for me was on the table and in the fridge. I cooked and ate, watered the garden, filled the bird feeder, watched a little TV...retired to this light filled room with its very comfortable quilt covered bed piled with pillows.
Books on Bill Rice and Julius Eastman with a wonderful essay by R. Nemo Hill were stacked on the desk for me there as well. Sleep was easy.
~*~
Day two, after breakfast and garden wander, I caught this patch on a sunlit wall,
...and played a while
Then wandered to another room and set up to take a shot when I dropped the camera! Having done so many times over the years, I was not alarmed until I tried to take another shot, then another...What's that black object lower left? Then I looked closely - shutter arms just swinging and the whole glass front piece of the lens gone! After an initial horrified reaction, I thought that maybe it could be repaired, so continued taking shots, turning the camera upward outside,
then down to catch this dappled shade. I realized the lens would just slide out and fall if I weren't really careful.
then up again...see the shutter lower left?
Uh oh! Only ONE shutter now! The other dropped off somewhere, but where? I couldn't even remember where I dropped the camera originally and searched the house and yard in vain for the tiny pieces! I took a few more shots and was careful or cropped them in the download. Here are Portraits of Julio Perea and R. Nemo Hill
Portrait of Edna Hill
Day Three I played with cloth and permanent color markers left for me, then wandered, and was glad the Gladiola decided to bloom,
and delighted by one of many Vanilla Lilies.
~*~
The 'be here now' of just a few days was a pole shift, deep within like heart surgery, and far away...a sacred retreat from my own crowded concerns. I shot this selfie on my last night.
The 'be here now' of just a few days was a pole shift, deep within like heart surgery, and far away...a sacred retreat from my own crowded concerns. I shot this selfie on my last night.
I'll return next Friday with the broken camera now held together with a large band aid and see what I can capture, meanwhile...I've faded back to my NYC apartment for two days.
More Anon...perhaps.
4 comments:
it was like going home!
what a good time out of the city!
I'm so glad you have this retreat in these furiously hot days. The city must be one giant oven.
i love anyone who would leave
5 pages, thoughtfully typed and drawn
my kind of person.
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