Sparkles, Shadows and Monochrome Landscapes

This morning we went early to the grocery store. On the way home the sun shining on the frosty grass created sparkles of light everywhere as we drove by. It was as if the fairies had come and sprinkled glitter on all of the lawns in the neighborhood.

Sparkles, Shadows and Monochrome Landscapes

When I got home I tried to make an image showing our glittery backyard but none of the sparkles showed up in my photographs. It was enough, however, to have experienced seeing them.

“To the illuminated mind the whole world sparkles with light.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson

The early morning light coming in the sliding glass windows on the east side of the dining room created golden shadows on my wall this morning. I love the soft colors they create and all of the different shapes.

And now, with the frost on the grass, when I look out the windows at the pond I see an almost monochrome landscape. Still it is beautiful to me. Subtle but beautiful.

First Fall

I’m your guide here. In the evening-dark

morning streets, I point and name.

Look, the sycamores, their mottled,

paint-by-number bark. Look, the leaves

rusting and crisping at the edges.

I walk through Schiller Park with you

on my chest. Stars smolder well

into daylight. Look, the pond, the ducks,

the dogs paddling after their prized sticks.

Fall is when the only things you know

because I’ve named them

begin to end. Soon I’ll have another

season to offer you: frost soft

on the window and a porthole

sighed there, ice sleeving the bare

gray branches. The first time you see

something die, you won’t know it might

come back. I’m desperate for you

to love the world because I brought you here.

   — Maggie Smith

Being in the world and seeing its beauty in all seasons helps me weather the heavy news of recent days. What makes you sparkle inside?

Have a lovely weekend friends.

May you walk in beauty.