Moments of Beauty

Beauty is unbearable, drives us to despair,
offering us for a minute the glimpse of an eternity
that we should like to stretch out over the whole of time.
~ Albert Camus
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There is something special about each of these photographs which captures
my imagination. It is as if light conspired with time to create natural beauty
lasting only a moment, yet I was lucky enough to be in the right place
at exactly the right time to record it forever.

Cuban Eye Flower

If I were to wish for anything,
I should not wish for wealth and power,
but for the passionate sense of potential
– for the eye which, ever young and ardent, sees the possible.
Pleasure disappoints; possibility never.
~ Soren Kierkegaard
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Every year on this date a gorgeous little flower awakens in my basement
as it basks there in the glow and warmth of my indoor garden.
I’m exceptionally pleased I was able to capture a shot of it early this morning.

To the attentive eye, each moment of the year has its own beauty,
and in the same field, it beholds, every hour,
a picture which was never seen before,
and which shall never be seen again
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Tangles

The human mind is so complex and things are so tangled up with each other that, to explain a blade of straw, one would have to take to pieces an entire universe. A definition is a sack of flour compressed into a thimble.
~ Remy de Gourmont

Moonlight in the Garden

Even those who are pure of heart
and say their prayers at night
can become a wolf when the wolfsbane blooms
and the autumn moon is bright
~ Gypsy poem

Strange Highway

The function of the imagination is not to make strange things settled,
so much as to make settled things strange.
~ G. K. Chesterton

Today the weather was exceptionally warm, and although I usually dislike the extreme heat, on this day I felt quite grateful that summer was still with us. I decided to travel outside the city in search of some countryside scenery, and I had myself a little adventure along the way. I drove around, lost my way, and soon I found myself traveling down an unfamiliar road.

I came upon a field and the creatures therein seemed peculiarly beautiful to me. I’ve seen animals like this many times before, but this little herd seemed lovelier than most.

– This one stuck its tongue out at me –

– I could almost swear this one is wearing makeup –

I drove on a little further and spied a spectacular small flowering tree. I stopped and captured these images. As pretty as these flowers are, their appearance is certainly deceiving: they smell absolutely horrible!

The sun was well on its way to setting and I headed for home. Just over the next rise in the road I was greeted by a large red smiling face. I wasn’t sure if I should laugh or scream, but I decided it was friendly enough for me to take its picture.

Miss Grace Jones ~ Libertango

Strange is our situation here upon earth. Each of us comes for a short visit, not knowing why, yet sometimes seeming to a divine purpose. From the standpoint of daily life, however, there is one thing we do know: That we are here for the sake of others…for the countless unknown souls with whose fate we are connected by a bond of sympathy.
Many times a day, I realize how much my outer and inner life is built upon the labors of people, both living and dead, and how earnestly I must exert myself in order to give in return as much as I have received.
~ Albert Einstein

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The Magic of Fireflies

What is life?
It is the flash of a firefly in the night.
It is the breath of a buffalo in the wintertime.
It is the little shadow which runs across the grass and loses itself in the sunset.
~ Crowfoot

I’ve always been fascinated by fireflies, but I’ve never before succeeded
in capturing their light show on film or video. Last night I was determined
to get it right, but again I failed miserably and was nearly eaten alive
by mosquitos in the process. Tonight, slathered in copious amounts of
insect repellant, I travelled far out into the countryside and worked in earnest for about an hour. These are the results of my efforts. Next time I will use a tripod for more stability, but for now I hope you will enjoy these samples of
one of nature’s most amazing little miracles!

Fireflies in a Michigan Field, August 5, 2008
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More Fireflies in a Michigan Field, August 5, 2008
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The Last Remnants of Sunset, August 5, 2008
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Pink Smoke Signals

“My land is bare of chattering folk;
the clouds are low along the ridges,
and sweet’s the air with curly smoke
from all my burning bridges.”
~ Dorothy Parker

I’m spellbound by the pink smoke tree, for within its wispy beauty lingers a feeling of sadness which never fails to reach out and squeeze my heart just a little too firmly. I’ve yet to figure out why it treats me this way.
What signal is it trying to send?
L’arbre qui cache la forêt…

k.d. lang ~ Your Smoke Screen

Mini Nova

“Everywhere across whatever sorrows of which our life is woven,
some radiant joy will gaily flash past.”
~ Nikolai Gogol

Tonight in the USA there will be many loud and dramatic fireworks displays illuminating the skies. I found this joyful little explosion quietly taking place yesterday evening in the garden. Quickly I captured it with my camera before it could fade away, but it simply held its ground and stayed the same after I had finished. Nature is cool that way. I stood there looking at this mini nova with admiration when I realised I was seeing a pattern reminiscent of crop circles in the center portion of the flower. Do you see the awesome geometric pattern which I am seeing? It helps if you back away just a bit. C’est un mystère !
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Happy Fourth of July — Independence Day USA!
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Joe Dassin ~ Les Champs-Élysées