Last week we had the wonderful opportunity to meet our first grandson. Henry is adjusting to life – stretching his fingers and toes, exercising his lungs and vocal chords, and mesmerizing all those around him. He is fortunate to have a caring and doting mother and father, and an extended family to love him. There are many adventures ahead of him as well as a myriad of changes, but his serenity at nap time reminded me of all that is good in this world. Welcome to this world, Henry!
Author: lindastaatsphoto
Echoes in a school hallway
We recently stopped at an elementary school to enjoy a delicious Boy Scout fund-raising breakfast. After filling up on pancakes and sausage we wandered the hallways. I was struck by the beauty of the old windows. The wax on the floors reflected the light coming through the multi-colored panes of glass giving them a wonderful ripple as the colors spread down the hallway. And there was an elegant simplicity to the old light fixture hanging above. The scene seemed to echo with a strange sound, aching to be filled with the laughter of grade school children running up the stairs, pushing to get in line, and the anticipation of classes. I wondered how many children have returned to the school as adults to marvel at the beauty that they either took for granted when they attended classes or more likely didn’t notice in the excitement and fun of being children.
Wishing for spring
The calendar turns to March, and our wishes turn to spring. The cold and hardness of winter is still around us, but this is when we yearn for the softness of spring – for color, thawing, and green. In Minnesota, the only place to find that now is at the McNeely Conservatory in Como Park – our very own oasis of spring. These daffodils represent the hope and promise of spring to me. The yellow of sunshine, the green of new beginnings, and the softness that starts the season of spring. Soon……
Winter lines
Yesterday was a blue-sky winter day with mild temps but a strong wind. With plenty of sunshine I wanted to get out to enjoy the weather before the temperatures plummeted to below zero. A little before sunset I went to one of the area golf courses to get some exercise. As the sun was sinking in the western sky, the shadow lines grew long and longer across the unbroken snow. They seemed to stretch much further than the height of the trees, reaching as far to the east as possible. Winter is the prime season of beautiful, low-in-the-sky light, accentuated even more at daybreak and sunset.
Sometimes it’s the light
The weather was cold yesterday – barely up to zero with a biting north wind of 20+ mph. With those conditions I chose to work inside for the day. I walked past the south window several times, looking at the patterns in the snow as they changed throughout the day. Eventually they called me outside to photograph. The sun is still relatively low in the sky, making for some wonderful lines as it slid through the fence and threw its light on our meager snow. There were bits of leaves and tree debris that danced across the pattern, and a rabbit had made its way across the yard and its footprints slashed through the light and the dark. Sometimes it’s the light that pulls the scene together and tells the story.
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