John Denver
It's been a week. I've always liked this line from one of John Denver's songs but this week it's playing over in my mind in a cosmic kind of way. I think it's about my decision and direction to let faith guide me more than I'm accustomed to, but in the true spirit of what faith requires, I can only trust what I see and what I don't see.
I could write a book about this week. But how about I focus on a couple of wonderous aspects of it:
I'll start with Ryan. He is 3 weeks old in this photo. Last Friday his eyes were open for almost an hour. While I held him, I wound up his music box and shook his little lion rattle for some added percussion and I swear he listened and heard. I'll be introducing him to music and poetry for a long time.
And snow finally came to New England. Except for the probable effects from global warming, I have no complaints at all that it is February and until this weekend, there has not been one minor or major snowstorm. I don't see ice and sleet in my long term future. But it's also true that there is nothing more glorious than freshly fallen snow:
Stella and I take this walk almost every day. I open our back yard gate and off we go. She is off leash for the first 5 to 10 minutes, until we hook up with the formal path at the Park. We walk around the lake and past dozens of ducks and a few geese--once even a crane. The park is well populated and well visited but when I'm there I'm meandering in the woods. This weekend I was wearing my boots and heavy mittens instead of my sneakers and gloves, but the glisten of the snow was worth even my chilled-to-the-bone fingers.
This is the view I look at from my windown as I sit here typing this post. This towering pine is alot like I feel: sometimes it is full and strong and flexible. Other times when it's shed its branches it looks so fragile and unprotected. I worry about its longevity sometimes, until I remind myself it has been upright and proud and together for many years. I hope when all is said and done I can view my own life this way.
Back to the Park: this is the way the world looked on Saturday, when Stella and I were just walking along, taking our time, feeling the cold air, and, for at least one of us, wondering what it takes for a blind man to see....
OMG...beautiful, beautiful post.
ReplyDeleteRyan's eyes look wide open & filled with absorption...taking so much in.
I admire you walking with Stella despite the cold, cold weather. Sounds like it is mutually beneficial.
I like your view from the window & your perspective of the tree. We, people, sometimes do have to change with the seasons of life & sometimes we do get weighted down, but fresh new leaves of change still emerge. Just beautiful kj.
My brother, while not completely blind, is legally blind... i've learned from him....faith can always see, even when its blind faith
slb: i don't exactly know who you are or how you come to write these words to me, but they are very wise and very welcomed. thank you.
ReplyDeletei will now visit your blog with delight.
Ryan is looking so alert! Your photos were gorgeous ;)
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry! LOL, I found you through my sister, Singleton. You'd been there...she'd been here ... and I was following the cookie crumbs you two left along this virtual trail ;)
ReplyDeleteBTW, I have 5 dogs and a fenced in yard, but refrain from walking them to our park in the winter ... but thanks to this post, I walked Miss Vilulah today & got to enjoy her perkiness & curiosity, as well as my own senses. Thanks!
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ReplyDeleteKJ, yikes, walking Stella in this cold weather - Aray ko po! (translation: Ouch!) If it were me, Stella would be dragging my stiff frozen body.
ReplyDeleteIt is great to see Ryan's photos - Blogworld Road's famous baby :-)
The sites around your house are just magnificent. Oh how exciting!!!!!!!!!!!!! (You know what I mean?)
tammy, you are my favorite inspiration of the year!
ReplyDeleteslb: ah! i welcome and thank you.
ces, yes, i know what you mean!! the winter landscape is pretty cool. hopefully the artic chill will begone certainly by next week.
kj,
ReplyDeleteno wonder you write beautiful posts, you must be continuously inspired by the view from your desk. It is so beautiful!
Ryan is looking so alert! I miss taking care of a baby (uh oh!), I miss the smell and wondering what they're thinking when they can't talk back.
Ryan looks like he's taking everything in...filling his little mind with all the stuff that he's already begun to weave into his life's tapestry. How cool is that! The snowy photgraphs transported me for a moment ...I was breathing the cold, clean air and feeling the biting thrill in my chest... I have always found that my mind and heart open when I walk outside with my doggie... together we get into a rhythm where we are attuned to the natural world. She probably thinks of things she can chase and eat, but I see pictures and words... lots of images. How wonderful to start your day like this!
ReplyDeleteHah! The word verification says "amule" Hmmph!
mench, it is always a pleasure to hear from you. ryan sleeps most of the time but the moments he has his eyes open and is alert is soooo cool. and yes, my view is pretty serene. i moved here kicking and screaming, and it has turned out to be a wonderful place to live.
ReplyDeletei hope to see you in your neck of the woods some day!
:)
Do you think, Karen, it might be just a tad beneficial to anyone reading this post to provide a bit more of a clue about the blind man and just what you expect there?
ReplyDeleteWW
KJ, you told His Excellency you were depressed. Why? It can't be entirely due to weather given the way you write of it.
ReplyDeleteHope you get out of the slough of despond soon.
Beautiful shots, KJ! Eli was walking past when I was looking at them and they stopped him in his tracks. I love bella Stella. Can't wait to have her clean my ears in March. :) My hair froze when I took Winslow out this morning -- boy, did he have a bounce in his paws this morning. He loves the cold!
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ReplyDeleteI can't wait to make a snow angel in your yard and the park. Oh wait, I may not be able to reach the park as I would have "Freezor Mortis". John Denver is wrong. In my experience, the blind always "see" more. We had a blind classmate in elementary school, he knew everyone approaching him based on their cadence and gait. He knew just how to behave and react to us. He relaxed when he was with the gentle children then stiffened and got his cane ready when the bullies were coming. He knew how many rails were in the balcony in front of the 6th grade classroom and how many steps were in the stairs and the distance to the flagpole. The "seeing" children that we were never knew. To this day, I never knew how many steps were in the stairs. I looked but did not see. KJ, you have the most beautiful eyes.
ReplyDeletecarla, i'm surprised how much good these walks with stella do for me. i tend to think deep thoughts while i stroll along...
ReplyDeleteww, hmm, it's a metaphor, ww. you can disregard it or make your own sense of it. no need to get impatient or worse with me--i'm just an innocent writer trying to find my way like everyone else....
dinahmow, i'm not really depressed--it's more like pondering the ups and downs of life and love and sometimes getting stuck. all in all, i'm still an optimist.
melissa, when i see you in march the crocuses will be up and we'll be chatting about spring. yay!
ces, how underdeveloped most of our five senses are. and i think there is also a sixth sense--one that sees miracles.
OK I can accept that.I just misread it as "more than the sum of its parts."
ReplyDeleteFancy a coffee?
Your grandson Ryan certainly looks alert for a tree week old little one - he'll be listening real hard to all that music and poetry, I can see that!
ReplyDeleteThe walk in the snow looks as if it was magical and special and just what you needed.
I love the view from your room - it's really very atmospheric - you'll be able to write some great stuff with that view to look out at. I hope the pine tree is symbolic to you of the strength we all find - somehow, somewhere - to go on.
Beautiful photos.
ReplyDeleteoooooooooh pretty! I love all the pictures!
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