October 6, 2011

Finding Gratitude in Flat Light

Things are looking up...there is rain in the forecast for this weekend.  Mostly for West Texas, but hey, we'll take what we can get.  If my western neighbors are getting rain, I'm going to rejoice along with them!  It has to fall here eventually.

I've been thinking a lot about gratitude.  Specifically, how my attitude has been lacking in it of late.   After a quick trip to Vail, there was no eagerness in coming home to my drought stricken city.


The weather was absolutely perfect in Vail.  Golden Aspens were brilliantly proclaiming the glory of fall. 


But even in dire times, there is always a bit of something to be grateful for in our own garden...


As a gardener who is captivated by the way light changes the mood of a garden, I rarely photograph my garden mid-day.  The light is just too sharp and harsh.  

But today is different somehow; promising cloud cover has mellowed the edges of the mid-day shadows and these lilies appear softer and more delicate than they have all summer. 





Sometimes, gratitude is found in the most subtle of moments.  I'm grateful for the subdued, relaxed feel the garden exudes as it exhales a prolonged sigh of relief from the blistering heat of summer.    Finally, this gardener too is ready to let go of the breath I've been holding.  With renewed gratitude, I embrace this respite.


Gratitude is an art of painting an adversity into a lovely picture.  
                                                                                                                                        ~Kak Sri


12 comments:

  1. Great post Cat! And Wow, so many blossoms in the pond! I am so happy for you that you can finally expect some rain. We have a lot of linden trees over here. They are almost all yellow now and look a lot like those aspens.

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  2. Kak Sri makes a lovely statement and so do your papyrus and other pictures Cat.

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  3. I am happy to hear west texas is getting rain. Hope you get some too, and us. I was in San Angelo last weekend for my sons wedding. They were looking rough. The monarchs were filtering through on their march. Also went to the water lily park there, stupendous. Very encouraging.

    Also brought back some yucca varieties along with a start of prickless prickly pear. Hope you get yours.

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  4. I know how you feel. We have been holding our breath, waiting for rain, but we will have to appreciate the drop in temperatures, and the shortening of days and pray that our Texas will eventually get the rain it needs. Beautiful photos. I've noticed that the autumn light is much more forgiving than the harsh sun of summer.

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  5. What a wonderful, appropriate quote. I was interested to read that you've recently been in Colorado. We're heading up there in a couple of weeks. Hope the aspens are still golden!

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  6. That's a good lesson for all of us, Cat! The Water Lilies look soft enough to be pillows.

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  7. That first shot is awesome, Cat. I guess you have to be replenishing water for your water lilies regularly since there has been no rain for a long time. Glad that you shall be enjoying more comfortable weather and more beautiful colors too.

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  8. Cat this is such a lovely post. Your subtle shaded photos are so serene and have their own unique glow as does their creator.

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  9. I've noticed that your temps are coming down pleased there is the possibility of rain, your pond is beautiful, sometimes a break away form the everyday helps as put things in perspective, Frances

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  10. The artist in me sees the beautiful pink, green and silver in your lilly pond photo. Beautiful photo!

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  11. Its easy to forget what we have to be grateful for.
    Is that a pond in a bath tub in your photos, I'm intrigued. I tried doing one but it wasnt a success, have your posted about yours?

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  12. Beautiful water lilies. Glad you are beginning to find reasons to be grateful again, it can sometimes feel pretty impossible to find the good.

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