on this cold and brittle day, the snow crunches underfoot, there's a purity about the air - it's so thin and light
even the shadows have a clarity about them that is so different to the soft thick shadows of summer
summer shadows don't so much echo their mother or father's form as they seem to lie down
and spread themselves any which way . . .
it doesn't matter where they're from
or where they're going
winter shadows seem somehow deeply fixed
attached
and grateful for the connection
even as they dance to keep warm
21 comments:
Hi Steven.. That is very nice.. shadows are fantastic!)
Amazing what winter and snow can get to inspire
those shadows are beautiful and move through your words so sweetly, Steven.
I love winter shadows too, Steven. In fact, yours have some sisters in Michigan, that I posted at synch-ro-ni-zing. When I walk, I almost hate stepping on them in their pristine clarity.
matias - the shadows on the coldest days are always so sharply defined! thanks for visiting. steven
dulce thankyou. i am inspired in winter by the visuals - eventually!! steven
ruth your comment made me smile because when i take photographs of winter shadows i try to be cognizant of leaving footprints that spoil them! steven
Beautiful. I've noticed this same thing (though have never expressed it so eloquently). In winter, shadows are sharp and focused, like the air. In summer they are pools of coolness.
they do seem to be all of a piece don't they?
"...summer shadows don't so much echo their mother or father's form as they seem to lie down and spread themselves any which way . . ."
I'm claiming this line and taking it home with me today. x
Winter shadows dancing to keep warm...beautiful thought, Steven.
The movement of trees leafed out in summer cause shadows to blur and 'spread out' as you say.
I LOVE the winter shadows of the trees, when they become crystal clear reflections on surfaces, displaying their beautiful bones in all their glory.
Steven, you've captured beautifully the dance of light and shadow in your pictures. I was just speaking with a friend last night who said that she helped create a hands-on science museum for kids in San Francisco called The Exploratorium. The science of shadows was one of their first exhibits.
I hadn't thought of shadows in that way but I will now :)
Summer shadows really ARE fat and sprawling! You have such a noticing and whimsical turn of mind (and phrase). It's always a pleasure to visit you here.
btw, our day of spring was truly fleeting. Back to cold and gray for now, but my house is filled with daffodils and pussy willow and forsythia. Is it just me, or do you think of daffs as one of THE English things?
hello bee! i think of bluebells as the most english of flowers. followed closely by tea roses. steven
pauline - only if that's what you wish! steven
richard - i love the activity that we do with kindie kids to paint their shadows on a hot day with water. the shadow disappears!!! steven
jo - their beautiful bones sticks with me as i rethink the piece. thankyou. steven
tess - shadows are so much like children - they spring from the bodies of their mother and father's forms and spread themselves across the landscape in whaichever way they wish! i'm glad you found a phrase to hold onto. steven
ellen - they really do! steven
reya - the memory of cool pools of shadows is one i've allowed to slip from my thinking and remembering so thankyou. steven
Rarely do we get winter shadows- the sun does not cooperate at all. Love the tree bones on snow. very pretty.
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