Friday, February 17, 2023

Wild Dresses...



Wild Dresses

 I loved making this journal page.  Deb Lacativa's fabrics are such fun.  I really wouldn't mind having a dress like this for my very own.  Millie wouldn't mind if I dressed a bit wild when we walked our trails.


 "The sky appears broader now than it did.  The day has opened its eyelids wider.  The lengthening of the days commenced a good while ago, is a kind of forerunner of spring. ~ Thoreau from his journal Feb. 19, 1852




 "Once in his life a man ought to concentrate his mind upon the remembered earth.  He ought to give himself up to a particular landscape in his experience; to look at it from as many angles as he can, to wonder upon it, to dwell upon it.  He ought to imagine that he touches it with his hands at every season and listens to the sounds that are made upon it.  He ought to imagine the creatures there and all the faintest motions of the wind.  He ought to recollect the glare of the moon and the colors of the dawn and dusk." 

~Barry Lopez, Arctic Dreams

I love this quote.  I can never quite get enough of this "particular landscape" where Millie and I tread every day.  Even though I photograph the same old spots over and over they are never the same.  Maybe it's the light or the angle or...  I just don't know.





22 comments:

Granny Marigold said...

The lengthening of the days is indeed a forerunner of spring. Our ground has thawed and weeds are beginning to grow. I wish I still had my chickens; they used to go wild for chickweed.
Of course I like your journal page, even though I don't know who Dab Lacativa is. Probably because I know nothing about sewing or fabric.
I like the reflections in the water, and the clouds in that last photo.

Gretchen Joanna said...

Those dresses make me think the ladies had taken a walk like yours, on a special kind of rainy day, when the splattering mud was full of rainbows...

Of course not one of your walks is like another, and the tapestry of plants and sky and weather and critters that you walk among is newly woven every hour. That is a glorious thing you know so well, by being attentive to your place. It's a joy to hear your loving reports.

kat said...

Glorious rainbow dresses indeed, and she uses such lovely cloth. However hard I look in charity shops over here I can't find cloth like that any more, yet I'm sure there was lots of it when I was younger, old domestic linens no longer wanted. Perhaps they are being sent to fabric recycling here now.
I so envy you your access to great swathes of beautiful natural space to walk in. As you say, it changes every day with the light and seasons, and your own inner seasons and spaces respond. I am very lucky to have the seaside, but often long for the sort of solitary spaces you inhabit where birdsong, small creatures scuffling and the movement of the wind are the backdrop of sound.

Hootin Anni said...

Oh, how I love (truly love) the portrait of Millie at the water shore!!! And those quotes are just perfect for any day!

Saundra said...

Your borrowed words and wonderful journal page were terrific. I love that photo of Millie and the ripple in the water.

Shrimpton and Perfect said...

Lovely post. I particularly like the Artic Dream quote as I feel I did give myself up to the Norweigan landscape recently. Felt the biting cold, listened to the soft silence that deep snow engenders and marvelled at nature's great beauty.

Julia said...

The quote by Barry Lopez reminds me of romancing the landscape.
Nature is alive and ever-changing and it is apparent in your photos.

I love your creativity with the fabric. It reminds me of a calendar picture that I saw when I was a child. My father received a calendar from his place of employment and on it was a photo of a beautiful lady showing her cleavage. My mother didn't say anything but took a piece of green satin fabric and cut out a dress to cover the daring picture and glued it on and hung it up. Nothing was said but she retained her dignity as a woman and my dad understood her stand.

Have a great day with Millie. Hugs.
Julia

Magpie's Mumblings said...

I love those dresses too - the colours are wonderful. Of course you know I love the quotes too (not that I have a 'thing' for them or anything of the sort!). It's good that you know there's much to see, provided you pay attention.

nookworm said...

Just seeing your ladies in the journal gave me a punch in my belly! WHAT A Picture of that page! How wonderful it is! The poetry and the other images are also inspiring, but I've gone back to the pretty ladies several times.

TheCrankyCrow said...

I feel as though I could fall into that photo of Millie at the water's edge. You have a rare gift, my friend - the ability to not only see beauty with your eyes, but also with you soul. ~Robin~

happyone said...

It is nice having it lighter in the morning when I go walking.
Love all your photos.

Henny Penny said...

I absolutely love the dresses! I just did a post on wearing jeans and boots...guess this will stir up my love of dresses. I seem to go from one extreme to the other. :) Anyhow, don't understand how I've missed your last few posts. Your pictures are so beautiful especially those with Millie. Each of them would be beautiful framed.

Debra said...

A perfect post in everyway-I loved all of it....The dresses are so beautiful. I want one too!

Quilting Babcia said...

Love every bit of this post, what can I say that others haven't already said, more eloquent than I. We all need dresses of our dreams.

Prims By The Water said...

Millie looks like she was on the lookout. My gramma B use to wear dresses and hats similar to those. Janice

Morning's Minion said...

'A particular landscape'--that would be the Vermont farm of my childhood: fields, woods, pastures and a view to the east of Brandon Gap in the Green Mountains. I do now walk the perimeters of these 20 Kentucky acres, photographing the same scenes in all weather.

dori said...

Wonderful photos and wonderful thoughts of you! I can feel with you: Even when we walk the same way, it's always different, because the weather and the seasons are like best artists and never make the same painting.
Light opens the eyes more and more. What an adeventure!

Your jourmnal-page is fine!!

Sandra said...

The way you created the two ladies dresses is amazing. Love the colors. You are very creative with your scissors as well as your photography.

Debbie Nolan said...

Oh your photos are so lovely and I so adore your journal page. I think that both of us could benefit from having one of those adorable dresses. Am certain that my two companions would not be opposed to me wearing one.
Like you my landscape and walks remain the same but oh yes they are always different. Have been seeing Mr. and Mrs. Cardinal enjoying the longer days and the blue birds are fluttering around. For us even though the calendar says winter we are seeing spring signs. I am glad :)!! Have a wonderful weekend friend. Thank you for visiting me. Hugs!

Bonnie K said...

I completely understand. Ella and I have walked the same path and before her it was Ezra. I never tire of the beauty.

Barwitzki said...

Your diary page is great... yes, and then being out and about with a friend... the crocuses are blooming here... it's so wonderful outside :-)))
I finished sewing a collar shirt today... I'm very happy about it.
A hug to you. Viola

Yesteryear Embroideries said...

I love the quotes and the photographs you take are always so beautiful. The one with Millie standing in the water is just wonderful! Love the journal page and the fabric you used for the dresses!