The Winter’s Tale
The Winter’s Tale
Chide me, dear stone, that I may say indeed
Thou art Hermione; or rather, thou art she
In thy not chiding; for she was as tender
As infancy and grace. But yet, Paulina,
Hermione was not so much wrinkled, nothing
So aged as this seems.
The Winter’s Tale, V. ii., Leontes, at seeing his queen, gone sixteen years, a statue come to life
I happened to walk past the white barn in the alley and saw the grizzled morning glory vines, seed pods pressed open, dangling icicles, and thought of the summer morning I’d found them lushly blooming against the weathered white boards; in those sere muted vines Leontes still sees his queen in her infancy and grace.
The morning glories, tender in their infancy and grace.
Give The Winter’s Tale a read. Shakespeare is always enlightening.
. . . . . .
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Poem for Saturday: If There Weren’t Morning Glories
“If There Weren’t Morning Glories”
I don’t have enough sun to grow morning glories in my yard, so I take advantage of others’ lovely pink and purple trumpets. For years I’ve photographed the morning glories that come up from seeds along the wrought iron fence by my neighbor’s white barn garage in the alley near me. This year they are not there, and I miss them, but this morning reminds me so much of last year when I spent way too long photographing them. I’m so glad I did!
. . . . . . .
I have been kind of obsessed with morning glories in alleys lately—they’ve just suddenly sprung up so I’ve shared some of my old favorites, but I’m trying not to spend too much time on them right now when I’m really busy.
If There Weren’t Morning Glories
I would get more
done
if there weren’t
morning glories
in
the alley
poem © 2013 Bernadette E. Kazmarski
They got the better of me today, and after a GB+ of photos of the lovely purple and pinks by the white barn and a quick scribble of a thought I decided to spend some time on something I visualized while photographing and finishing my walk home. The thought was a very literal one—I should get home, I had things to do before the end of the day and if I hadn’t encountered such exuberant and colorful beauty while walking down the alley I would probably have been home already.
But I wouldn’t have these many photos of morning glories, each of which I’ll use somewhere sometime, even if I only look at them one winter day, and I wouldn’t have that sweet spontaneous the exercise of my creative intellect from coming upon such beauty that had me let go of what I needed to do, only to come back and do it better than I would have if I had ignored the morning glories and come straight home. Soon the morning glories will be grayish withered memories and I may be too, so it was extra important to capture it.
Please share! And don’t forget to tarry a while by the morning glories.
. . . . . . .
For a print of any photo, visit “purchasing” for availability and terms. For photos of lots of black cats and other cats—and even some birds as I first published this post there—visit The Creative Cat.
The Winter’s Tale
The Winter’s Tale
Chide me, dear stone, that I may say indeed
Thou art Hermione; or rather, thou art she
In thy not chiding; for she was as tender
As infancy and grace. But yet, Paulina,
Hermione was not so much wrinkled, nothing
So aged as this seems.
The Winter’s Tale, V. ii., Leontes, at seeing his queen, gone sixteen years, a statue come to life
I happened to walk past the white barn in the alley and saw the grizzled morning glory vines, seed pods pressed open, dangling icicles, and thought of the summer morning I’d found them lushly blooming against the weathered white boards; in those sere muted vines Leontes still sees his queen in her infancy and grace.
The morning glories, tender in their infancy and grace.
. . . . . . .
For a print of any photo, visit “purchasing” for availability and terms. For photos of lots of black cats and other cats—and even some birds as I first published this post there—visit The Creative Cat.
Poem for Thursday: If There Weren’t Morning Glories
“If There Weren’t Morning Glories”
I have been kind of obsessed with morning glories in alleys lately—they’ve just suddenly sprung up so I’ve shared some of my old favorites, but I’m trying not to spend too much time on them right now when I’m really busy.
If There Weren’t Morning Glories
I would get more
done
if there weren’t
morning glories
in
the alley
poem © 2013 Bernadette E. Kazmarski
They got the better of me today, and after a GB+ of photos of the lovely purple and pinks by the white barn and a quick scribble of a thought I decided to spend some time on something I visualized while photographing and finishing my walk home. The thought was a very literal one—I should get home, I had things to do before the end of the day and if I hadn’t encountered such exuberant and colorful beauty while walking down the alley I would probably have been home already.
But I wouldn’t have these many photos of morning glories, each of which I’ll use somewhere sometime, even if I only look at them one winter day, and I wouldn’t have that sweet spontaneous the exercise of my creative intellect from coming upon such beauty that had me let go of what I needed to do, only to come back and do it better than I would have if I had ignored the morning glories and come straight home. Soon the morning glories will be grayish withered memories and I may be too, so it was extra important to capture it.
Please share! And don’t forget to tarry a while by the morning glories.
. . . . . . .
For a print of any photo, visit “purchasing” for availability and terms. For photos of lots of black cats and other cats—and even some birds as I first published this post there—visit The Creative Cat.
Colors, 2011
Colors
Just this one red leaf in all those other colors. It’s from a Virginia Creeper vine that was mingling with the morning glories, though all the other leaves were still mostly green. But when the sun came out and touched this leaf it was as if the leaf itself was emitting the vibrant red.
I originally planned to crop out the morning glories thinking the red would be even more vibrant against all that green, its natural complement, and without the distraction of any other color in the photo, but I was wrong. The purple actually enhances the red.
I enjoy the shapes of the vines too; where did we humans get the idea for fences like that anyway? And the contrast of geometric and organic shapes was why I focused on this little scene to begin with, and then the sun came out and it got even better.
. . . . . . .
For a print of any photo, visit “purchasing” for availability and terms. For photos of lots of black cats and other cats—and even some birds as I first published this post there—visit The Creative Cat.
Alley Taken Over by Morning Glories, 2011
Morning Glories
I walked to my destinations today, and always find the most interesting photo subjects when on foot; I’m lucky I got to where I was going.
This alley backs buildings that are mostly older homes made into ill-kept rentals; landscaping is not maintained, nor are fences, garages, back porches, etc. I often find the detritus of everyday life interesting strewn around in the tall grass of an uncut back yard, piles of stuff can amount to modern sculpture and a leaning twisted gate is always an interesting subject from any angle.
But this September the good old-fashioned purple morning glories that spring up seemingly from nowhere decided to decorate the place, and up and down the alley they had twined on fences, trees, tall weeds, parked vehicles, bicycles, everything that had stood still for at least three weeks was festooned in dense garlands of heart-shaped green leaves and twirling, reaching stems sending out individual questing purple trumpets until finally, today, they bloomed in earnest.
. . . . . . .
For a print of any photo, visit “purchasing” for availability and terms. For photos of lots of black cats and other cats—and even some birds as I first published this post there—visit The Creative Cat.
Glories of the Morning
Glory of the Morning.
I’d been waiting for the morning glories to bloom at my neighbor’s house, the one with the big old white barn I’m always photographing.
I’m back to that old white barn in my neighbor’s back yard. Each year morning glories grow at the corners and they always look fresh and new, no matter the color. The graceful vines and shapely bright green heart-shaped leaves along with the vibrant purple flowers look delicate and sweet clinging to the weathered boards with peeling white paint.
The huge clump that grows at the corner where the fence meets the building that I’ve had my eye on that since it started twining on the fence, is finally in full bloom, the weather was cooler and we had a little rain so the flowers and leaves are full.
I used all my lenses and took at least 50 photos, choosing six to start with for a slideshow here. Hope the neighbors didn’t mind when I laid down in the alley to get a photo of the morning glories against the sky.
. . . . . . .
For a print of any photo, visit “purchasing” for availability and terms. For photos of lots of black cats and other cats—and even some birds as I first published this post there—visit The Creative Cat.
Adding Color
Morning glories.
The morning glories are still blooming and in noonday sun add a big splash of color. Of course, I desaturated anything that wasn’t morning glories, but that was my impression of them.
Colors, 2011
Colors
Just this one red leaf in all those other colors. It’s from a Virginia Creeper vine that was mingling with the morning glories, though all the other leaves were still mostly green. But when the sun came out and touched this leaf it was as if the leaf itself was emitting the vibrant red.
I originally planned to crop out the morning glories thinking the red would be even more vibrant against all that green, its natural complement, and without the distraction of any other color in the photo, but I was wrong. The purple actually enhances the red.
I enjoy the shapes of the vines too; where did we humans get the idea for fences like that anyway? And the contrast of geometric and organic shapes was why I focused on this little scene to begin with, and then the sun came out and it got even better.
Alley Taken Over by Morning Glories, 2011
Morning Glories
I walked to my destinations today, and always find the most interesting photo subjects when on foot; I’m lucky I got to where I was going.
This alley backs buildings that are mostly older homes made into ill-kept rentals; landscaping is not maintained, nor are fences, garages, back porches, etc. I often find the detritus of everyday life interesting strewn around in the tall grass of an uncut back yard, piles of stuff can amount to modern sculpture and a leaning twisted gate is always an interesting subject from any angle.
But this September the good old-fashioned purple morning glories that spring up seemingly from nowhere decided to decorate the place, and up and down the alley they had twined on fences, trees, tall weeds, parked vehicles, bicycles, everything that had stood still for at least three weeks was festooned in dense garlands of heart-shaped green leaves and twirling, reaching stems sending out individual questing purple trumpets until finally, today, they bloomed in earnest.
Glories of the Morning
Glory of the Morning.
I’d been waiting for the morning glories to bloom at my neighbor’s house, the one with the big old white barn I’m always photographing.
I’m back to that old white barn in my neighbor’s back yard. Each year morning glories grow at the corners and they always look fresh and new, no matter the color. The graceful vines and shapely bright green heart-shaped leaves along with the vibrant purple flowers look delicate and sweet clinging to the weathered boards with peeling white paint.
The huge clump that grows at the corner where the fence meets the building that I’ve had my eye on that since it started twining on the fence, is finally in full bloom, the weather was cooler and we had a little rain so the flowers and leaves are full.
I used all my lenses and took at least 50 photos, choosing six to start with for a slideshow here. Hope the neighbors didn’t mind when I laid down in the alley to get a photo of the morning glories against the sky.
New and Old
New and Old
I’m back to that old white barn in my neighbor’s back yard. Each year morning glories grow at the corners and they always look fresh and new, no matter the color. The graceful vines and shapely bright green heart-shaped leaves along with the vibrant purple flowers look delicate and sweet clinging to the weathered boards with peeling white paint.
Another huge clump grows at the corner where the fence meets the building, and I’ve had my eye on that since it started twining on the fence, waiting for the flowers to bloom. I went there this morning to catch them in full sun but before the flowers closed for the day, but it’s been so dry they were wilted. I tossed my bottle of water on their roots and I’ll hope for a better outcome, a little earlier tomorrow morning.
See other photos of my neighbor’s barn, and other photos of morning glories.
Three Stepped Leaves
Three Stepped Leaves
Morning glories are twining on the cast-iron fence around my neighbor’s back yard. Even though colors are bright on a sunny summer day they often overwhelm the textures: the veins in the leaves, the rust on the fence, grooves in the downspout and even the muted long shadows of the other section of the cast-iron fence and the fence itself in the background.
Parking Lot Flowers
Parking Lot Flowers
Who needs a cultured garden when hardy wildflowers and self-seeding annuals are happy to climb a wire fence in a parking lot?
The yellow is wingstem, the other flowers naturalized morning glories; while you see four different flowers right next to each other, they are actually on separate vines.
Colors
Colors
Just this one red leaf in all those other colors. It’s from a Virginia Creeper vine that was mingling with the morning glories, though all the other leaves were still mostly green. But when the sun came out and touched this leaf it was as if the leaf itself was emitting the vibrant red.
I originally planned to crop out the morning glories thinking the red would be even more vibrant against all that green, its natural complement, and without the distraction of any other color in the photo, but I was wrong. The purple actually enhances the red.
I enjoy the shapes of the vines too; where did we humans get the idea for fences like that anyway? And the contrast of geometric and organic shapes was why I focused on this little scene to begin with, and then the sun came out and it got even better.
Alley Taken Over by Morning Glories
Morning Glories
I walked to my destinations today, and always find the most interesting photo subjects when on foot; I’m lucky I got to where I was going.
This alley backs buildings that are mostly older homes made into ill-kept rentals; landscaping is not maintained, nor are fences, garages, back porches, etc. I often find the detritus of everyday life interesting strewn around in the tall grass of an uncut back yard, piles of stuff can amount to modern sculpture and a leaning twisted gate is always an interesting subject from any angle.
But this September the good old-fashioned purple morning glories that spring up seemingly from nowhere decided to decorate the place, and up and down the alley they had twined on fences, trees, tall weeds, parked vehicles, bicycles, everything that had stood still for at least three weeks was festooned in dense garlands of heart-shaped green leaves and twirling, reaching stems sending out individual questing purple trumpets until finally, today, they bloomed in earnest.
Today 