Merry Christmas! Happy Hanukkah! Merry Yule! Happy Solstice! Blessings for Everyone!
And a simple prayer for the season:
“Peace be unto all the world over, under Thy Will, O God.” (Guru Nanak, 1469-1539 AD)
{ 0 comments }
Eight years ago, I had the opportunity to photograph the community of monks at the Weston Priory, for a piece that ran in Vermont magazine.
I think of them now, at this time of the Winter Solstice, Christmas and Hanukkah – the return of the Light – and how they represent our better natures.
They would probably tell you that it IS difficult to build community, BUT with effort, prayer and a conscious commitment to support one another as best as we can, something great can happen. And as difficult as those struggles can be – with oneself, with others, and with our Creator – they are well worth our time and attention.
Here the Brothers gather at their morning meeting, which unfolds in prayer, song, readings and discussion of the day’s plans.
{ 0 comments }
A few months ago, I happened upon a wonderful review of Vermont Exit Ramps II, by Laura C. Stevenson, published in the American Book Review. (Click on this link for the PDF: abr_vermont-exit-ramps-ii.)
It turns out that she lives right next to “the Boyd Place” in Wilmington, where I have photographed in the dead of winter for the past few years. She is a talented writer with a significant body of work set in post-pastoral Vermont, and can be found online here. Many thanks for her permission to publish the review on this site.
See my earlier posts on VER II here and here. The easiest way to purchase would be in just about any bookstore in VT, or online here.
{ 0 comments }
Two old friends that I originally met circa 1984, and as we live in three separate states, only see sporadically. I’m happy to say we didn’t talk politics until late in the evening.
{ 0 comments }
Though their fruit is incredibly colorful in an otherwise drab November landscape, these plants are woody vines that are terribly invasive and don’t play well with native species. It’s recommended that they be eradicated while still in small patches, something that can be done manually.
{ 0 comments }
It seems a given in life that things fall apart: our cars and roads and bridges, our bodies and relationships, our simple fences and over larger spans of time, even our complex civilizations. Nothing new there. We put a lot of time and attention keeping things in good working order, and with greater complexity comes the need for skills and vision that rise to the task.
So it’s no wonder things disintegrate, human nature (and our shifting priorities) being what they are. We often just don’t have the time or the money, the inclination or information or the skillset, to do the work to keep things going. So they come apart. And we fix them or we don’t.
So the larger questions: what do we value? what do we hold onto? what do we let go of? what’s worth our time?
{ 1 comment }
Another view of the two rivers coming together, taken from Route 30. If ever there was a place to really feel the qi in the universe (ok, let’s stick to New England), this would be it.
{ 0 comments }