I spent all morning writing. It was grey and cold outside. Raw and damp. I left my house and it began to snow a little, and then it rained. It poured. Then it stopped raining and instantly the sun was shining through these big smokey clouds!
It was almost dark, but it was as if the day had regrets about its foul and tempestuous displays of mood, and wanted to start all over. The light felt like dawn.
I decided to drive by my favorite farm because sometimes there’s a beautiful sunset there. Today, there was no sunset but this wonderfully ominous blanket of clouds was unrolling above the old barns, threatening more …stuff.
I drove home delightfully haunted. These trees seem to be strung limb to limb with ghosts sometimes, on spooky days like today.
Glad I had my camera in the car. Here’s the beginning of a Robert Frost poem that suits the day. The rest of the poem can be found here.
A Line-storm Song
by Robert Frost
The line-storm clouds fly tattered and swift,
The road is forlorn all day,
Where a myriad snowy quartz stones lift,
And the hoof-prints vanish away.
The roadside flowers, too wet for the bee,
Expend their bloom in vain.
Come over the hills and far with me,
And be my love in the rain.
“Come over the hills and far with me,
and be my love in the rain.”
sigh
Ann, I love to read your perception of things. The pictures are beautiful. As I said before, reading your blog in the a.m. makes my day! Thank you again.
That is SO Legend of Sleepy Hollow!
Those are some beautiful shots! I’m glad you had your camera with you too.
I just got back into town and I read the few posts I’ve missed. LOVE the muddy faces, the sock stealer, and the horses! My fave part of the horse is it’s soft middle part of their nose. The pictures from the eerie day are amazing! And so are the poems and posts that go with the pics!
Glad to be back and caught up! I didn’t go online on purpose while I was out of town. It was a nice break being “disconnected” for a couple of days!
That picture of the road is stunning, if your farm is on that road, you are as I stated earlier, very lucky. That is a beautiful drive, I can’t imagine what the fall colors must look like.
Ominously beautiful.
I live in Connecticut too. We had the most unusual sunset yesterday. Everywhere the sun touched, it left a golden-orange color. The ground and trees were covered in it. It almost looked like fall, except for the little bits of snow that still cover the ground. Then ten minutes later there was the most unbelievable rainbow in the sky. My children and I gazed at it until it faded away. Today is gorgeous, sunny, but bitterly cold and windy! It’s the perfect day for making soup and for baking cookies.
I recently starting reading your book “An Innocent, A Broad” (which I love) and so I googled you, of course, and came across your blog… so happy to get a glimpse of the hills in CT! I had this great house on the side of one of those hills that I sadly had to move from 4 years ago to flat, flat New Jersey. (I try not think to about it!)
I love your descriptions of the countryside, Ann. Delightfully vivid and eloquent. I still think you could become a successful photographer. Your photos are gorgeous! I would love to have them on my walls. (Hey….you have a couple of hours a week when you aren’t doing something, don’t you?!?!?)
Your weather is usually about a day behind ours here in Indiana. Sorry to say that you should be expecting some more snow, if you haven’t received it already.
Welcome Maria. Sorry you’re missing New England.
Those ominous clouds produced a blizzard. My daughter was stuck in it and had to stop driving and I went to fetch her. This morning, oh how I wished I had my camera. The snow had fallen and instantly frozen on everything it touched. All the trees seemed to be covered with mounds of powdered sugar. And the sun was so bright, everything shone. Now, it’s freezing cold and windy. ANd Christine, I made soup last night! Chicken and rice.
Made soup, ate cookies…..hid scale.
(cream of potato)(chocolate chip)(garage)
Christine,
If you eat those delicacies and no one sees you doing so, then they don’t count! Zero calories!
We wish……
Hi Ann!
Don’t eat the yellow powdered sugar! I hear it’s bad for ya!
Kelly
Ann, beautiful pictures again. You inspire me to always have my camera with me.
And Maria—I’m so very, very sorry that you find New Jersey to be nothing but flat, flat…take a ride to Hunterdon or Morris Counties ( among others ) and enjoy the mmountains and hillsides…up nnear the Delawarre Water Gap there are gorgeous views. Sorry all.. couldn’t seem to resist tooting a horn for my home state.
Sandy O,
I love the way you think!
Christine
Barbara–I know, there are great things about NJ…. where I am is not very picturesque, unfortunately. I have never lived anywhere other than New England (until now) so I will always be a little bit homesick for it, I can’t help it! Am trying to bloom where I’m planted though…
Maria-I lived in NYC all my life and then moved to CT seven years ago. It was a real adjustment for me and I was shocked that I was so homesick for NY. I thought I was so easy going. HA! I missed the steady flow of people at all hours of the day and night and even the sidewalks. Suddenly everytime I wanted to step outside my new home I had to do it in my car!!! Even my babies missed the walks in the stroller as I ran errands with them. You have the right attitude…you will bloom where you are planted. Just try to find the beauty in what you have now, I know at times it can be difficult, but try. And in time if you do find you like, or even love your new surroundings, it doesn’t mean you still can’t miss what you had before. That will always be a part of you. Christine
Ann- At first I thought the ‘sigh’ was a part of the Frost poem, it works so well and I loved that.
“Come over the hills and far with me,
And be my love in the rain.”
I don’t understand many lines of poetry, but this line is pretty clear–and so romantic! Can you imagine hearing words such as these spoken to you by a loved one? Sigh and swoon just begin to cover my possible reactions. Thanks for posting this, Ann.