Mary McCloskey

Cape Lookout State Park, Oregon

Fog and spirit

When my son and his wife were planning their wedding, they rented a beachhouse on the ocean in Oregon where they planned to have the ceremony, but soon before the wedding, they found out that there was to be a longboat surfing contest just in front of the house the same day as the wedding. So, the day before the wedding, we went looking for another spot for the ceremony and  found Cape Lookout State Park. As we drove up, fog enveloped the trees and the first thought I had was that this was a magical place. The actual day of the wedding, the fog had lifted a bit, but it was still a bit overcast. Just after the ceremony, concluded, the sun came out. I took it as a  sign of the earth rejoicing with us.

A place to wed

My son and his beautiful fiancee were married here, on the beach at  Cape Lookout State Park on the coast of Oregon last week. An incredibly joyful, poignant week. Then I came home to find that a photo of mine--one that I'd actually taken for this blog--- had been juried into the Windows and Mirrors exhition beginning October 30th at the PhotoPlace Gallery in Middlebury, Vermont.  An embarrassment of riches.

Whose woods these are I think I know...

On a cool day during our vacation in Michigan, we hiked a bit in Warren Woods. Very green and it still felt very much like summer then. Last night, the temperature dropped quite a bit and today we were in jackets all day. The Michigan vacation was the last we'll take with our son before he is to be married this weekend. Poignant, but we are so happy for him. Hope the weather is great t his weekend. Maybe we'll get another hike in the woods.

 

 

Blue sky and spiders

It is an incredibly beautiful morning--periwinkle blue sky, the hint of a breeze, birdsong from the birds flitting back and forth from the grapevine to the bushes. Spider webs are everywhere. On the porch, the filament of a web undulates in the air, disturbed by the breeze from the window. In the kitchen window, there is a heavy web, thick, but still imbued with a gossamer furl.

The season is beginning to turn. Darkness now comes on much earlier in the evening and we rarely have to turn on an airconditioner.  Seasons of mists and mellow fruitfulness ahead.

Morning cottage shadows

We just returned from a wonderful week at a cottage in Harbor Country, Michigan. I thought I'd give you a little taste of the morning light. The week combined sun, shade, rain, thunderstorms, huge waves and rip tides.  We were alternately baked, chilled, lulled and thrilled. We ate a lot and watched several terrific sunsets. But, mostly, we just spent time together--which was the best part of the whole week.

Sunday: apples, grapes, forget-me-nots

I'd planned to post these photos on Sunday, but then my external hard-drive got testy so I'm posting them today. Went out in the heat yesterday afternoon to rake the apples (again) and found the grapes on the grapevine turning a rich, dark, blue and the little forget-me-nots (I think that's what they are) were flourishing in their pot.  There are more apples to come, but hopefully, fewer and fewer. We left many apples in the underbrush for the squirrels and bunnies. They should have enough to keep them going for quite some time.