gilded

welcome readers and writers - happy october! many thanks to brian potopowitz, film guy and ms. brandon for your awesome posts on yesterday's photo.

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it's photog friday again! every other day of the week the photos you see on my blog were taken by me. on photog fridays we get to gaze upon (and write about!) a photo taken by a pro. 

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this week we have the pleasure of writing about another photo by the very gifted kelli west of kelli west photography. a thousand thanks to kelli for this gorgeous pic! click here to see the other wonderful photo kelli contributed to the blog (as well as the stories that came in on it).

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writers, i'm so excited to read your response to kelli's beautiful photo ~ story, poem or creative non-fiction. 250(ish) words or less, just click on comments below to share. here's my reflection:

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Today I'm wishing I could enter into Kelli's photo the way Jane and Michael Banks jumped into Bert's chalk paintings in Mary Poppins. I'd spend the day by this pond, paddling around in that shiny blue canoe, thinking on this worn, craggy rock. Then I'd slip into that wonderful boat house, which has been converted, you know, into a writing studio. It's painted a rich, creamy white inside with accents of nettle green and the palest butter yellow. There's a hooked wool rug on the floor, a shabby chic antique desk near the window and a big, deep, over-stuffed chaise lounge to sink into a little later, when it's time to fuel writing with some great reading. If it's chilly enough I might set a fire in the pot belly stove and heat up a cup of mint tea with honey. You can't see it, but in the shade of those leafy trees there's a hammock. Perhaps I'll pull on a sweatshirt and let the hammock cradle me while I doze off awhile, listening to the birds sing. This wonderful day would stretch out forever, until I felt centered, grounded, peaceful and like I'd made some great progress on my writing. At least I can go to this place in my mind :)  Thanks, Kelli, for the mini-get-away! 
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writers, i love to read your work. come write with me!

    

harvested

welcome readers & writers... it's photog friday! every other day of the week the photos you see on this blog are mine, though periodically i'll use one taken by my husband or my eleven year old. but each friday we'll celebrate a photo contribution by a photographer* better than me (and that's not hard!). see last week's photog friday celebration here. this week our guest photographer is kelli west. kelli is a fellow blogger (you can see more of her wonderful photography there). many thanks, kelli, for your gorgeous photo!

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what written response (story, poem or creative non-fiction) does kelli's photo inspire in you? 250(ish) words or less. i'd love to read it - just click on comments below. here's my take on the photo: 

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I stand at the kitchen window, elbow deep in sudsy water. I suppose I could stack the dishes in the dishwasher, but this way I get to watch him longer. Out there on his tractor he's a happy man, and how I love to see him happy. It took me years, you know, to understand that it was right for him to be happiest at his work. That work has quite literally put food on our table for fifty odd years. But when I married him (at seventeen years old, mind you) I thought that he should find his happiness in me. That first year especially. Land, I don't know how we got through. I dreamed he'd be so taken with me that he wouldn't want to leave the house. I'd imagined that he might linger in bed those first early mornings before starting his daily round of chores. But not Gardner. Gard set his alarm clock on our first night back from Niagara Falls, where we took two nights for our honeymoon, and the next morning he was out of bed like a shot feeding the chickens. I cried all through breakfast and, bless him, he couldn't muster two words to comfort me. Just devoured his scrambled eggs and toast, dropped an awkward kiss on the top of my head and went back out. But somewhere in our journey together, somewhere along about fifteen years, I'd say, I finally got it through my thick skull that Gardner loves by doing. He woos by providing. He adores me by being a man of character and a strong work ethic, the man I fell in love with. That's what makes him happy.

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come write with me!

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*readers & writers, if you know any photographers who might like to contribute photog friday, just have them email me: writeawayeveryday [at] gmail [dot] com.