Friday, June 25, 2010

Deep in the Forest There Is a Promise

In one of the places where we walk we are always finding treasures and surprises.  We discover them at nearly every turn.  At the edge of the forest, indigo buntings fly from one stand of trees to the other then back again, their wings a flash of bright ink against the sky, which shimmers nearly white in the midday sun.  Just beyond them we spot a common flicker silhouetted on a bare branch; it holds itself nearly still for several minutes while the buntings flit about in the dappled shade. Deeper in the woods ferns unfurl against the moss like lace fans, and mushrooms stained raspberry pink at their edges grow with abandon.  Near the stream a rambling bush of blackberries just beginning to ripen bends low over the water, each of its berries sparkling in the dim light.  

At times like this, I won't lie, I am in a fairy tale.  It's not much of a leap: just follow the path, cross  the winding stream, turn right at the ring of toadstools, and there you are in your secret world--a world where old enameled coffee pots and cracked crockery jugs grow from fallen trees and apothecary jars sprout from the soil, each one offering up another chance at dreams.  In this world there are berries to eat and an old chipped mug for catching water from the stream.  The deeper you go, the cooler the air, the softer your step, and the more there is to see.  This forest holds a promise that you must find before you ever want to leave.





28 comments:

  1. Oh that berry, and those lovely shades of green. And look at that lost thing, that jug - I wonder whether once it graced someone's kitchen and now lives among trees, and who took it there, and when. Lovely post!

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  2. Thanks for your lovely comment, Jayne! The most wonderful thing is that in these woods there is an old dumping ground from a farmhouse. There are layers and layers of bottles and jars and crockery there. I've loved spots like this ever since I was a little kid when I'd dig up broken bits of pottery and old clay marbles, which I still collect. On this particular outing, I gathered a few really neat pieces, which I'll share as soon as I've photographed them!

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  3. Your words put me RIGHT THERE...and it was a lovely beautiful place to be....thank you for that mini vacation/break from my ho-hum office work!

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  4. This is my favorite post. It takes me back to childhood walks with my favorite aunt. The things we found seemed like magic. My walks continued in all the states I've lived in throughout and across America. My daughter's initiation began where mine began, and so it goes.

    I love the secrets of the forests and the treasures left behind. My sweetest find was a yellow silk sunflower tucked between a rotting fence post and the first strand of a barbed wire fence. I imagined it to be a signal left from one lover to another.

    Thanks for reminding me of beautiful nature and simple pleasures.

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  5. I just loved this, Gigi....the photos are just gorgeous too! It reminded me of my childhood when we would go "thing finding" - we would come home with the most unique treasures...:) Have a beautiful weekend, my lovely friend! xxoo :)

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  6. Lovely, thanks for taking me along on this summer hike.

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  7. Your words are so lyrical. I came over from Emma Tree. She and I live in the same town, but I blog about home and garden. I so enjoy nature.
    Brenda

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  8. That berry, the way you photographed it, looks magical - like it's been there for a hundred years or more.

    And your words are magical too.

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  9. thanks for the beautiful journey Gigi.
    dreamy pics.
    happy weekend my friend ♥

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  10. i love when you invite us in. a fairy tale can be the best place to be, sometimes.
    thank you, my friend.
    xo

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  11. You have GOT to see my latest paintings...once again, are brains are traveling the same paths...

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  12. Ahh your way with words is beautiful my dear.
    xxx

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  13. Thanks for leaving a comment... it brought me to your fabulous blog too!

    xoxo Laura

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  14. Oh Gigi, you've captured the enchantment of a summer day in the woods. This post is perfection.

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  15. This post brings back that feel of childhood mystery and magic hidden in the woods. Always an adventure full of treasures. I miss this kind of lush greenery, you capture the look and feel of it so well.

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  16. I read this and I am with you in your fairy tale, the deeper you go, the more you see. Love that. Thank you for a spot of coolness away from the summer heat, for the words "dappled shade" that just sound happy happy.

    :) Debi

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  17. Oh Gigi how I've missed your beautiful words and images. Sorry I've been so absent....just got all caught up in work.
    xo
    Carole

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  18. We walked with our children today....through green pastures and tall trees. Waterfall gardens and peonies...hot and humid sun beating down on us just before things went all charcoalish and cloudy...the air THICK with storm approaching that now falls as I type.
    But in the bried moments that preceeded we walked and drank in all that nature had to show off.
    A little yellow bird, I think a finch, followed us for awhile.
    I was saddened though to approach a park bench that had been dedicated to a woman I know. Sadly I never knew she had passed and was caught off guard. It was appropriate to have that memorial in a place she would have loved...(this was a woman who lit her back path with tealights in teacups perched atop copper pipe) (oh and also a chandelier made with thrifted teacups graced one of her backyard trees.)
    Funny but all day there have been inklings of her around every corner, including this post. I suppose it is her way of saying HELLO.
    {Keep believing in fairy tales GIGI!!!}
    xoxoxo

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  19. Lovely Gigi!....How I would love to join you there...how I would love to see the indigo buntings...You describe a fairy land indeed...

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  20. Dearest Gigi ~

    Every day, and I'm not exaggerating when I say EVERY DAY, the crumb and I go in search of ready-to-pick blackberries. Even at 2+ years of age, she knows when they are ready. It is our favorite fruit of the moment ~ and I have become like a little kid anxious for the 'prize'. These fairy-tale walks through our wild paths of nature offer so many incredible adventures along the way ~ ladybugs, dragonflys, sticks, rocks, moles, and more. For me, it has become a tug-of-war; yes, please ripen, and no, we are having to much fun.

    The image of the raspberry along with your beautiful flow of summer thoughts has left me counting the moments until the crumb and I take our daily walk tomorrow...I must record these memories, and I only hope I can do so as eloquently as you have done in this post.

    Bisous,
    Melissa

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  21. Thank you for this magic moment, Gigi... Your words be-dazzle :o) Happy Days ((HUGS))

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  22. Gigi, I need to take you to a place quite similar where, if you are quiet enough, you can even hear Snow White singing out to her dwarfs... Won't you come?

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  23. I love time just walking in the woods. It really helps me to slow down and to see. And to remember to breathe. I also absolutely adore that you spotted the enameled pot just hanging around waiting for you to snap his picture. Did you take him home? I would have been tempted.

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  24. This seems like the beginning of a wonderful story.

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  25. Pretty magical pics! I love the jug hanging off the branch. So pretty.

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  26. What a treasure this post is! Your description of stepping into a fairy tale wood, is too lovely, too like how I feel chancing in on your lovely blog on this hot afternoon.

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  27. I am just smiling.
    Smiling at you and the loveliness you exude in your writings.

    xo

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