Walk in Beauty

A memory of blue for when the grey days come

"Walk in Beauty" - those were the words with which the poet Rose Flint closed the 11^th Lapidus Conference on Sunday, whose theme was "Footprints - the marks we carry and the marks we leave behind".

I can't begin to convey the atmosphere of the Lapidus Conferences - Creativity, intensity, passion, compassion, community - but I can show rather than tell that the emphasis this year was on "returning to the wild" in ourselves as well as into nature.

I need little encouragement, but this afternoon's "Medicine Walk" was done even more mindfully after listening to wonderful poetry and engaging with my own writing in the workshops.

Accompany me now, at the turning of the year, when the sun still carries warmth, the earth both absorbs and reflects it, and growth is abundant again after the (brief) summer hiatus. Walk in beauty with me through Penwood - and may some of your own inner peace be restored through the enjoyment of these images. (click on any image for a larger version)

Acorns in their cups

Late flowering Rhododendron Ponticum - a bee gathering nectar while it may...

Fungus 1 - can you identify it?

Blackberries

A lichen covered tree stump

Fungus 2?

Fungus 3?

The leafy pathway home

Collected Earth Medicine

Now why not take your own Medicine Walk today?

Comments

[Boyd]

Dearest, many's the time I have wished to walk quietly down that leafy lane with you, calm and soulful mates side by side, talking about the things that matter most to us, and enjoying the interludes of nature's silence. You make me long for such a day. I've been listening to organ compositions by Thomas Olivers and Dieterich Buxtehude this morning a they've put me in a mood to be momentarily overwhelmed by the beauty and the wonder of the world, its collective pain notwithstanding.

A shower of blessings on you.

[Loretta]

Earth medicine is the best medicine of all. Your photos are a tonic for me here, on a very rainy and humid day in the northeast.

Thanks!

[ohsovintage]

What absolutely amazing photographs!

[krissie]

reminds me of that lovely wood near me - well we used to go for long walks there when I was young...Burnham beeches? do you know it Roz?
the blackberries and the acorns resonated with me most. You know how to make a girl homesick dont you!

[Joan Skoglund]

Roz, you've drawn me from lurkdom with those fascinating photos - particularly the plate of "stuff." Is that a land snail in the middle of the plate? Is it still alive, or is it an empty shell? If empty, are you going to keep it - or is there anything I could trade you for it? And while I'm unlurked, I may as well admit I NEVER miss a posting of yours - and haven't for years!

Joan

[Fran aka Redondowriter]

Spectacular, Roz. Wow, and double wow.