Saturday, January 31, 2009

Sunshine Came Softly

It's been cold, dull, snowy and blowy for the past several days. I have a few photos which I took around Frank's place a couple of weeks ago when the golden sunshine was with us, along with a couple of shots from closer to home. Please remember to click on each photo to enlarge them.


Sunshine came softly through my a-window today. ~ Sunshine Superman (Donovan)
From my kitchen window, plants soak up the sunshine, longing for summer days when they will enjoy the outdoors once again. (please click to enlarge)




So let us mind what's there to see before our hearts become too cold.
In spite of all that we've been told, some things that glitter may be gold.
~ Some Things That Glitter (Queen)

Along the path, close to home, a lone pine cone lays upon the snow, soaking up sunshine - its own warmth radiating from golden hues. (please click to enlarge)




Seize upon that moment long ago. One breath away and there you will be. So young and carefree Again you will see That place in time... so gold. ~ Stay Gold (Stevie Wonder)
As the sun begins to set, a golden hue kisses the snow surrounding the creek. (please click to enlarge)




You'll remember me when the west wind moves
Upon the fields of barley.
You'll forget the sun in his jealous sky
As we walk in the fields of gold.
~ Fields of Gold (Eva Cassidy)

This brush holds itself above the snow and ignites with colour in the light of the golden sun. (please click to enlarge)





Walk in the Light
That shines so bright.
Let your soul feel right
Love is pure gold.
~ Pure Gold (Earth, Wind & Fire)
Golden skies warm the icy waters of the mostly-frozen creek. (please click to enlarge)




When the sun burst through the skies.
There was a band playin' in my head
And I felt like getting high.
~ After the Gold Rush (Neil Young)
As the sun settles on the horizon, brilliant shades of gold blaze across the sky - its beam illuminating the snow. (please click to enlarge)




My life has been a tapestry of rich and royal hues.
An ever lasting vision of the ever changing views.
A wondrous world of magic in bits of blue and gold.
A tapestry to feel and see impossible to hold.
~ Taspestry, (Carole King)
Warming hues of gold and blue envelope the tree with a goodnight hug. (please click to enlarge)




Golden slumbers fill your eyes.
Smiles awake you when you rise.
~ Golden Slumbers (The Beatles)
After a long walk on a cold winter's night, the crackling fire warms me with its fiery flame and golden embers. Goodnight. (please click to enlarge)

52 comments:

Indrani said...

Lovely shots again!
I particularly liked the kitchen garden of yours, I too plant herbs which are handy for cooking.
The fire place setting is beautiful with the rocking horse placed near it.

NJ said...

Hilary, again your shots are impressive. I love the window shot, the sunrise and the sunset the best but they are all impressive. However, I'm really excited to see your spring shots. :)

Angie Ledbetter said...

Really loverly, the contrasts between warm and cold.

Tabor said...

I really liked getting back to the fire and warming up after that cold walk. ;-)

Anonymous said...

Fields of Gold shot is probably my favorite of this set, and then you brought me home with Tapestry and warmed me by the fire with Golden Slumbers.
Lovely, lovely, lovely.
Thank you, Hilary! :)

lime said...

oh think the pinecone and the tree at sunset are my favorites. just gorgeous.

Anonymous said...

Beautiful shots of the sun coming through the trees. I particularly like that one, but all your pictures are amazing.
The snow sort of mirrors the weather down there, and I think we should enjoy it, lest spring comes too soon.
Keep blogging!

Kathryn Magendie said...

Oh, love the photos! -the fireplace is inviting after the "snow shots" *smiling*

Leenie said...

What a great post. You took a lot of time and effort to combine eloquent lyrics (many favorites of mine)and your photos. I could hear the music in your pictures!

the Bag Lady said...

Great photos, Hilary. And I love the lyrics you chose to go along with them.
You gotta put together a book, girl!

Zuzana said...

I really love how you find the appropriate text in lyrics of songs to your photographs; it is very unique and original.

I love the two last pictures; the way the sun sets behind the tree appeals to the "romantic" artist in me. I would love to pain it. This usually means I am truly inspired.
And the last one speaks volumes of "home" and "safe haven" to me. And you know my sentiments on that matter.;)

I hope your weekend is good, my friend.;))

Russell said...

Okay! I am checking in at about #12 or so - pretty good for me given that I usually come in at about #92 on your posts!! Heh!

I liked your first and last images the best. The plants in the window, well, yes, they are great and I always love going into a home where I can see that. In my book there are two types of homes: homes that have plants in the windows and homes that don't. I can't get enough of the former and can't get out of the latter fast enough!

The last image of the fire, well, where does one begin?! The idea of sitting in front of this fire, listening to it, smelling it, feeling its warmth -- it doesn't get any better than that. Who needs money and fancy things when you have such a wonderous thing right in front of you?!

I do enjoy the images of natural grasses pushing through the snow - but the first two photos are my picks this time!!

Take care.

Jinksy said...

The choice of lyrics were so apt and I was overjoyed to find I could save that blue and gold tree to my computer to savour it again and again and again. Thank you.

Gary's third pottery blog said...

that's gorgeous, esp. the sun behind that tree, and look how you wrote the captions!
You folks have had more snow than us this year, it seems....

ds said...

Such a lovely post, Hilary. Nice and warm, after this cold cold month. I like the sunset behind the tree best (no surprise), but I also enjoyed the lyrics that captioned each picture. I'm partial to Eva Cassidy's version of "Fields of Gold" (that was a great shot, too), and "Golden Slumbers" (forgot it was the Beatles. oh well). All is warm and happy now. Thank you.

Pat - Arkansas said...

Ahhh!:) I so much enjoyed your photos, and the most appropriate quotes. We have sunshine today, but it didn't come as softly as that light in your photos. Thanks, m'dear.

Anonymous said...

Hilary,

Great shots over here to day. I liked the title of your piece and really enjoy the song lines you have been doing with your photos.

Have you listened to K.D. Lang's Hymns of the 49th Parallel? She does a nice job with Niel Young's After the Goldrush.

My favorite today was sun behind the tree.

photowannabe said...

Love all the shots but I really like the warm golden tones of the sun streaming in your window and the last one of the cozy fire. Your little antique rocking horse caught my eye. Is there a story about it?

ceecee said...

This is wonderful! I feel exactly as if I've taken a walk in your beautiful world up there. Aren't pinecones fascinating? So many different shapes, sizes, and colors. I've never seen one like this before...like fancy shingles!
Happy weekend,
Catherine

Reb said...

Hilary those are all so lovely! The lyrics are great, we'll all just curl up by your fire while you sing to us, right?

Eaton Bennett aka Berenice Albrecht said...

Hilary, your photos are beautiful as always. I love the sun behind the big tree, magnificent. I can't wait to see pics you take of spring.
Eaton. :)

Cath said...

Your words twinkle around the those beautiful photos. The song lyrics are perfect, but your language is magic. :)

JC said...

All your pictures look like postcards; all perfect. Each quote and narrative is perfect. I look forward to each post from you. Have a great weekend.

Dave said...

I like your photos depicting your snowy winter. We don't get snow in Hamilton, NZ. Again, I like your words that accompany your pictures too Hilary. - Dave

Woman in a Window said...

OK it's settled. I was going to join the gym but instead I will buy snowshoes. It's too deep here to walk, but I sure can walk on crystalized water, if only I believe. Lovely. I must get out there.

SandyCarlson said...

All of these are so gosh darn beautiful. I love the color of the firelight. It captures the sunlight that brought the fuel in the first place. Such splendor. Thanks.

Country Girl said...

Oh, Hilary! I love how you used the lyrics from so many different songs to match the photographs on this post. Very clever, my dear.

I'm now listening to Eva Cassidy singing Fields of Gold. Thank you very much.

Hilary said...

• Thank you, Indrani. The plants in the kitchen aren't herbs, just a variety of occasional flowering greenery but I do put them outside in the summer months. Thanks for stopping by. :)

• Thanks, NJ. I'm really anxious to see some signs of spring too! The winter has hit that point where it has overstayed its welcome. Thanks for the kind words. :)

• Thanks, Angie. Much appreciated. :)

• I'm glad you joined me, Tabor. The fire is one of the best parts. :)

• Thanks, KC. I'm glad you enjoyed the post and the walk. You're welcome to join me anytime. :)

• Thanks kindly, Lime. I'm glad you enjoyed them. :)

• Thank you, Lauren. I'm not so sure that spring can come here too soon for me though. Thanks for your kind words. :)

• Thanks very much, Kathryn. I'm glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for the visit. :)

• Thanks kindly, Leenie. I'm glad I found some of your favourite lyrics to accompany the photos and that you enjoyed them. Thanks for stopping by. :)

• Thank you, Baggie. I'll do a book when you do a full length movie of AntiFit's antics.

• Thanks so much, Protege. I would love it if you painted one of my photos. That would be so cool. And I'm glad the post appealed to you so much. Thanks for the visit. :)

• Thanks so much for the kind words, Russell. I'm glad you like the photos. Thanks for stopping by.

• Thank you, Jinsky. That tree is a beauty and I was lucky to get a nice sunset going at the time. I'm glad you enjoyed it. :)

• Thanks kindly, Gary. We've had quite a bit of snow so far. The banks are far taller than I am, making shoveling quite difficult. I hope some of it melts before we get hit again. Thanks for the visit. :)

• Thanks very much, DS. I love Eva Cassidy's version of the song far better than Sting's so it was a given for me to quote her as the performer. Thanks for the very kind words. :)

• Thanks so much, Pat. I'm glad you enjoyed the photos. We've warmed up for today too and the sun is shining brightly. It's just not going to last more than a couple of days before the temperature falls again. Thanks always for stopping by. :)

• Thanks for the kind words, MT. I haven't heard kd lang's version of the song but I've been trying to download one as I'm typing this, and having little luck so far. I'll keep trying though. Thanks for the visit. :)

• Thanks kindly, Sue. The rocking horse and fireplace belong to Frank. There isn't too much of a story behind the horse. He picked it up at a garage sale this past summer. He finds things that "talk to" him. Look up at the header on my blog to see more of his conversation pieces. ;) Thanks for stopping by. :)

• Thank you, Catherine. I thought the exact same thing about the pine cone when I saw it - that it looked like shingles to me. I'm glad I'm not the only one. ;) Thanks very much for the kind words. I'm glad you joined me on this walk. :)

• Thanks, Reb. Trust me, you don't want me to sing to you. There's no fire's roar loud enough to drown that out. Thanks for the visit. :)

• Thank you, Eaton. I'm quite anxious for spring myself. Thanks for the kind words and for stopping by. :)

• Thanks so much for those very kind words, Cath. I've missed you around here. I hope all is going well with you. Thanks for the visit. :)

• Thanks very much, JC. Your kind comment is so much appreciated. :)

• Thank you, Dave. I'm glad you enjoyed the post. And you're welcome to our snow any time. Just say the word. ;)

• Thanks for stopping by, WIAW. I think snowshoes are a great idea. We sure don't have the depth of snow that you do, and our paths get semi-cleared, and are well-trodden. But up your way, snowshoes sound like a must. Thanks for the visit. :)

• Thanks so much for your very kind words, Sandy. I'm glad you enjoyed the photos from sunlight, to the late night fire. Thanks for stopping by. :)

• Thank YOU, Kate. I'm so glad you enjoyed the post. Thanks always for your visits. :)

Frank Baron said...

Some great shots there Hil and nice accompanying lyrics. :)

That fireplace sure looks cozy. I just might light another one tonight. Or would you rather I waited a few days?

Dianne said...

only you could make a lone pine cone beautiful

you have the most amazing knack for capturing light

Susan English Mason said...

This is a very creative post. Each photo and the words you chose go together perfectly. I think my favorite is "Sunshine came softly through my window today." It's a very difficult choice to make. I'll be back looking at this on my lunch hour all week. Thanks!

Mental P Mama said...

So wonderful. So beautiful. So true.

The Scribbler said...

Hi Hilary - what a lovely selection of lyrics to go along with your pictures. I love the idea - it gives the photos life.

HeatherPride said...

I love that picture of the tree w/ the sun behind it!!

Cheffie-Mom said...

GREAT photos and PERFECT lyrics!

Clowncar said...

that tree pic rocks.

and i've heard that carole king album like ten thousand times. and still like it....

Shammickite said...

You certainly tell wonderful winter stories in your photos, Hilary. Yes, I am certainly fed up with winter, it seems to have been a harder than usual winter so far. I dislike those cold night temperatures intensely.
And I hate having to put on boots, coat, scarf and hat... just to go to the end of the drivelway to do soething as simple as take the garbage out!
But I'm not really complaining, because winter is so beautiful. I love the contrasts between the seasons. I don't think I'd like it if the weather was the same all year. And even though I have to get out there with the snow shovel every time it snows, at least I don't have to cut the grass! heheheh
Think positive!

Barbara Martin said...

Very nice photos, especially the snowy outdoors.

Thank you for stopping by my blog yesterday.

Andrea said...

Absolutely love the second last one of the tree!! As usual...all of the photos are wonderful...they all felt warm! :)

Sandi McBride said...

I've enjoyed my visit today, you are always a cheering influence! Love the photos and your kitchen garden! I can't wait to get started on mine...spring is simply a dream away, now!
Sandi

Suldog said...

Just love your shots, as usual. They warm up my cold days.

You've been very nice to me in other people's comments sections. I forget where exactly, but I saw you giving me some love in a couple of places. One concerned me getting another award. Well, it's posted now, with appropriate commentary. Just thought you'd like to know :-)

Suldog said...

Oh, and I didn't include you in the passing of the award, even though you're Canadian, because... well... OK, I don't have a good reason, but you're probably happy I didn't, anyway, so I don't really need a reason.

mansuetude said...

i love your use of light, words, and snow imagery; the Robert Frost poetry it evokes within me.

I am about to tag you and your blog.

If you wish to play--oh, i could use that fire right now.

Megan Coyle said...

Beautiful photos! I especially like the golden light coming through the blinds. And I like how you inserted quotes from songs, what a nice touch :)

Susan English Mason said...

I still love that dawg below this post. I had to come back and see these photos again. This made me think of a sunburst photo I took a long time ago. Memories...

Hilary said...

* Thanks, Frank. I think I'd like you to light one tonight, please - since I'm at your place right now. ;)

* Thanks kindly, Dianne. I did nothing but photograph it though. Nature gets all the credit for that. Thanks for stopping by. :)

* Thanks very much, Susan. I'm glad you like the photos and lyrics. Thanks for your kind comments. :)

* Thanks so much, MPM. Much appreciated. :)

* Thanks kindly, Scribbler. I'm glad you enjoyed the post. Thanks for the visit. :)

* Thanks, Heather. It's a great tree and the sun beckoned. Thanks for stopping by. :)

* Thank you for the always-kind words, Cheffie. :)

* Thanks very much, Clowncar. It's a great album and doesn't get old. Thanks for the visit. :)

* Thanks kindly, Shammie. I'm growing really tired of our double-digit sub-zero temperatures too. It seems to hit single digits for a day or two and then just plummet again - like today. Saturday is supposed to warm up some. We can hope. I don't mind the snow nearly as much as the cold. Ah well, spring will come. I hope. ;) Thanks always for the visit. :)

* Welcome, Barbara and thanks for the kind comments. :)

* Thank you, Andrea. I'll take all the warmth I can get. Thanks for stopping by with such kind words. :)

* Thanks so much, Sandi. I'm glad my photos cheered you. I'm right there with you looking forward to spring. It can't be too much longer now. At least the daylight is lasting noticeably longer these days. Thanks for your very kind words. :)

* Thanks very much, Sully. Of course I say nice things about you in others' comments sections. You're one of the nicest (despite your penchant for ripping your award donors apart) and funniest folks out here in the blogosphere. And yes, I'm just as glad you didn't include me in that pink porcupine award - especially since there are RULES. I don't follow those very well, as you can probably tell. Thanks for your always kind words, Sully. Mucho appreciated. :)

* Thanks very much, Mansuetude. If I'm lucky, I'll be sitting in front of that fire tonight. :) And thanks for the award. I've played along in your comments section - but you probably already know that by now. Thanks for stopping by. :)

* Thanks very kindly, Megan. I'm glad you enjoyed the post. Thanks for stopping by. :)

* Thanks for the re-visit, Susan. I'd love to see the photo you mentioned. Have you posted it somewhere?

RiverPoet said...

Popping over to say hello and enjoy some of your wonderful photography. The light is gorgeous. *sigh* I can't wait for spring...D

david mcmahon said...

Wish we had your cold weather at the moment!

Hilary said...

• Thanks kindly, Doris. I'm with you on impatiently waiting for spring. Thanks for stopping by. :)

• David, I sure don't envy the excessive heat and bush fires that you folks are enduring right now. I sure hope that settles down very soon. Thanks for the visit. :)

ohdawno said...

Thank you so much for a fun contest, and especially for the link to my beading blog (site stats shot up - from 3 a day to 9 after you posted!! Well, I'm not exactly sure what the numbers were, but something like that).

I was surprised to see that I made the first comment - I read you via my Google Reader and it's got a big delay between when you post and I see it there.

I also went "Doh!" when I saw the Gil Chesterton answer...he was one of my favorite occasional characters on Frazier, which is one of my all time favorite shows.

Chica, Cienna, and Cali said...

oh that first image of sunlight filtering through the blinds on to the plants is precious.........

you are light's best friend, Hilary..you present it so beautifully in your images

Hilary said...

• Thanks for playing along, Dawno. I hope you have much success with your lovely beads. I'm glad you're following on your reader despite their usual delay between posting and listing. I hope you'll be back to visit again soon. :)

• Moi, you always say the kindest things. Thank you so much. Your comments mean a lot to me. :)