I grew up in this pretty little beach town--East Lyme--and I don't think I fully appreciated it until I moved away. From Memorial Day through Labor Day, tourists (whom we residents less-than-affectionately called "summer people") flocked here in droves to park themselves on the town's sandy-white beaches. As kids, we tolerated this seasonal population boom, but I'm not sure we really understood it. What was all the fuss about, anyway?
After college, when I lived in Manhattan (quite a different town!), I would occasionally take the Amtrak train to Old Saybrook, where my parents would meet me at the station and drive me back to our East Lyme home. It was on one of those train trips when I noticed that almost all the passengers in my train car stopped what they were doing--looked up from their books, their newspapers, their various diversions--to simply gaze out at the shoreline view. It was my town we were passing through.
I think that's when I fully realized just how good I'd had it, growing up in this pretty little beach town. I still go back from time to time, to pay my respects.
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How 'bout you? Did you appreciate where you grew up?
Here's my little chip-off-the-ol'-block! My son asked for a "serious camera" for his 11th birthday, and naturally, we were happy to oblige. Now he's out and about with me, grabbing his camera for the "Golden Hours", studying his shots afterward to see what he's captured. It's lovely, really, to have a protege. A partner on the trails. A camera comrade.
My daughter (who is 7) has asked for a camera for her birthday, too...which isn't until summer. The next generation of family photographers is stepping up to the plate!
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I just got back from a lovely ski weekend in Great Barrington, MA with my family. (Well, to be technical, my husband and daughter went skiing, my son went snowboarding, and I went photographing!) While I'd love to show you some pictures from the ski trip, I thought you might like a little break from all of the snow and ice lately...to take a little vicarious vacation to Hawaii!
Aside from a couple of posts featuring the work of my photography students, I've featured other photographers here only twicebefore. But I'm making an exception again, for one of my nearest and dearest friends, Michael Graziano, whom I've known since we were 16 years old, when we met at a summer arts program for high school students at Wesleyan University.
Michael and I are birds of a feather. We both grew up in Connecticut; we both lived in New York City for many years, where we were both in creative fields; and we're both crazy about the music of Neil Finn and Liam Finn (but oddly, not Tim Finn). He's one of those friends that no matter how much time passes between get-togethers, we start right up where we left off. (I love that kind of friendship, don't you?)
For the past twenty years, Michael worked at Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, and as its Producing Director, he helped raise millions of dollars for its charitable efforts. Last August, he decided to step down from his high-profile job and step out into the Great Unknown. I've been thoroughly enjoying his Facebook updates (let's be honest: how many friends can you say that about?), and I'm betting you'll enjoy this armchair trip, too.
The following quotes are Michael's updates from Facebook, and all of the photographs in this post are his, taken with his iPhone (all used with his permission, of course!).
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September 23, 2014: "An adventure begins this week. I am off to live in Hawaii for 4 months, volunteering at Kalani retreat on the Big Island. I'll be living in a tent, which I bought from an Italian gal who is leaving for Costa Rica. I am bringing few possessions--clothes, some good books, a journal, my good-luck necklace that I bought in Amsterdam when I was 20 years old. I will be living in the shadow of the Kilauea volcano, nature's reminder of its own awesome power. How will I be touched, humbled and changed by dangerous Pele, the ancient Hawaiian goddess of fire and volcanoes?"
October 15, 2014: "I am making friends with some new members of the animal kingdom here in Hawaii such as this gecko. There are also the feral cats that live on the property and are very sweet. Less friendly are the wild pigs that roam around my tent at night but they scare easily. I am trying to avoid the dreaded fire ants which pack quite a sting. Sea turtles can be seen in the ocean nearby but so far they have only poked their heads and shells out of the water and not ventured onto the land. So many living things to encounter!"
October 26, 2014: "The lava approaches. We shall see what Madame Pele has in store for us this week. The closest town may have to evacuate but we are not currently in the lava path. It will likely cross the highway, though, so we will be cut off from civilization as new roads are made. The lava changes its path and rate of flow all the time so nothing is certain."
November 15, 2014: "This guy has been living in the shower stall for a few days now. Seems to be friendly so far."
December 10, 2014: "When I arrived in Puna in October, it was hot, humid and rained every day. Now that we are in the 'rainy season' of December, it is glorious with the sun shining, lower humidity, cooler nights and no rain for days. Perfect holiday weather."
December 24, 2014: "These palm trees looked to me like snowflakes against the sky. Happy Christmas Eve from Hawaii!"
January 12, 2015: "Night falls over my tent."
January 13, 2015: "Cats. There must be close to 100 feral cats on property, fed by animal-loving volunteers and whatever they can find in the jungle. These cats act like dogs, begging for food or attention. This is Wilbur."
January 17, 2015: "Sunset at Mauna Kea into the clouds at almost 14,000 feet."
January 18, 2015: "Goodbye Kalani! I depart today after 3 and a half months filled with laughter, challenge and creativity. I shaved off my beard and hair yesterday in prep for the next leg of the trip. Time for new growth. I'll be exploring the islands for the rest of the month and head to New Zealand in February. Aloha Kalani friends!"
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Safe travels, Michael, and thanks for letting me share a little part of your Hawaiian adventure here! I hope New Zealand is EVEN BETTER! xox Joy
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I now return you to your regularly scheduled weather. (How GORGEOUS were those pics?!)
It's been a particularly wet October here in northern New Jersey, but somehow, the rain didn't shorten the lives of the leaves. They hung on for longer than I expected. In fact, a good portion of them are still hanging on!
Our driveway would NOT be a good example of the leaves hanging on...
I'm always heart-warmed when I see a bench or a chair outside, proof that somebody thinks it's worthwhile to just sit for a while and enjoy the view. This chair was parked at a marina, with a lovely view of the boats coming and going. Of course, I also loved this particular view of the setting sun. It reminded me of one of my favorite books, The Remains of the Day, and how it ends by the seaside, after the sun has done its work.
I hope your week is full of quiet moments and beautiful views.
Does this ever happen to you? While going about your day, you happen upon a scene in nature that looks like it was created by a famous painter. That was my immediate impression of this sunset in the Bahamas a couple of weeks ago. It looked like it was painted by Maxfield Parrish! The golden-peach colors... The billowy pillows of clouds... The vague feeling that angels were going to burst into operatic song at any moment. Life imitating art!
I usually post just one "Monday Snapshot" at a time, but because this sunset was so dramatic, I'm giving it an encore!
That's the question my six-year-old daughter has been asking me first thing every morning for the past two weeks, as she sleepily peers out her frosted window in her footsie pajamas.
To any logical person with pretty good eyesight, it would seem that the answer would be, "Most definitely, yes! It is winter!" There's a half-foot of snow on the ground (and four more inches expected tomorrow), icicles glittering on the branches, deer footprints dotting the hill in front of our house. Every time even the lightest wind blows, ice crystals clatter down from the trees like shards of glass. It looks like a hundred thousand wine goblets have shattered on our driveway.
Yes, it certainly looks, feels, smells, sounds, and tastes like winter out there. So far this month, the kids have had a Snow Day from school, gone sledding, made snowcones, sipped hot cocoa, sat by a roaring fire, and marveled at the Christmas decorations around the neighborhood. And yet, according to the calendar, winter doesn't officially begin here until 12:11 p.m. EST on December 21, when the solstice occurs. So it's...um...stillfall? Alrighty then, tell it to the thermometer, which is edging down into the teens today.
My toes don't like this "autumn in a masterful disguise" and my ears aren't so happy about it either. But my goodness, with all of the sparkling snow, glittering ice, and a fresh coat of clean, white paint on this neck of the woods, it's amazingly pretty out there. No question about that.
Your turn: What's the prettiest thing you've seen this season?Please share in the Comments section below. If you are reading this post via email subscription or mobile device, click on the title or go to www.JoyfullyGreen.com from a computer to see the comments and leave one of your own. (Don't forget to click the box for subscribing to comments so you can follow the conversation.)
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Holiday Gifts! Some of the photographs featured on this blog are available for sale as high-quality framed or unframed art prints in my web shop at Society6.com/JoyfullyGreen. I hope you'll visit it and treat yourself or somebody you love to a pretty picture! (Added perk: It keeps this blog advertising-free, and don't you just love that?)
Ahhh...summer vacation! The last concentrated dose of warm summer sun before that familiar crispness in the air makes you reach for your sweater and tug it close around you. We ventured out to Martha's Vineyard a week after President Obama's visit (which, depending on whom you ask, was either terrific timing or the missed opportunity of a lifetime--although nobody could argue that the lighter traffic was a blessing).
During those eight days among the dunes, I realized five key things about myself:
1. Even as a dedicated nature-lover, I can take only so much of living in the boonies. Maybe it's because I spent so much of my life as a New Yorker, but I just could not ever build my whole life around living in the woods. (Hey, Thoreau could do it for only two years, and even he ventured into town during his Walden experiment for the occasional dinner with friends.) I still treasure having the woods in my (suburban) backyard and wouldn't trade it for the best penthouse in Manhattan.
2. As much as I espouse unplugging from technology on this blog (and isn't that sort of a mixed message while you read this blog online?), it was really, really hard for me to disconnect. We were on a secluded island that took two ferries to get to, with very spotty internet connection. It drove me quietly nuts to send out message after message that was never received, like some sort of shipwrecked sailor sending out bottled S.O.S's with no hope of them ever being retrieved on the mainland.
3. Even though I adore my extended family and feel blessed to truly enjoy my in-laws (don't hate me), I still need a healthy dose of time all to myself. I couldn't always be "running with the pack" and in fact, some of my favorite moments on vacation were simply sitting by myself with a really good book and drifting into a late-afternoon nap. Because really, what's more decadent than a nap in the shade?
4. I still get starstruck. We shared a driveway with two other houses, one of which belonged to an A-list actress, whom we saw three times during our stay. (Our house was decidedly less posh than hers.) Each time we crossed paths, it sent a little quivery-shiver down my back. I've seen many, many celebrities over the years and even met a few (again, thanks to living in Manhattan for so long), yet it's always the same quivery-shiver. But why exactly? Why are famous people so captivating and different from "us", anyway? I think it's a question to be explored in a future post.
5. I'm a homebody. Not too many years ago, I used to feel deflated when I headed back home from a vacation, but now, it feels downright delicious to go back home again. Don't get me wrong: I'm enormously thankful for vacations. But I'm even more thankful for my "real life."
Your turn: Where was your favorite vacation ever? Could you live there full-time?Why or why not? Please share in the Comments section below.If you are reading this post via email subscription or mobile device, click on the title or go to www.JoyfullyGreen.com from a computer to see the comments and leave one of your own. (Don't forget to click the box for subscribing to comments so you can read any replies to you.)
