Here we begin my long anticipated addition of horses to EarthWise and the Alabaster Horse. Horses have, and still do, occupy a huge part of my life. It is hard to know where to begin with them. They have been present in my life from before my earliest memories and throughout each part of it. I can say horses have been one constant in my life. I am considering including more about horses in this space. In these times of digital devices, the internet and the crazy fast pace our lives are expected to be, I find horses a haven.…
Category: Beauty
Never Forget
a meditation When we are small [children] and close to the earth, there is more landscape than time. It’s only later that we forget. Only later that we begin to play pretend.Joe Wilkins https://vimeo.com/manage/videos/602008762 https://vimeo.com/manage/videos/602008762 We are part of a mystery, a splendid mystery within which we must attempt to orient ourselves if we are to have a sense of our own nature.Marilynne Robinson I am back. With resolve, after unexpected life happenings this spring and summer that carried forward to this moment. This most recent hiatus in EarthWise and the Alabaster Horse is ended with a scene offered as…
Symphony of the Land
Composer Chris Thomas is brilliant. He listened to the land and wrote a story in the form of an extraordinary symphony about a place. One day soon, I, along with Clay, am going to visit that place. For now I savor from afar and explore from home. The place: Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in southeastern Oregon. This is a departure from our normal offerings on EarthWise and the Alabaster Horse, which will happen from time to time. In this piece, there are several web links and videos to view. I encourage you to take the time, not all at once…
The Deer
When he rose, maybe 100 feet uphill of me, I was on my knees in the dusty trail. My small hiking journal teetered on my knees as my hand flew across the pages. Scrawled words in fuzzy grey pencil somehow formed into meaning. A truth: words sometimes had to be captured before they escaped. When my hand stilled and my mind returned to the surroundings, I thought it an unusual place for a deer to have lain. I watched as the young buck with his small four point antlers, still in velvet, nosed about. Odd. He did not browse. He…
Impressions ~ Walking II
Vignette \vin-yet\ Etymology (a word’s history) 1) 1751, “decorative design,” originally a design in the form of vine tendrils around the borders of a book page, especially a picture page, from French vignette, from Old French diminutive of vigne “vineyard” (see vine). Since transferred from the border to the picture itself, then (1853) to a type of small photographic portrait with blurred edges very popular mid-19c. Meaning “literary sketch” is first recorded 1880, probably from the photographic sense. https://www.etymonline.com/word/vignette#etymonline_v_7784 2) Definition of vignette (noun) vi·gnette 1a: a picture (such as an engraving or photograph) that shades off gradually into the surrounding…
Impressions ~ Walking I
July 12, 2020 8:53AM. East side of Lone Pine Rd, Crook County, Oregon. On the sidehill of a butte, at the top of a favorite trail. My hair is loose today. I feel witchy. Witches were among the first of the wise women, connected directly to the land. Men and fear turned the word into how it is perceived today. The last quarter of the moon floats high in the southwest sky. A sky-blue and alabaster white translucent pearl. The moon, high in the upper right corner. Almost a forgotten cloud fragment. Above and behind me, the butte is a…