I got up just after 6 a.m., and quietly got ready to leave so as not to wake my sleeping wife. It was our first morning alone in entirely too long, and I didn't want to ruin the peace and quiet for her. But a quiet resort in the middle of lush countryside beckoned my camera. So I figured a little early-morning walk along the grounds would be OK.
No one was awake. My only company at first was a flock of Canadian geese, whose honking got louder as the majestic birds circled lazily from one side of the lake to the other. I felt very much alone despite the fact that I'm sure thousands of people were staying in the various buildings scattered about. Eventually the groundskeepers started to make their way onto the nearby golf course, and the air began to fill with the sounds of a slowly awakening day.
I came across this scene because, frankly, I had been walking amid the dim stillness for a while, and I was tired. So imagine my disappointment when I realized the bench was soaking wet.
But when life presents you with lemons, you try to make lemonade, right? So I crouched down and started to wonder whether or not this would make a worthwhile picture. I was challenged by the relatively low level of light, the monochromatic quality of the light that I did have, and the fact that I had no tripod on me. But the composition made it worth the effort, I think.
I turned for home and got back to our hotel room just as my wife was waking up. It was one of those perfect moments you wish you could hold onto for a while. Maybe, in a strange sense, this image will allow me to do just that.
Your turn: What do you think of when you see a scene like this?
I think it's just perfect. It's cold and rainy as Ernesto breezes by and this shot is a perfect portrayal of how I feel. It seems to say...Don't sit down!
ReplyDeleteMeeting and greeting via michele.
i love that picture, carmi. even though the bench is wet it still makes me want to sit down and just look at the coming day.
ReplyDeleteI love this picture Carmi...It has a lonely quality...you can feel the early morning "aloneness"....Lovely photograph, as always!
ReplyDeleteRead in Michele you have a new post.... Nice photo, I like the wet wood look. As for Canadian geese being majestic, they're only that way when there are a few of them. We have a park here that are being overrun and we'd like to send them back to you! Where are the INS when we need them? They've tried everything to encourage them to fly back home to Canada, for when you get 100s of them, they make a big mess.
ReplyDeleteIt makes me think of it as a good place to rest my weary bones. I've been on my feet all day, working, so I need a good place to rest..LOL. That one has good scenery to look at while you are resing, I think.
ReplyDeleteOh, baby-baby! Hard and wet! LOL
ReplyDeleteMichele sent me to make vaguely disturbing comments, Carmi. Maybe I should take my meds!
That is a nice picture, Carmi, but I bet you'd rather have had a dry bench and thus a place to rest for a bit. But as you say, you have to make the best of circumstances--and you did.
The photo is beautiful and the scene is amazing!
ReplyDeleteI like it....it makes me think "solitude" not in a bad way, though, in a good peaceful way (and I love rainy days so that works too!)
ReplyDeleteWhat an outstanding photo. Amazing. Your written description was something I could totally relate to since in our house I'm almost always the first one awake. I love the early morning. My favorite time of day, except for twilight. That's pretty good too.
ReplyDeleteHope you're enjoying the rest of your vacation.
a cool and rainy morning... peaceful and quiet before all the hustle and bustle of the day begins.... solitude...
ReplyDeletei think about sitting there in a zip up hoodie sipping coffee and watching my breath when i exhale.
i've posted another one for ya:
http://killired.blogspot.com/2006/09/wwcp-2.html
Peace
ReplyDeleteI see a potentially wet and sore backside.
ReplyDeleteMichele sent me here.
your photo reminds me of the end of summer camp, after all the campers have gone home & I could enjoy the thousand acres of nature surrounding you without lil kids screaming, which is also semi-sad because it means that summer is over & I have to go back into the city and work
ReplyDeletewonderful picture carmi.
ReplyDeletefor some reason it made me think of being a teenager, and having to hang out outside during all weathers rather than sit at home.
we'd usually carry a plastic bag in our pockets or newspaper for times like this.
it aslo says solitute to me somehow too.
blimey i dread my kids doing that! eek.
Besides soggy drawers? I think of Chas. Brown's dejected and wet on the pitcher's mound lamenting, "We were winning!" as his baseball game gets rained out.
ReplyDeleteHere via Michele today.
p
PS. I'm impressed that your wife actually wakes up at some point.
I think, "Damn...why can't I make a wet bench look like art?" ;)
ReplyDeleteHere via michele, Carmi!
Here from Michele.
ReplyDeleteActually it reminds me of yesterday. I imagine the park near the house here was deserted and the benches soaked from the ten inches of rain. However, it is on some higher ground, so there might have been people there, at least adults. The kids were all playing in the water.
This photo is breathtakingly stunning. And a great meme to boot! Yes, 100 more would be great. I enjoy reading about your quirks. It adds a nice element of dimension to what we've already learned about you! ;-)
ReplyDeleteHere from Michele this time.
ReplyDeleteIs it still raining up your way? We have had three days of good weather, no more rain. The flooding has gone down and we've pretty much cleaned up the gutters and yard of the trash from Ernesto. Now waiting on tropical depression #6.