Purely Captivating 

Very little grows on jagged rock.  Be grounded.  Be crumbled so wildflowers will come up where you are. -Rumi

The weekly photo challenge this week is “Pure”.  The photo could convey wholesomeness, something undiluted, or simplicity.  Since contentment and simplicity are two of my top endeavors this year, I knew that I’d be able to find some photos I thought were representative of this sentiment.

And you?  When will you begin that long journey into yourself? -Rumi

While at my mother-in-law’s on Saturday, I went for a little walk.  I have been walking those woods for almost 18 years.  This was my first journey since I’ve began taking more photographs.  It was a very hot day.  In fact, on the ride home, the car would register 95-97 degrees Fahrenheit.  I kept thinking about my trip to Florida in a week and how quickly I’ve forgotten what intense, breezeless heat feels like!

I rode to the top of the driveway with my husband since he was replacing the mailbox.  I walked back toward the house, along the edge of the driveway seeking out the simple beauty that bursts forth.  I wanted to see if I could capture the underside of a flower with the macro lens that attaches to my Iphone.  I was happy with the shots achieved.  Two of which I’ve included on this post.

I also brought my Nikon D3200 (and the two lenses that it came with).  The sun was searing, but there was lots of shady areas to meander through.

You have escaped the cage.  Your wings are stretched out. Now fly. -Rumi

The driveway starts at the top of a hill and descends to a creek before climbing again to the house.  When I reached the creek, I left the driveway for one of the many trails. The water was low, just barely trickling over the tiny waterfall that my father-in-law had built by strategically placing stones from the property in such a way to create a cascade.  I remembered back to the summer we visited when the waterfall was the new feature at the creek.  I stopped to admire the ferns creating the feeling of an enchantment as they raced along the forest floor.  I spied the concrete raccoon and alligator nestled into hidden areas, a surprise as you strolled along.  Each one, slowly showing up like a little treasure when I would make my annual trips to Virginia.

I sat on the little garden bench beside the creek and watched what I assumed was a dragonfly.  In looking it up, I discovered that this one was actually a damselfly.  They are both in the insect order Ordonata.  As a child on summer nights in Florida, I would hold my finger out very still and often a dragonfly would land on it.  The ones that would perch on my finger would have glasslike wings.  Not only were they beautiful, but they are said to eat those pesky mosquitoes that love the swampland of Florida.

The black wings of this one caught my eye.  They looked like soft velvet as it flittered from fern to fern and then onto a blade of grass hanging delicately over the creek.  It’s iridescent body shining against the current flowing below.  Every so often it would open its wings, as if to catch its balance and then fold them neatly away again.  I sat there mesmerized by the beauty.  I looked it up and believe this is a Ebony Jewelwing.  I imagine it stayed there long after I left, playing in the shade of the enchanted forest.

What you seek is seeking you -Rumi

I began my ascent toward the house, once again looking for the simple beauty.  I couldn’t quite capture the beginnings of the wild blackberries that grow along the edges of the forest.  I was taken back to the summers where the children and I would rush out each morning to gather any ripe blackberries before the birds found them.  Popping them into our mouths as quickly as we could.  Fingers stained red by the juice that would escape during the plucking.  One summer, our trip would time out to a bounty of blackberries.  Enough that we gathered them in a large bowl and made a pie.  Sugar, crust, and wild blackberries all coming together so perfectly that each bite sent you back for another forkful.

Our trips to that land come more often now that we are here in Virginia.  It is not the same as spending two weeks day in and day out each summer, exploring what new sights nature has to offer.  Seeking beauty in the simple, but magnificent.  It is still the same land, the same sunrise and sunset, the same breeze that blows and creates ripples in the creek.  So much is the same and yet so much has changed.

I have changed.

Do not worry that your life is turning upside down.  How do you know that the side you are used to is better than the one to come? -Rumi

Let your light shine!

Amy