Small Wonders
Snails together on
the sidewalk, two tiny snails, one
larger - Mother and son? Sisters? Brothers? Friends?
Where are they going?
Together?!
Remember when people used to write letters to one another?
A lost art, to be sure.
Love letters on Flagler's Fishing Pier.
Reprinted from LainesBlog, February 2015, with additions from Laine!
©LaineQuinn2022
Life can be overwhelming at times - aging parents, sick children, losing a treasured pet.
Even joy can flood the heart, so much beauty, so much love, so complex.
That's where our friends come in.
They walk with us even when we are apart and help us to make sense of our mortal lives.
Where would we be without our friends?
Here's to old friends, new friends and the friends we are about to meet!
Thank You!
Reprinted from Laine's Blog, November, 2011
©LaineQuinn 2021
Sculpture found at Cummer Gardens in Jacksonville, Florida.
What nourishes you
in the middle of a Pandemic?
What nourishes you
when political forces take a dark turn
and plunge us into a past that should be long forgotten?
For me it is Poetry -
Poetry and Music that soothe my soul
and the beauty all around me -
flowers still blooming in our Florida gardens and
the angle of the sun in the trees at a certain time of day,
and of course the beach!
And happy dogs and peaceful cats!
And friends, young and old!
Let the autumn light reach you.
©2021 Laine Quinn, photo of Spanish Moss in Live Oaks at Washington Oaks State Park.
I wanted to write about the unsettling times we find ourselves in
and then there was that date,
September 11, 2021
staring me in the eye.
In 2001, almost a week after that horrible day,
I was on a sailboat in Provincetown Harbor
and witnessed the most magnificent sunset
caused by the dust in the air all the way from
New York City to Cape Cod,
from that terrible tragedy at the World Trade Center Towers.
I lived in Provincetown at the time and my friend invited me out on the water.
Planes were still grounded and it was eerily quiet and peaceful, calm and beautiful.
We talked about how the U.S. behaved in the world
and how that created more enemies than friends.
The Country stood still for a while -
collective grief - shock - compassion - empathy.
And you know the rest of the story.
They said,
"Get on with your lives." "Go shopping."
We'll start a war or two and make it right.
A primitive response lacking insight, intelligence, even compassion for the victims.
It's not what their families wanted.
It wasn't misguided -
it was exactly what some people wanted.
Will America ever be the Beacon of Democracy she promised to be?
Not like that.
Not like that.
©Laine Quinn 2021, photo September 17th, 2001.
What I have been trying not to say out loud,
is that there are blessings or gifts hidden in tragedies,
and these gifts may not be obvious for some time to come,
but they are there.
If we can make a commitment not to let the anger and helplessness
allow us to disconnect,
and instead turn to our friends and families,
and really see them in that deep way that keeps love alive,
then that compassion spreads to our neighbors, and the person behind the counter,
and we become part of the force that moves us away from the madness,
and towards creating a loving and compassionate world.
Be gentle with each other and kind and open.
Reprinted from Laine's Blog, 4/2013 and 6/2016
Often I catch myself sitting with my hands folded,
like a good school girl at her desk.
As a child I always loved this painting of "Praying Hands" by Albrecht Durer
Hands -
one hand washing the other -
like old friends.
Like how we help each other now -
keeping our distance, but checking in on friends and family.
Our hands,
are like good friends -
really good friends!
"Praying Hands" by Albrecht Durer.
Necklace in Mexico, and Door Hand also! ©2017 Laine Quinn
Little did I know that when I accidentally shot the door to this cottage in May,
(while trying to find a bird in the oak tree at dusk that was making an unusual call),
that 4 months later, I would be moving in there.
That's most of the reason for my absence!
Then there is the other,
my new old car!
And now it is Thanksgiving,
and there is much to be grateful for.
Thank you to
all the friends who helped me along the way,
clearing out and painting and cleaning and moving.
It seemed endless.
And especially to the "Land Owner" who invited me to move into her studio,
Thank You, for all.
For All.
And to the one who practically donated the car to me!
Thank you!
Thank You!
Thank You!
Now that things have settled down a bit, I just might have more time to Blog!
Everything has to do with loving
and not loving.
Rumi
I didn't do it!
"HONEY", the new kid on the block looking guilty for no apparent reason!
A sunny day with my young friend,
and a walk in the park.
Sometimes the trees just take my breath away!
Yes, there are grander trees in St. Augustine,
but with the sun shining through this relatively young Oak,
it was a delight.
Lighthouse park, with Aden. 3.16.17.
The blue Hydrangea,
on a summer's evening,
the year of weddings and funerals.
Reprinted from January, 2016, with permission!
Who doesn't like staring into a warm fire on a cold night?
Drawn into the magic of dancing light and heat and the crackling sounds,
it is difficult to concentrate on the conversations around you,
and the one in your head is more like a dream -
a dream that humans have been having for thousands of years -
restfulness, safety, peace, warmth.
Winter dreams...
Human dreams...
From Laine's Blog, December 6, 2013 and used with her permission!
Grateful for the usual suspects...
dear friends, family, cats, dogs,
blue skies and the moon and stars,
but especially for my time spent in nature.
Time that pulls me out of my head
and back to this beautiful complex world.
I am grateful for that.
Lights reflecting on the bay by the Bridge of Lions
remind me of sitting on the end of a pier, a long time ago,
and hearing the water lapping gently on the shore,
while being hypnotized by the rippling reflections of the lights from across the way.
One of my very favorite things!
Happy Thanksgiving!
Boundless Energy!
The urge to make art, anytime, anywhere...
And making easy friends with driftwood creatures...
St. Augustine Beach, nearly a week after the Hurricane, with Aden, October, 2016.
Tragedy.
Shock.
Grief.
Love.
An outpouring of love
for the
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender
and Straight
community.
In the wake of the horrific shooting at an Orlando Night Club.
Sending love to family and friends and first responders and second and third...
What I have been trying not to say out loud,
is that there are blessings or gifts hidden in tragedies,
and these gifts may not be obvious for some time to come,
but they are there.
If we can make a commitment not to let the anger and helplessness
allow us to disconnect,
and instead turn to our friends and families,
and really see them in that deep way that keeps love alive,
then that compassion spreads to our neighbors, and the person behind the counter,
and we become part of the force that moves us away from the madness,
and towards creating a loving and compassionate world.
Be gentle with each other and kind and open.
Reprinted from Laine's Blog, April 18th, 2013.
This tiny squirrel accosted my young friend and his dad on their way back to their car
in a parking lot in St. Augustine.
No sign of a mommy or daddy squirrel,
so they brought her home with them.
She is doing well with regular feeding and warmth and love.
There are times when we can help and do so generously,
and times when we can't,
when we need to focus on the task at hand,
or getting strong,
or just being.
It is good to know what time it is for you,
as well as for the other.
It is all good time.
There was a large 4 story abandoned factory building
somewhere on U.S. 1 in Pennsylvania that I wanted to photograph
but never got around to it.
It was in serious disrepair with many broken windows,
but in one window there was a sign,
Help Wanted
This building reminded me of that...
It's a good thing to know when to ask for help -
after all, we are all here together, in this life,
here for each other.
The Grist Mill Gifts and Tavern, asking for help! St. Augustine, Florida, 2016.
It's "King of the Hill"
King from the hill...
I'm King from the hill!!
Ok...
King!
Aden on the dune, St. Augustine Beach, yesterday!
(Laine and Pat's show went really really well, and will be hanging until the 26th of April.)
(Thanks to family and friends for being there. We love you!)
There is a book by Michael Meade that I am savoring, sentence by sentence.
It's a gold mine of insight into our human life on earth,
that connects us to the threads of eternity.
A quote from the book,
The World Behind The World...
Happy Valentine's Weekend!
With love,
Laine
The blue Hydrangea,
on a summer's evening,
the year of weddings and funerals.
June, 2013, Baltimore, Maryland.
Again!
Cold air meets warmish water and voila, sea smoke!
Thanks to David for sharing this beautiful phenomena in the cold hours after sunrise, Sunday morning, January 24th, 2016.
St. Augustine Beach.
Love, and Joy!
Like flowers bring!
(People can bring that too!)
Cape Cod Hydrangeas!
If you put bottled beer in the freezer to get chilled
and forget about it until morning,
does it explode?
Answer:
Yes.
It's not as messy as you might imagine,
as it is frozen,
but it is messy!
A few years back, in the freezer of my sister on the occasion of her son and Daughter in Law's wedding celebration.
(Is it really 5 years already?)
(oh my)
Ever grateful for the beautiful ocean,
the wind and pelicans,
for night blooming jasmine off my deck,
for the moon and stars,
for family and friends I adore,
for my health and happiness.
Happy Thanksgiving!
St. Augustine Beach.
The perfect afternoon at the beach.
The perfect thing to do...
Get sandy and wet!
And later?
Have a drink with friends!
St. Augustine Beach pier, and Aden playing in the tidal pool and later at the Conch House with friends.
serving dinner once a month on the Full Moon.
Breakfast and Lunch -
most other days!
Another town, another great meal on the road in Lambertville, New Jersey.
Lobster traps and buoys.
And a place to sit,
On your way down the pier.
Provincetown, Cape Cod, Massachusetts.
(Apologies to the friends I didn't get to see!)
From a moving car,
the background is almost stationary - almost.
The foreground is whizzing by.
You can learn things about yourself
when you step outside of your ordinary life.
Things that are obvious once you get hit over the head with them,
like -
we aren't going to live forever,
me and my friends,
we aren't going to live forever.
Of course you know that,
but when you lose a friend you were sure you would see again and again,
it hits you.
No matter how perfect or imperfect that house on the hill is,
it will one day be gone.
On the road near Lake Lure, in North Carolina.
At the end of the day.
The end of a world.
The end of a life.
Doors close.
Chapters end.
And then it begins again.
The sea oats
going by
will be back in the spring.
The sun that sets
rises again.
The mystery is solved in 533 pages,
yet some things
will remain
forever
beyond our
reach,
just the other side of certainty.
Sea oats and sunset with painterly effect, St. Augustine Beach.
From Laines Blog, October 2013.
Laine (me, I) has begun to set up in the Historic Market in the Plaza de la Constitution in St. Augustine.
On Sale are photos of St. Augustine and from my travels near and far.
This is a month to month commitment, so stay posted for next month's news.
I'll be there Saturday this week, July 4th and next Saturday as well, July 11th.
Also, I have developed some prints from my favorite blog posts and here is a sample of that!
And Drum Roll please...
Laine's new artistic venue,
painting on silk scarves.
Always a friend of the silk scarf and bandana, this was an easy transition to make.
Here is a sample of the first crop, hanging on the line to dry.
Wish me luck and maybe I will see you there!