Something simple and straightforward for a Monday. This image–of a lavender field near the village of Brihuega, Spain–was included in one of the three daily news digests that await me in my e-mail inbox every morning. And I thought its beauty warranted a post.
A couple of lines from a favorite Todd Rundgren song seem apt:
“..in the great design of life
We are all so pitifully small.”
As does this poem by Walt Whitman:
When I heard the learn’d astronomer,
When the proofs, the figures, were ranged in columns before me,
When I was shown the charts and diagrams, to add, divide, and measure them,
When I sitting heard the astronomer where he lectured with much applause in the lecture-room,
How soon unaccountable I became tired and sick,
Till rising and gliding out I wander’d off by myself,
In the mystical moist night-air, and from time to time,
Look’d up in perfect silence at the stars.
It’s been widely reported that pandemic-related lockdowns have resulted in cleaner air and clearer water around the world. Here’s to a lasting clarity of vision; may we all, at some point, have the opportunity to look up in perfect silence at unobstructed views of the stars, Jupiter and the Milky Way.
augenblick 
Lovely!
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Thanks for weighing in, Anne.
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Dear Jeanne,
As my brother Eric said upon reading this your new post, “a beautiful post, all the way around.” I had forwarded it to him because I thought it an interesting coincidence that both of you mentioned the stars in your current posts. To read his, please go to writemakesmight.net, his daily blog, and read today’s post, “Starry Night.” Wishing you contentment, good health, and hopefulness.
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Thanks for your comment, Kristina, and for sharing it with Eric. I just read his “Starry Night” post, left a comment and signed up to be on his e-mail list for notifications re: future posts.
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Stunning photograph. The sun flare is perfect.
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It really is gorgeous, isn’t it? Truly, the second I saw it, I thought: “My God, that’s beautiful! And since my blog is about beauty I need to do a post….”
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And very welcome it is too. 🙂
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As always, I enjoyed it!
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That is an excellent photograph beside the obvious; subject, color saturation, and composition. But it’s the shadow detail that struck me most. Between the rows of lavender, and even on the tree trunk. I want to believe it was careful pre-visualization, and exposure determination. But the digital skeptic in me suspects a certain amount of post image manipulation.
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this is a gorgeous picture. If only the lavender in my garden were so lush
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Great photos and sentiments there. Nice combination of light and words! Nice to meet you, by way of Bruce. Bill
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Thanks for stopping by, Bill. I see you regularly in VC’s comments section!
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You’re welcome and nice to meet!
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Bill, given your admiration for TW, I’d meant to direct you here: https://augenblickblog.com/2013/03/27/tom-waits-on-the-downtown-train/
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Yeah that was good…nicely done. Putting me in a “Tom” mood now. Thanks for that. Like that comparison with the Pina Colada and the bourbon, neat.
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To enhance your ‘Tom mood’, check out Robert Altman’s 1993 movie Short Cuts if you haven’t already seen it. It’s based on several short stories by Raymond Carver. Tremendous cast. Waits and Lily Tomlin are husband and wife in one of the story lines.
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Thanks I think I did see that a long while back but should have another look. Carver is one of my favorite writers, too. They’re a good pairing, Waits and Carver.
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