A Certainty of Light

A View From Lookout Mountain

2011-10-17T19:58:00.001-05:00

Untitled, originally uploaded by silvrdollrmoon.

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2011-09-13T15:46:00.001-05:00

Untitled, originally uploaded by silvrdollrmoon.

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2011-09-12T23:23:00.001-05:00

Untitled, originally uploaded by silvrdollrmoon.

Meet Orca...

2011-09-06T11:15:00.010-05:00

One of my most favorite things to do with my photography is to take something rather drabby and transform it into something more beautiful. In general, horses are thought of as beautiful, but this one looks kind of shabby. He is dirty and there are flies buzzing around him. It's funny how when I was taking this picture my eyes only saw his inner beauty I suppose. When I got back home and saw what the camera had recorded I was saddened by the reality of it. I spent some time editing...

...and got those pesky flies off of him as fast as I could.

The fun part was the actual hand painting I got to do with my new Bamboo pen and tablet. I painted the trees in the background and the general ground.

And here is the final result. A little surreal. A little bit dreamy. Much more pleasing to the eye.

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2011-08-24T23:29:00.001-05:00

Untitled, originally uploaded by silvrdollrmoon.

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2011-08-16T16:52:00.001-05:00

Untitled, originally uploaded by silvrdollrmoon.

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2011-07-12T10:17:00.001-05:00

Untitled, originally uploaded by silvrdollrmoon.

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2011-05-26T22:10:00.001-05:00

Untitled, originally uploaded by silvrdollrmoon.

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2011-05-18T15:11:00.001-05:00

Untitled, originally uploaded by silvrdollrmoon.

Mississippi River at Tunica River Park

2011-05-03T11:25:00.003-05:00

Mississippi River at Tunica River Park, originally uploaded by silvrdollrmoon.

The river stage was approximately at 49 feet when I took this picture on April 28, 2011.

Today, May 3, 2011 the level is at 54 feet expecting to rise a foot a day until it crests on May 10, 2011.

Untitled

2011-04-25T18:50:00.001-05:00

Untitled, originally uploaded by silvrdollrmoon.

2011-02-15T10:40:00.001-06:00

, originally uploaded by silvrdollrmoon.

2011-02-05T13:53:00.001-06:00

, originally uploaded by silvrdollrmoon.

January snow

2011-01-28T15:55:00.001-06:00

, originally uploaded by silvrdollrmoon.

2010-11-23T20:10:00.000-06:00

2010-11-18T18:15:00.000-06:00

2010-11-16T13:12:00.001-06:00

In the Kitchen Garden

2010-11-15T16:07:00.003-06:00

Drinking some of the rich wine

Made up for his lapse of reasoning

“Don't do me no good.”

You were anything but troubled

It was a compliment to his skill

The brightest garden I ever did see

The extraordinary nature meant to return

“Well, y'all come down now.”

And he turned and ran

The idea of comprehending where he was

In the kitchen garden caught like a fish

Coastal

2010-11-15T10:47:00.004-06:00

In my shop.

Autumn

2010-11-11T09:39:00.001-06:00

, originally uploaded by silvrdollrmoon.

Sunrise Echinaceas

2010-07-05T09:47:00.006-05:00

I planted my first ever garden bed yesterday!

Total time 3 hours 15 minutes.

I planted three Sunrise Echinaceas. They are a soft muted yellow...buttercup, butterscotch...comes to mind.

Seems like they fade to white.

Gardening Journal

2010-06-29T19:39:00.010-05:00

8am-noon

Weeded the back area right to left until in the center I ran into a very angry and upset wasp. He kept circling me, warning me. I stopped and turned my attention left of back bench behind flag poles. There are about 4 rose bushes struggling to survive from neglect. This spring I noticed maybe three very beautiful flowers blooming there. They reminded me of English roses. I weeded out the stubborn Spiderworts and etc. I watered plenty today. The whole back area and the side garden areas. It has not rained in a long time. Watering need for this area is very high!

Stewart took me to The Dixon Gallery and Gardens the other day and I was just in awe. I loved the gardens! Here are some inspiration photos that I took:

The dang squirrels are climbing the pole of our new bird feeder pole that we so cleverly put in the middle of the back yard. We had thought that since it was so far away from the fence that they wouldn't be able to get to the bird food. How stunned was I when I saw him actually climb the metal pole as if he were in army boot camp! Funny sight.

We've mowed the entire lawn about 12 complete times so far this year saving us $1500 at $125/cut. I've fertilized the yard one and a half times. Need 2 more bags. Perhaps the weed n feed. Perhaps just the feed.

- compost
- mulch
- more weeding
- more watering
- define pathways
- stepping stone under faucets?
- divide & transplant Irises

Mowing vs Weeding

2010-05-27T21:32:00.007-05:00

Wow. I just noticed that it has only been a mere 5 days since the last time I mowed the lawn and yet...I was out there again today. I suppose I could have waited a few more days...but I just love the look of freshly mowed grass! It's also great cardio! Who needs a treadmill when I can just go out and mow my lawn??? And even in the fall with the leaves...all that raking is a great work-out. Yes, I definitely prefer doing yard work over going to the gym. Beauty is the great reward.

Take a look at these new pretty flowers I saw blooming today in our garden while I was mowing the lawn:

Gorgeous White Lilys

Rose

I also saw some plants today at our local grocery store that I am considering for our garden:

These Pink Lilys are plumaly-licious!

Coleus plants are very pretty and I hear that they are pretty easy to maintain as well.

Unfortunately I do not recall the name of this awesome plant. I love the big, bold leaves!

While mowing the lawn today I was torn between wanting to revive the grass (dead in parts) or to rid it all and just plant beds and mulch everywhere. It's a tough decision and an important one I believe. I think the eco-friendly thing to do is to get rid of the lawn. The grass requires these monsters of machinery to maintain (1.3 acres)...but there is a lot of work required in getting the soil ready for some new beds. Beds that will require lots of weeding. But hey, weeding is great exercise too.

Weeding is a meditation that reaches down into the heart of the garden, centering body and breath on that secret garden hidden underneath a tangle of weeds. -Wendy Johnson

Gorgeousness in my Garden this Morning

2010-05-24T09:56:00.003-05:00

Isn't she a pretty sight? I am assuming this is a lily. I do not know her proper name. I have been waiting patiently for her bloom. I was stunned this morning when I saw her.

Here is a multi-colored one that I adore. I am still saddened by pulling up a lot of these before they showed any buds. I thought that they were a weed. I am happy and honored to host the few handfuls that survived my pluckings.

I believe that this is a type of Hosta. They are good shade plants and I intend to plant many more of them around in my strive to get rid of my lawn. I love the different shades of green, heights and structures that can be obtained with these easy to maintain plants.

Daylilies in my Garden

2010-05-22T20:45:00.003-05:00

I really, really love the colors of daylilies. They are so rich. I still cannot get over the fact that their blooms only last for one day. Luckily, there seems to be new ones blooming every day so far. Well, it has only been three days so far. I hope they continue for a while.

It was really very hot and humid out this afternoon when I got a spontaneous urge to go and cut the yard. What a sweat! Of course, all I kept thinking while I was mowing was how I am going to rid my yard of the grass and put down stones or mulch...more garden beds?...shrubs? I do not like breathing in the exhaust fumes from the mower. I do not like using gas. I do not like the loud noise. But I really do love the look and smell of freshly cut grass. I do not know what it is about it. Something magically mesmerizing.

Morning pics

2010-05-13T11:07:00.002-05:00

This morning there is a slight humid breeze passing through. Pictured above, I believe, is an English Rose. I saw two out there in the back. One is yellow and this one above. The yellow bloomed first and would not have made a lovely picture today. They are getting full sun but seem a little misplaced to me and not as healthy as I believe they should be.

This is the lovely Spiderwort that I have been desperately pulling up. There are still plenty around. I cannot believe that I stuffed them into three large lawn bags and hauled them off to the road. They sure were heavy. I am glad that I finally found out that they are worth keeping around. I can tell myself now that I was just thinning them out!

In the far western corner of the yard is a huge bed that I hardly ever get to tend because it is the furthest away from the house. It borders an empty lot that sits in a fairly natural state...meaning, the owners of the lot hardly ever tend to it. But the lot is fairly cleared, but unkempt. This is the most "natural" looking bed that I have...meaning, I hardly ever tend to it and so gorgeous little surprises such as these pop up. I think that eventually I would love for it host a whole bunch of wildflowers or I also think that this would be a lovely place to have echinaceas.

Gardening

2010-05-11T18:17:00.003-05:00

Here is a photo of an Amaryllis that is in my front flower bed. I'm a newbie gardener and am very excited to take over what the former owners of this house seeded.

Earlier this spring I smiled when I saw the daffodils popping up yellow everywhere. I did not even know they were named daffodils ~ that is how unschooled I am in the art of gardening. I was even more surprised and awed when the Irises bloomed. Tall and proud, colorful, mouths opened wide.

Then I noticed a spikey, purple flowered plant. It looked pretty and so I thought, "Why not keep it? Even if it is a weed." But then I noticed how invasive they had become. Sprouting up everywhere...crowding in on my Irises. So I pulled them. Along with some pineapple looking weed. Pull, pull, pluck, pluck.

On my last trip to Lowe's I ran into some Lily's. Such sadness. Those were exactly the pineapple looking weed I had been plucking up with such ease from all of my beds. : ( Fortunately, there are still a few in the front bed. : ) I am waiting patiently for them to bloom.

As for the spikey, purpled flowered plant...I was informed by a dear friend that they are called Spiderwort. I've read that they can become pretty invasive. So I wasn't all that sad for pulling them. There are still plenty enough around...

I have images in my mind of what I am dreaming of for my yard. I see rocks, stones, pebbles. I see a lot of open spaces filled with container plants and lovely shade plants such as Hostas. I want Irises, but I don't want a million of them...so I need to thin those out and transplant. Find some space for the Spiderworts. I would love to have more of the Amaryllis around. I like their trumpet look about them.

My roses are blooming like mad:

The lawn needs a lot of help. And that fence will probably come down soon. Everyday is such a wonder to me. Even though it isn't picture perfect it still is lovely to take in all the sights and sounds of nature. The birds, squirrels, bees, and frogs that have made their home here with us.

One, two, three in a row

2010-05-10T20:25:00.001-05:00

Happy Spring Time

2010-03-23T21:56:00.000-05:00

Birds of Winter

2010-01-29T18:11:00.000-06:00

There was a time when I used to read the Peterson Field Guide to Birds. That was when I worked in the Bird Division at the University of Michigan's Museum of Natural History. That was so long ago. I have no idea what kind of birds these are. I name them Red Snow Bird and Lil Fat Snow bird...lol.

We have lots of birds that come and visit us everyday because we have a bird feeder. At times, I think there are a total of twenty birds at once in our yard around the feeder. Different kinds. Blue ones. Red ones. Brown ones. Orange ones. Big ones. Little ones. So many of them. They make me smile.

I do believe that watching them (while I am drinking some warm green tea with lemon, ginseng and a heaping tablespoon of honey) is good for the soul.

Wooden Bridge

2010-01-08T16:08:00.000-06:00

8 x 8 Print available here.

Jazz Drums

2010-01-05T20:01:00.000-06:00

8x8 Print of Jazz Drums now available in my shop: www.silverdollarmoon.etsy.com

Etsy Treasury - A Touch of Frost

2009-12-28T16:31:00.000-06:00

I made it to my very first Etsy Treasury called A Touch of Frost. Wahoo! My photo First Frost

is included along with some other very lovely items. Thank you so much namolio for including my photography!

In Loving Memory of Shaka

2009-12-20T19:15:00.001-06:00

We are going to miss her dearly...She lived a full life and was loved so very much.
May she rest in peace.

The First Frost

2009-12-14T23:43:00.000-06:00

We had our first frost the other night. A winter's chill. And it isn't even winter yet! I took these two photos with my lovely polaroid sx-70 camera with 600 film. I love the blurry background and the subtle streaks from the rollers.

Mounted Metallic Print on Etsy

2009-12-11T09:52:00.000-06:00

These metallic prints came out just lovely! And this one is mounted onto a black squared framed box. It measures 8 x 8 inches. Available now at my shop: silverdollarmoon.etsy.com.

Also in the shop is this one called Sitting Pretty:

Bird On A Wire series

2009-12-04T19:44:00.000-06:00

Available soon in my Etsy shop...silverdollarmoon.etsy.com

A Very Thankful Day Indeed

2009-11-30T20:35:00.000-06:00

Here are a few pics from my recent trip to Ann Arbor, Michigan to visit my awesome son. Most of these were taken on Thanksgiving Day. The town was deserted. It was cold. A little misty. We walked around what is known as The Arb. Then we went home and ate a vegetarian pizza and watched Jackie Brown.

Mrs. Kwitty's Cottage

2009-11-08T17:26:00.000-06:00

Mrs. Kwitty's Cottage made this adorable Day Planner/Calendar. I just received mine in the mail recently and can't wait to use it in 2010! Very talented and creative, misseskwittys design is very smart. Pockets line the front and back (great for coupons and notes) and I love the pen holder on the inside flap along with the button and ribbon closure! Thanks misseskwittys for your super fast shipment and great convos too. xoxoxo

Painting the Great Room

2009-10-28T20:30:00.000-05:00

Painting the Great Room is taking a lot longer that I had ever imagined. One more coat on three more walls and we should be all done tomorrow. Yay! I want to get back to my yoga routine! But this painting is kind of meditative for me. I found myself flooded with thoughts when I first started this morning and by the time I was finished my head was all empty. ~OM~ : ) The new color is on the left of the fireplace and it is called Mushroom Bisque. What funny names they have for paint! We wanted a warm and comforting color. Now all I can think of is soup when I look at this wall.

New item posted in my etsy shop:

11x14 in poster sized print of Blues Legends with black border.

Happy end of October!

Happy Holidays Note Cards

2009-10-20T12:26:00.000-05:00

I'm really happy with how these note cards came out! I posted them in my etsy shop last night. Today I am awaiting arrival on some posters that I ordered. Today is also my birthday!!! We are chillin' 'round the house. Stewie is cookin' up some red beans and rice...smells spectacular! mmmm....can't wait to grub! I've been playing wii and ps3 all morning. The audio guy also came by this morning. Pretty soon we will be all set up with surround sound and network and remote control lights!!!

I hope you all are enjoying this fine autumn day. I sure am!

Postcards - Set of 10

2009-10-01T21:13:00.001-05:00

New in my shop. A set of 10 postcards. Glossy. 4 x 6 inches.

The Appliances Have Arrived!

2009-09-30T14:47:00.001-05:00

Red-licious! After reading many reviews we decided on Whirlpool's sleek poppy front loading washer/dryer Duet set.

But this is what happens when the massive refrigerator doesn't fit...

Stewart has to saw off the trim with his big ole heavy loud saw!

Well, at least we are through with bringing home microwavable frozen dinners and delivered pizzas. That gets very old after awhile. I think the first meal I will cook will be my famous Spaghetti. Yum. Yum. Can't wait!

And There Is Time for the Blues

2009-09-29T20:58:00.000-05:00

Well, September has been a very busy month for me. I have been nonstop trying to get settled into my new home. I live in the Mississippi Delta. Pictured above is Buddy Guy. He is from Louisiana. I am so glad that we actually got to go out and see his show. It was some much needed drink and relaxation time for us.

The house is coming along s l o w l y. We are still waiting on delivery of our washer/dryer, refrigerator and sofa. We are mostly moved in. I called in a landscaper to help with the yard. 1.3 acres is a bit much for us to handle. The flower beds were overgrown and some big spiders had taken over. I would have handled it myself, but I didn't want to have to deal with wasps and spiders. I left that to the pros. Perhaps now that they have cleared out the overgrowth and have gotten rid of the spiders and wasps - I think that I will be able to handle it from here. We'll see...

As soon as we get more organized, "lived-in", and actually get some furniture and some decorating finished I will post some before and after photos. Room #1 will be the Great Room.

I was entranced by this place

2009-09-04T19:55:00.000-05:00

Here is my new home! Yay! Needs a lot of TLC but will be fun fixing it up. All of my creative energy is now focused on this project...for the time being. But I will be back to my usual postings on here, flickr and etsy soon! I'm sure I won't be able to stay away for too long...lol.

Fortunate to find a place so peaceful

2009-08-27T20:14:00.000-05:00

I posted a square crop of this picture on flickr. I don't know why. I guess I thought it would look better that way on flickr. But what I really prefer is this. I guess it has more of a landscape feel to it. I like the glassy silver tones. They look really happy there together!

Random Fragments Journal

2009-08-25T19:06:00.000-05:00

NEW in my shop. What a wonderful way to collect thoughts and jot down notes and poems and other random bits and pieces from your life. 48 pages of crisp white heavy cardstock paper. An artist's journal, a poet's diary. And just the right size to carry with you everywhere you go.

"Writing...is its own reward, and those who discover this are the luckiest people in the world." ~ Laura Kasischke

Imagine

2009-08-20T21:18:00.000-05:00

Here is a mixed media collage that I've been working on and just completed. It's called "Imagine". It floats on a black panel. The whole thing measures about 8 x 10.5 inches. The image is about 5.5 x 8.25 inches. The poem is one that is in my book, "Fragments and A Certainty of Light". I'm thinking about putting this original piece of art for sale on etsy.

Wandering

2009-08-19T09:25:00.000-05:00

Wandering

The leaves are the ones guiding me
In the forest, there are so many to follow.

Some hang wearily as if
They would like to fall on me.

Others turn upwards so that
I am forced to pull my eyes up.

Still, others are formless.
Motionless. They meditate

On the evening's window as if it were
A mirror. A few die out.

They are not worth talking about.

Fragments and A Certainty of Light - poems by Janet Larson

2009-08-13T15:18:00.001-05:00

At long last my new book of poems available HERE.

It's Finally Arrived

2009-08-11T17:01:00.000-05:00

Well, it's finally arrived! Here is a book that has been many years in the making ~ perhaps a lifetime in the making. I've always loved poetry. In fact, I majored in Creative Writing and Literature at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.

Words have always captivated me ever since I can remember. I have always loved to read. When I was a little girl ~ mainly, back then, I read Disney books and Encyclopedias. I started the first grade a year early when I was only five years old. I remember writing a little story about my dog. I gave it to my teacher and after she read it she wanted to promote me to the second grade. The principal, however, was very skeptical. I was very little. I spent a few days in the second grade and then they asked me how I liked it. I said that I would rather be in the third grade with my brother, Billy, or just go back to the first grade. I told them, "First or Third - not Second." Ultimately, I went back to the first grade. I was very happy. My teacher was very nice.

Not many people know that I was a teen runaway and high school drop-out. I left school and moved to Hattiesburg, MS where the University of Southern Mississippi is located. I used to pose as a student to sneak into the library. I used to spend hours there just reading and reading. I would even take notes, not really knowing why. All I knew was that I wanted to remember what I was reading. And what was I reading? I mostly remember discovering poetry. Arthur Rimbaud, T.S. Eliot, William Butler Yeats, Sylvia Plath, etc.

For a sad, lost, young teen-aged girl ~ THIS was my salvation and comfort. Reading the great poets made me realize that I, too, had a voice. I just had to figure out what I was wanting to say.

After obtaining my G.E.D. I moved to Michigan and studied Creative Writing and Literature with an emphasis in Poetry. I also spent my junior year abroad in Freiburg, Germany studying T.S. Eliot.

It's been a long time in coming. I am happy and proud that it has arrived ~ finally.

The Dance

2009-08-05T19:25:00.001-05:00

This is my own original acrylic painting of The Dance. 16"x20".

Here is more of my art on etsy.

Two Poems

2009-08-03T13:23:00.001-05:00

Holly has a lovely clothing store at www.hende.etsy.com

My book of poems "Fragments and a Certainty of Light" is forthcoming!

What I've been up to lately...

2009-08-01T20:57:00.000-05:00

Suki

Three Stellas

A Place in Robinsonville, Mississippi

2009-07-31T18:33:00.000-05:00

A Place in Robinsonville, Mississippi

NOW IT'S DARK

2009-07-29T14:04:00.000-05:00

My best friend, Missy Prince, has put together a wonderful collection of her polaroid photographs in a book called NOW IT'S DARK, a brilliant and lovely book. Missy was raised in Gulfport, Mississippi and now resides in Portland, Oregon. The colors are subtle - the beauty tremendous. You will find yourself walking back through time to a world she sees through her camera's eye. Nostalgic and current, these photographs will remain in your thoughts long after the book is closed.

Missy is also the photographer of my profile picture for this blog. Follow her here: missyprince.blogspot.com

The Sitting Room

2009-07-28T17:25:00.000-05:00

The Sitting Room

The house has devoured her already
There is no one

No one anywhere

It had nothing to do with silence
When the lives of the others passed by
It was only the idea of it

Waiting in the sitting room forever
Anxious for echoes
It all simply vanished

The mind boggles to remember
A woman's silence
Faintly trembling in his hand

A certain sense of loss
Developing out of the pictures
And that was another great thing

In the same room no one knew
What day of what year it must have been

It was at the next corner
They grabbed each other for support

Subtracted and divided

An empty ghost of light
Holding up a cocktail glass

Hearing what we would have said
Through the bones in our head

Arms Outstretched

2009-07-27T17:25:00.000-05:00

In the back yard
my mother swings
careful not to touch
the weight of gravity
dragging her
across bare moments
into rooms of pale color
where silver shining fishes
fly into her face like light
what she said was:
'faces bow down to the ground'
a certain solitude here
the arms outstretched

Eucalyptus

2009-07-26T12:05:00.000-05:00

Eucalyptus

The clump of eucalyptus trees
still form in my mind
it doesn't say anything about my silence

every morning around sunrise
this small island goes insanely wild

but it's too hard to explain
impossible for me to focus

sometimes I wake up
and stumble upon the middle of nowhere
with two sticks and a sandy map
I make my way back home

Angels in Black Dresses

2009-07-25T14:56:00.000-05:00

Angels in Black Dresses

We are angels in black dresses

We are the excitement in dawn's faint light
We rush to the other side of the street

Only to find an empty field of night
Flashing forward as if it were a cup of tea

We do not arrange the spaces between us
We only know the tiny crevices are meant to be more

Than borders that separate the goodness within each one of us
Dreams are just wishful thinking

The dead drop out of the sky like snow
They wake us when it is over

www.silverdollarmoon.etsy.com
all content here is copyrighted by Janet Larson 2009