“Spring is when you feel like whistling even with a shoe full of slush.” — Doug Larson
“The further you go in life, the more you realize what you’re going to leave this Earth. It’s not going to be, ‘It was a great platform. It was great to win the Super Bowl,’ but really and truly what you’re going to leave on this Earth is the influence on others.” — Joe Gibbs
“The tree which moves some to tears of joy is in the eyes of others only a green thing that stands in the way. Some see nature all ridicule and deformity… and some scarce see nature at all. But to the eyes of the man of imagination, nature is imagination itself.” — William Blake
The Snow Man
by Wallace Stevens
One must have a mind of winter
To regard the frost and the boughs
Of the pine-trees crusted with snow;
And have been cold a long time
To behold the junipers shagged with ice,
The spruces rough in the distant glitter
Of the January sun; and not to think
Of any misery in the sound of the wind,
In the sound of a few leaves,
Which is the sound of the land
Full of the same wind
That is blowing in the same bare place
For the listener, who listens in the snow,
And, nothing himself, beholds
Nothing that is not there and the nothing that is.
And this our life, exempt from public haunt,
Finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks,
Sermons in stones, and good in everything.
~William Shakespeare, As You Like It
“Black and white are the colors of photography. To me, they symbolize
the alternatives of hope and despair to which mankind is subjected.” — Robert Frank
Later on today Leanne Cole and Laura Macky’s weekly Monochrome Madness will be posted for your viewing pleasure on Leanne’s blog. If you would like to participate and submit a photo in the coming weeks, please email your monochrome image to leanne@leannecole.com.au and include a link to your blog or website if you have one. It doesn’t have to be WordPress blogger, it can be a Facebook page, a Flickr page, etc. Include your name or your blog name. The image size should be low resolution, so the largest size should be 1000 pixels or less. The deadline for submission is before 6 p.m. on or before Tuesday, Melbourne Australia time. The earlier the better for Leanne. If you should miss the deadline your photograph will be posted the following week. The complete instructions are posted on Leanne’s blog should you have any questions or need help. Thanks!
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There’s a certain Slant of light
by Emily Dickinson
There’s a certain Slant of light,
Winter Afternoons –
That oppresses, like the Heft
Of Cathedral Tunes –
Heavenly Hurt, it gives us –
We can find no scar,
But internal difference –
Where the Meanings, are –
None may teach it – Any –
‘Tis the seal Despair –
An imperial affliction
Sent us of the Air –
When it comes, the Landscape listens –
Shadows – hold their breath –
When it goes, ’tis like the Distance
On the look of Death –
“So she poured out the liquid music of her voice to quench the thirst of his spirit.”
~ Nathaniel Hawthorne
Nala’s calf expressing surprise from his first night time photo flash.
Below Matt expresses his bullishness in the intoxicating snow.
“Never express yourself more clearly than you are able to think.” — Niels Bohr
Weekly Photo Challenge: Express Yourself
Maverick Mist 