playing catch-up with creativity

To be honest, on my getaway days to Dunrovin, my only true creativity came in devising new and more comfortable ways to nap and read books. Oh, the first couple of days I made sure I took photos... but then the camera ceased to function ("zoom error", it said, over and over again as it sent out its lens and then withdrew it, shutting itself off.)  I took this as a sign, amen brothers and sisters, a SIGN I say, that I was MEANT, yes I said MEANT  that I be indolent and relax even my right index finger which otherwise would have been pressing so frequently that silver shutter button on the camera,  and keeping me from full Dinvinely-ordained non-participation with the world!

But, having pledged to do SOMETHING creative every day, here are a few of the photos I did manage to take between naps:

The South Cabin at Dunrovin Retreat Center has recently had some improvements... the windows and door, and probably the patio.  It overlooks an inlet of the St. Croix River, and the beds are right by the large windows. This is great for enjoying a peaceful view while lounging in bed, but the gravel seen in front of the building is part of the property's walking trail system, so people would walk right by the windows... which was somewhat disconcerting.

That didn't stop Tim and I from napping, napping and more napping.

I was hooked on reflections while the camera worked. This is Dunrovin's main building reflected in the pond. The Christian Brothers have run this retreat center for decades... my high school class came on retreat here in the late 1960s.

This was a favorite view from outside my window.  My own eyes edited out those dead branches, and I only saw a pentagonal frame of branches around this river reflection... until I downloaded the photos!  It is remarkable what our eyes choose not to see.

This was another appealing reflection shot... the swimmers' dock on the pond... which was so full of underwater plant life, I would never have gone into the water!

I saw many delightful water-loving plants on my walk on Friday... which was, alas, the Day the Camera Would Not Work.

These cheerful characters were from the edge of the pond the day before.

I also like the impressionist quality of ripples in a reflection. During the sun on Friday this basic view was much more colorful and whimsical in its ripples. Darn.

And sometimes, I just like contrast. Dark, light. Living, dead.
Then there was the contrast this little getaway (which I won in a drawing) achieved in me.  Before = thoroughly overwrought and over-worked.  After = rebooted!











On Saturday, when we returned home (to a vacuumed and scrubbed house thanks to Glenda, and amazingly weeded front garden thanks to Micah --  I am SO fortunate in the generosity of my friends!)  I decided to try another blitz poem.  I posted one a couple of days ago... and in case you've lost track of the "rules", here they are: line 1 should be a short phrase or image; line 2 should be another short phrase or image using the same first word as line 1. Subsequent pairs of  lines through 48 should have the last word of the preceding line as their first word; line 49 should be the last word of line 48; Line 50 should be the last word of line 47; the title should be the first word of line three, a preposition or conjunction, and the first word of line 47 -- 3 words.
You'll see...

8/21/10 -- a blitz poem for the River Cabin

River of Winning

the Divine is a running boy
the Divine is a flowing river
river of rain
river of reflection
reflection of clouds
reflection of trees
trees full of birdsong
trees full of laughter
laughter of crows
laughter of hoot owls
owls of the night
owls of invisibility
invisibility of ghosts
invisibility of creatures
creatures in the brushwood
creatures on the night path
path unknown
path too revealing
revealing of sleepers
revealing of dreamers
dreamers of real life
dreamers of magic
magic of firelight
magic of morning fog
fog over meadow
fog over river
river sliced in ribbons
river dancing with fresh breeze
breeze through the windows
breeze seen in leaf dance
dance of dreams
dance of stretches
stretches to sky
stretches to inner looks
looks for guidance
looks for answers
answers to tears
amswers to silence
silence by choice
silence caught in talking
talking of pasts
talking of futures
futures too far to reach
futures imagined
imagined like gifts given
imagined like winning
winning the silence
winning the river
river carrying
silence

Tonight the college-aged kids next door are having quite the lively and well-attended drinking party... don't know if it's someone's 21st or if they're just preparing for another year of drunken college attendance... but even with our windows closed and the AC on, they remain a good reminder of why it was important to retreat to the quiet woods with its laughing crows and delightful hooting owls.  Even with a few walkers on the path, I'm grateful to Dunrovin for choosing me for those days by the river.

And what did I do today?  Can this blog entry count so I can go back to bed??