Sunday, February 26, 2012

Hope is the thing with feathers

It’s been a peaceful weekend here at the Casa de George in beautiful Maryland. It began Friday evening with excellent food and company at the annual Trustees Dinner that’s held for the faculty at our school. I think it’s wonderful that they do this for us.

A full morning of cleaning followed on Saturday, as I readied our house for guests. Two of my girlfriends that I’ve known since high school came to stay. It was much fun. And my husband actually enjoys their company.

On Sunday morning we had brunch, then sat outside on the patio in the sunshine. I snapped a few photos while we talked and laughed.




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I kept looking at this spot in the tree and realized that it was a feather delicately clinging onto a leaf blown into the twigs of the doogwood.




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Hope
     
Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune--without the words,
And never stops at all,

And sweetest in the gale is heard;
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little bird
That kept so many warm.

I've heard it in the chillest land,
And on the strangest sea;
Yet, never, in extremity,
It asked a crumb of me.

Emily Dickinson




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My friend, Peg, brought a gift for my husband and when we awoke Sunday morning, we found that he’d hung it up in the dogwood tree.




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It was a good day for a snooze in the sun for George.




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And for Miss Blackie, as well.




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And the birds and the bees and the flowers and the trees and the moon up above.


I don’t know where that came from.



And now I’m off to watch the Academy Awards. It’ll be good to see it being hosted again by Billy Crystal. Enjoy your week, my friends ~ and thanks for stopping by my little corner of the universe.

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35 comments:

Reena said...

Ha ... can't believe I'm first! Everyone must be watching the red carpet. Sounds like a delightful weekend my friend. Love the new bird house!

DesertHen said...

Beautiful photos! Enjoy the Oscars! I'm enjoying a nice glass of wine in front of the fire and watcing all of the glitz and glam myself.

Chrissykat said...

You know I love a post with a Blackie photo! It was a lovely day here too. Oscar time!

Deb said...

Those lines are from a song, The Birds & The Bees. It starts "Let me tell you 'bout the". The next line is "and a thing called love". Good song.

You will probably know it if you hear it, an oldie but a goodie!

Anonymous said...

What a wonderful post...I am totally at ease after reading this. Hope you're enjoying the awards. I just saw the Cirque perform...simply amazing. Hoping your week is a continuation of your wonderful weekend!

Gail said...

A well-earned good weekend with the super photos that always ride with your words. Thank you.

Country Gal said...

Fantastic post and photos ! Love the bird house so cute ! Soon Papa and I are going to get going in his work shop building bird houses ! Have a great day !

Low Tide High Style said...

So glad you had such a nice weekend. I love those feather shots, really beautiful! I hope you have a wonderful week.

Kat :)

Cloudia said...

your weekend is a lovely poem we enjoyed as much as you!
Loved the poised feather, and could smell Miss Blackies fur in the sun!


Warm Aloha from Honolulu
Comfort Spiral

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Merisi said...

Just lovely, the colors are inspiring, more than a whisp of promise!

Imagine, I quoted the poem only moments ago on my friend Simon's blog!

Greetings to you and our beautiful Maryland,
Merisi

Karen thisoldhouse2.com said...

beautiful photos today, kate.. really captures the day you describe.. love the quote...

What was up with Angie and the leglift.

The Weaver of Grass said...

Glad you had such ahappy weekend Kate and that your husband seems to be recovering well. I often think about you.

thecatalanway said...

glad you had a lovely weekend and still you share it with us. the feather hanging is magical and the poem is perfect. I so admire people who can find the poem to go with a thought or an image - I so often spend hours trawling the book of quotations and end up writing something myself.
Next time I see a feather fallen at my feet I shall think of you and of hope. love Kate x

jinxxxygirl said...

Isn't it wonderful to have a friendship that you can share with your husband instead of always having to have a 'girls night out' etc..........and how lovely of them to bring your hubby a gift they knew he would love. Beautiful shots.

Kerri Farley said...

Glad you had a nice weekend with your friends!
Your images are awesome ..... and that feather ..... WOW!

Daryl said...

Fun .. so come clean my house if you get bored cleaning yours ... love the new bird house .. what state is that license plate from?

Anonymous said...

Sounds like you've had a lovely weekend. I love feathers; was always told that a single white feather indicates a visiting soul.

CJ x

beth said...

i love that feather and the poem !!.....

on saturday i stared gathering gull feathers. i'm not sure why, but after all the driftwood and shells i've gathered, i decided i needed some feathers to go with my "stash"

hopefully my creative mind will take over and i'll do something really creative with them.

the red carpet last night was okay. i didn't love it, thought it went to long as usual and found angelina odd and terribly thin. oh well.

xoxo

The JR said...

That's a nice gift.

Neat birdhouse.

I luv Sir George and Miss Blackie!

Susan said...

Love your photos, and the poem! Thanks for sharing!

Lili said...

I meant to tell you the other day how pretty your watermark is. And then you're so cute when you throw out some random fun, like your unexpected line of lyrics. Sounds like it was a wonderful weekend. Your captures are always so enjoyable to see! xo ~Lili

Chesapeake Bay Woman said...

LOVE the closeup of the feather. Your husband's gift is pretty neat too. Glad you enjoyed your weekend, you deserve it.

Unknown said...

Absolutely beautiful shots! I'm starting to get a little worried here. I actually recognized that Dogwood just from the buds!! This is a huge improvement for someone who is botanically challenged to the point of there only being 4 types of fauna: tree, bush, flowers and everything else is a weed.

JaneK said...

uh... not thinking that Miss Blackie is snoozing in that one....looks more like she is ready to pounce on those birds!!!

glad you had some fun company this weekend... you all deserve it!

JaneK said...

uh... not thinking that Miss Blackie is snoozing in that one....looks more like she is ready to pounce on those birds!!!

glad you had some fun company this weekend... you all deserve it!

wayne15575 said...

What brought that on was the lyric from a song, called " And a thing called love"

Bluebird49 said...

Hi Sparkle-Girl--missed the Awards, but probably didn't miss that much.
Oh--The feather! And Emily! And Miss Blackie--such a shiny oat!!! And our George--such a sweet boy!
(And you and your beloved vacuum cleaner--I'm envious.) And the best? You have friends from high school that you still see and that your hubby likes!
I told you--you sparkle!

alphabet soup said...

How good is that feather and leaf close-up? I rest my case. And the others too of course, the black and white, the lovely glossy black panther and the beautiful Emily Dickinson poem.

Ms Soup

Marcie said...

Sounds like a near perfect and perfectly wonderful weekend. Love the imagery!!!

Caroline said...

Hello my dear! I feel like I have not been here in forever. I am just getting back and settled from my trip (so wish we could have met up...next time for sure!). Lovely photos...hope you are having a beautiful week.

Deb said...

sounds like a nice weekend...lovely photos...

mrs mediocrity said...

your little corner always makes me smile. love the feather, and the poem.

i have to say, the oscars were kind of a let-down...

Mary said...

I'm so glad you had a lovely weekend! I LOVE all the photos in this post, especially the feather! And that bit of Emily Dickinson is just the icing on the cake. Have a wonderful week, dear friend! xoxo

abb said...

You have such a big big soul...
xo

Anonymous said...

Your photographic captures are just incredible, what a gift

and yours will be coming soon.
peace n abundance,
CheyAnne
ps how wonderful to get a signed copy of Ree Drummonds new cookbook, you lucky girl.