Sunday, July 6, 2008

picnic at the pond

have you ever had a picnic by yourself?

I did today. in a desperate attempt to hang on to my weekend peaceful disposition, I grabbed my camera and a sandwich made with leftover grilled vegetables and headed for the cemetery. yes, the cemetery. and yes, I had a picnic here. right here, by the meditation pond. all by myself. one of the beautiful things about this historic cemetery is that the most recent burial was about 100 years ago. the grounds are amazing and, unlike a park, there are very few people about. those who are here wander around in hushed appreciation of nature and contemplation. or, they are dead.

do you see fancy ms. dragonfly? in contrast to the human visitors at the pond, she was so fast and so busy. it took about 200 shots to capture her. she is so very french with her black and white stripes.

this cemetery, it is different. there is a swing. a wooden swing hanging from a very old, very tall oak tree. because it hangs from such a high branch, you can fly very high on this swing. each pass rises and falls in a long, slow motion that is different from your everyday playground swing. it induces a feeling not unlike vertigo, but pleasant.


it's hard to take a photo while holding on and laughing like a dork on the swing by myself.