monochrome

Around here they call the ocean a meat-grinder. Chews up, spits out. Nor'easter storms hit my parents' house head-on and rip off shingles, drench the house in angry spray.

In a spitting rain I wander through a bramble, blackberry thorns tugging at my pants, and the whole of everything I see feels tired and cranky. I capture drips on the old apple tree, the twist of disintegrating rope that holds the wooden swing by a thread. The ground littered with dead leaves that sink back into earth. The old shed, weathered, the window blown out two decades ago.

But somehow the poetry of it escapes me. It's just grey. And then I see: that is the poetry. That we endure this winter, that we wait, all of us shuffling, dreaming of fruit.

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Today, share with us your unexpected poetry -- and the status of your season.

Comments

[Darlene]

Perfect timing for this post! I was just thinking the same thing yesterday as I walked along my road in the aftermath of the storm here in Maine. It was a gray day, but poetry was everywhere. I love the colors of February.
http://www.whimsicalyearsphotography.com/blog/1459/the-colors-of-february-maine-lifestyle-photographer/

[Elizabeth Harper]

We have been overwhelmed with wet grey days here for what seems like a long time, but you're right in that there is a poetry to grey as well as the blue sky days I've been dreaming of lately.

The place below pops with color especially in the spring and summer. I've been going though old memories remembering the warmth of the sun that day.

http://giftsofthejourney.wordpress.com/2010/02/28/the-day-the-antiques-roadshow-came-to-lanhydrock/

[Marcie]

You can find a few of my words and 'unexpected' poetry right here..along with the season:
http://visionandverb.com/2010/03/i-look-i-focus-i-see/

[lifeineden]

Funny, me too. While we haven't been ravaged by storms, it does seem to snow nearly every day. And the neighborhood just looks the same all the time. Then, just before going in ... the sun came out.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/32837589@N07/4396282726/

[DorkyMum]

It has been the worst winter in Scotland for decades. Lots of snow, and freezing temperatures. Today, the first of March, is a beautiful clear day, bright sunshine, but I can still see snow on the hills from my window, and it's definitely still cold enough for hats and scarves.

On a much greyer but equally cold day last week, I was walking through the city centre and spotted this, the poetry of joy.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dorkymum/4384801385/

[Wendi]

Without a blanket of snow, my neighborhood is transitional and depressed. But with it, it becomes magical, tranquil, and serene.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/pmf1852/4348152808/

[E L K]

kate . there IS poetry in it all . i agree


they rest like old friends . waiting to become part of my garden soil
http://redorgrayblackandwhite.blogspot.com/2010/02/leaf.html

[Ari]

I've been noticing all the brown "dead looking" trees lately and feeling frustrated, I miss the colors that used to be. And then this picture appeared yesterday:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/curiousillusion/4395575833/

And I've been so in love with it, which says something because I rarely like my pictures. But the colors, to me, shout that spring is coming and along with it, all the colors that were gone are coming back. And that is definitely my poetry.

[Tracy]

This is from earlier this winter but it still looks pretty much like this here in Iowa. Your post perfectly describes what I was saying about this photo. It looks like it was converted to black and white when in fact it wasn't. There is something sort of mesmerizing about the monochromatic color scheme though.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/31417716@N00/4389126389/

[Katrina Kennedy]

February was a busy, tiring month. Too many things on the calendar. Too many commitments. And then we all got sick. This image summed it up for me as I wandered through my garden last week.

http://ianck.blogspot.com/2010/02/weeks-that-challenge-your-photo-of-day.html

[georgia]

good post.
very real.
thanks for that.
here is my gray poetry
{or sepia, rather}:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/28567264@N05/4197366813/in/set-72157623125426010/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/28567264@N05/4198160210/in/set-72157623125426010/

your post reminded me of this quote i just read on friday.
"It is not everyday that the world arranges itself into a poem."
— Wallace Stevens

[Lori]

It's March, and I've always thought of march as spring. It isn't. There is 6 feet of snow many would call it gorgeous but I'm just done. So I begin to think of the food of summer, slice open that avacado and voila!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lorifranz/4398607400/

It's a song!

[Michel]

I feel the weight of winter especially heavy this year. But with a daily photo blog I am forced to go out in it and must live life as normal without the excuse to stay in because it's cold.

For the first time I have taken part in winter festivals...
http://www.wishfulthinkingblog.com/wishful-thinking/2010/1/22/ice-sculpture.html
and almost embraced our canadian prairie climate. almost... it still leaves me a bit blue after a day out in the country...
http://www.wishfulthinkingblog.com/wishful-thinking/2010/2/26/left-out-in-the-cold.html

[Ali]

My gray day started early, and was more of a quiet white. Then I happened upon this scene, with just a hint of wheat... and sun flare! So exciting! But winter is almost over, so we must enjoy it while we can!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/alismith44/4391845067/

[Juju]

Here in northwest Florida, it's greener than much of the northern hemisphere during this season, but still far enough north that there's plenty of grey and dreariness, especially since it's been such a cold, rainy winter. Here's my poetic, grey, post-rain moment:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/juju-b/4398161623/

[traceyclark]

a little kindness always helps me find the poetry.
http://www.traceyclark.com/blog/2010/2/28/when-kindness-comes.html

[JoLyn]

My world is still very gray. But the other day, I went searching for some color. Through the leafless bare branches, I saw this. It really brightened my day!

http://www.ayearofhappyphotos.com/2010/02/29-a-city-walk.html

[Team Sass]

Here in Northern AZ, I savor cloudy days and storms and complain about too much sun! It must be my Vermont roots.
That said, we've had a great winter in my opinion, lots of snow and rain! All the creeks are running high and I can't wait to get some pictures of the spring desert bloom south of here.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/teamsass/4398938168/

[Angie]

I took a quick walk yesterday to take advantage of the warmth and the sunshine that have been so infrequent these past few weeks in Houston. After soaking in a few rays, even my "seeing" seemed sunny and full of warmth:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/40070449@N08/4396498545/

[Leisa Hammett]

I penned something just htis morning about the pregnant hope for spring but that march is a mirage. Meantime, I did post this: http://leisahammett.typepad.com/the_journey_with_grace/2010/03/winter-morning-reward.html

[Jayne Bramley]

Nebraska has had a very snowy Winter this year.....
http://www.flickr.com/photos/14261878@N08/4398553919/

.....but there are signs of new life
http://www.flickr.com/photos/14261878@N08/4398552665/

[Stephanie]

Right now seems to be a winter season of my life...but I'm starting to see the sun:
http://slsmithphotography.typepad.com/my_weblog/2010/02/finding-the-normal.html

[Diane]

Here is an image that, to me, is pure poetry. My explanation is beneath the photo. Enjoy

http://www.flickr.com/photos/27458974@N00/4398650427/

[Monybean]

My poetry and my season... My poetry sometimes has no rhyme nor reason, the season is winter although it seems what we normally have for winter weather has moved a lot more east and along the southern parts...

Last night we had the most incredible moon. I am but an infant in the world of photography, determined to grow (even in the cool midnight air).

http://mony365.blogspot.com/2010/02/day-11365.html

[Edith]

It has been a very long winter in London with too many grey days. However sometimes you find something quite unexpected to brighten the day. This is what I found on the banks of the Thames. http://www.flickr.com/photos/22616983@N05/4399566374/

[Jenny]

Ugh.....I agree. Winter is still here in Ohio too, and while I am trying to be like you and remember the beauty in it, I find it hard sometimes, and I just feel stuck inside! But thank you for the inspiration....I need it!
http://rosesroundthedoor.blogspot.com/2010/03/winters-still-here.html

[xanthe]

beautiful post. x.

seeing the rising sun after a week of rain, was pure poetry to me.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/xantheberkeley/4399864976/

[lucy]

i love the blues and lines of your photo. the more i take photos, the more everything -- even the mundane and former eyesores -- takes on its own beauty.

the snow has melted, now its dripping and gray. but there are points of light all around:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lucyloomis/4385599739/

[Leigh Clements]

I'm not offering up my own poetry or shots, just that I'm a fan. All of your words described not so much the weather here in Toronto, but the feeling of enduring the gray that usually accompanies the winter. Both are poetic, in different ways.

[bridge]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ridethewavesoflife/4399908271/
perfect post. i am feeling this.

[emily]

Dead. Grey. I think the earth may have forgotten to wake up in Colorado. I probably feel this way every year at the beginning of March. *le sigh*

[Puna]

I have two to share! One that I wrote for Vision and Verb...
http://visionandverb.com/2010/02/the-wrappings-of-winter/

and here in Maryland it's still cold. My grayness from yesterday.
http://lifesignatures.org/wordpress/2010/03/march-1-in-like-a-lion/

[BlessedMess]

This time of year, I'm usually sick of the snow. But since we've had so little, I've really grown to appreciate the magic it brings when it has showed up. Even the view out my window, to the kinda ugly house across the street, becomes poetic.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/12418609@N00/4388884676/in/photostream/

[Madame Meow]

You have a lovely way with words. This is a favorite shot from about a month ago (before we got beaten up by so much snow again here in the southeast), and I love its monochrome-ness.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/madamemeow/4327089615/

[wendy]

First of all I really enjoy your blog. Every photo you post is so beautiful and full of emotion.

Like so many, I am longing for Spring too and recently our weather has been so gorgeous, it's gives one real hope it will actually come! =D. Although the sun has it's work cut out for it to melt the tons of snow we got this year, you can sure feel the season is about to change.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/awebert/4401996909/

[Trude]

So true! The jasmine in my backyard has already started blooming, and got drenched in thunderstorms this past weekend. Of course I ran out with my camera in between showers. :) http://www.flickr.com/photos/trudem/4392930949/

[Stephanie]

I moved to Northern CA about two and a half years ago. Before that, I lived in Chicago where winter lasted well into March. I don't care much for the 100+ degree days in summer here in CA, but I love that March brings spring, not snow. It's been raining a lot lately, but I can handle the rain ... especially when this is the result:

http://bigmariolife.blogspot.com/2010/02/glimpses-of-spring-on-dreary-day.html