It didn’t take long for me to find my place.
On a slight rise above the cabanon that we had rented, a creaky deck chair was waiting for me, slung low across a wooden platform and encircled by a shin high stone wall.
From my post, I could look out over the lavender fields. Flowerless, yes but lined with organized stripes that calmed my mind with the efficiency of a Japanese garden. In the mornings, I could do my yoga then sit in meditation afterwards, imprinting such a view through barely open eyes.
I had instinctively turned away from the swing of the hammocks, not wanting to be enveloped in a cocoon but preferring to be exposed. So grateful to be in the open air, under the sun until it threatened to burn, letting the breezes turn my novel’s pages for me and string the wisps of my hair into the corners of my eyes, my mouth.
I wore the quiet lightly on my shoulders at first. As the days passed, it began to sink below my skin until it became something of an embrace.
A grownup gray grasshopper stretched out his violin legs and I could hear their scratch.
The clouds rattled with the youthful brio of kids pulling strings of tin cans in a race across the sky while the earth below my seat would shift with a sigh of oh so old.
It was the opposite of silence, this implosion of life. From my place, where I was supposed to be, I took it all in and now keep the quiet in a jewel box just below my heart.
Dear God, this is just stunning! I'll put autumn off for a weeks for this in a heartbeat!
Thanks for saying hello Linda and I am glad you enjoyed your visit!
Merci, BLW. Coming from you that is a hefty compliment…
I love this Judith, a "scratch and sniff" for the internet! Well, for now we'll just have to rely on our imaginations and I was right there with you on your bike ride…
Bisous.
That made me smile, Amelia! And thank goodness, since it doesn't seem to be happening any other way…
Bon Dimanche…
Just dropped by…love the tranquility it provided. Best to you.
You've captured a sort of sacred spirit to this quiet, in this place.
Truly beautiful writing.
Beautiful. Peaceful. And the final photo reminds me that I just caught a whiff of our local Concord grapes growing wild near some wetlands. I was on my bike riding home on a glorious, clear, cool fall day. Wish I could also catch a whiff of those lavender fields. We'll have to invent the smell technology. I'm sure one day it will happen if it hasn't already.
Much appreciation back to you too Heather! I heard the only way to get out of loopyville is slowly and leisurely…:)
Have a great weekend!
XX
Oh my! I have been seriously remiss in replying to your many kind and always interesting comments. Still somewhere on the edge of loopyville, I guess. 😉 Thank you though for your thoughts–they are very much appreciated!!!