“I got it!” I stared at the screen on the back of my camera. An extra blink to be sure and yet there it was, a frozen bolt of lightning. Remi and I laughed. It seemed lucky, crazily lucky, somehow.
We had turned back swift as sparrows as a rainstorm ruined our afternoon ramble. It approached swiftly with pelts of rain on the windshield in a “Ha. Ha. Ha.” The clouds billowed heavier than smoke and yet, when we saw the little cabanon perched at the end of a field of wizened vines, we had to explore.
How different it must have looked in other times. Big tree giving shade to workers dipping handkerchiefs in the well.
We peeked inside to discern…wire traps for the creek running below, freshly cut wood and a forgotten chair that once gave relief.
The frame of an iron tonnelle bended with forgetting.
And I couldn’t help but wonder, why oh why in France is the horseshoe always the wrong side down?
No wonder this poor little cabanon was ill-used. Perhaps we could look up the proprietaire, rent it out, fix it up and then it would be our get-to for the weekends?
You know us and how we like to dream.
But the rain pressed on and worryingly while the wind sucked the oak leaves upwards in spirals. “This is a bad storm coming, Remi.” I knew it in my bones. You can’t grow up in the Midwest and not have a feeling for that sort of thing. So back we scuttled as the rain pelted, turning eventually to hail.
Pop rocks that would burst our momentary daydreams but not let them be forgotten. The country is calling and I am listening…
Wishing you all a wonderful week ahead.
I totally believe in what you and your family are doing, Lisa–y'all are brave!!!!
Ooh, merci NK. It is so true though, it be some scary business–trust me!! Don't they have big storms in Memphis?
Merci, Emma!!! C'est très gentille de votre part. ll faut que je demande autour de moi d'avoir plus d'info…je vous tiens au courant si j'ai une réponse…! 🙂
Miss you. 🙁
You are nothing but wonder, Miss J. And I fear sometimes that I have used up all of my Luck! For I have been very fortunate in many ways…
Sending you one of your happy hearts… <3
Stay warm please.
*bisous*
totally gorgeous wild storm and love that little horseshoe and forgotten chair!
thank you again for your lovely encouragement it means so much
ciao lisa x
Absolutely spectacular photos as always and beautiful words to accompany them. I love the way you are able to catch a moment in time. And I love the sentence about growing up in the midwest and knowing storms – I don't think I ever truly got it until I visited Oklahoma in Spring – yowsa!
Hi,
Thought I had to give you some kind of explanation as for the horse shoe. I had to google it since I didn't know myself why it's often pointed down here in France (nor did I know that the side matters). It was an opportunity to know more about my own country. ^^
I found very few answers: it may be because to some people making a horse shoe point down leads the negative waves towards the ground. Still, almost all the search results mentioned that it has to point up if you don't want the luck to run out.
But in my opinion it's just because French people are not very superstitious (so they don't even wonder what side it should be, and let the law of gravity decide for them ^^).
Heather, I popped over last night and frankly your photos blew me away, I have come back this morning for another look and to leave you a comment. Jeanne is right soulful but I can add atmospheric and beautiful. Brilliant, wonderful you.
XXX
it IS true. i am not kidding!!!
you are a darling of fortune anyways, this i can tell <3
love from snowbound berlin*
j.
I think that you are amazing and I take that as a mighty fine compliment coming from you. And yep, I do think we have really similar ways of seeing–although you are far more technically astute than I am. Soulful is a beautiful word. And it made me think of a compliment that Suze gave me recently, one of the most lovely things I have heard in a long time: "It's like you walk through the world with your entire heart an open eye." Isn't that something?
All I know is I am trying. I find my way by looking and writing these days. It helps me stay focused and present. You too I reckon. It is a common thread in your life wherever you go…
Many bisous,
H
I know Claire! I know!!
Two tornados passed by when I was in elementary school in Michigan. And to get to the shelter we had to go outside!!! Our little selves hand in hand flattened against the wall. Not excellent architectural planning on someone's part I must say…
I had to scroll back up but you are right. Whoa. Puts the Mother back in Mother Nature…
Slim! From Morocco! I bow down to your photographic greatness. I still can't get over your last post and have yet to dive in to your newest…hooray…very, very inspiring….
Remi drove like a mad man to outrun the storm–there was no way we wanted to walk with the dogs from the parking lot to the house in the hail–and he did it!
I still like the old church better, don't you?
Bah, is it Sue? I need someone to explain this to meeee….
Aargh, curse you blogger! I need every precious word from my friend Julia!!!
And is that true, j? I really, really could use that luck…oooh, here is hoping…
Love from Provence 🙂
h
Ooh. I had to look it up just to be sure it meant what I thought that it did. And it did. I love that.
And Joan, I never thanked you properly for your amazing comment on Detroit. I have reread it a few times now. I wish there were better answers…or even better questions…
It is impossible not to have Respect (capital R) for Nature (capital N) like that, Rebecca…
Merci, Loree! In Malte too? I need to look this up!!!
Thank you Yvonne, you too! And now THAT would be a perfect garden shed for you!
Oh thank you Tabs, that means quite a lot coming from beautiful you…
I love your rain Heather…I can feel the wind, the chill in the air and the exhilaration of running for cover. I always enjoy your photos, especially when I see the ones that are familar to me, the ones that I look upon frequently in my own photo files…doors, windows, gates, quiet corners, abandoned buildings and trees…in all shapes and forms. I recently went on a google hunt trying to find a word that describes the type of photograhy we enjoy. I know the word is there…somewhere. The one that comes to mind most frequently…soulful. Until I find a better descriptive word..that is it. We are soulful photographers. What do you think? xx
Another amazing photos from Provence as not everybody can see it ! Thanks a lot Heather from all the Provence Lovers! And we have to answer your wonder about the shoe horse ?! Claire
dearest Heather
when you said Midwest and Waiting for the Storm you reminded us of a business trip we took to Kansas in 2007 when we got an illicit THRILL from seeing Tornado hideaway places in the airport.
so Dorothy.
All of your photos are wonderful, but that shot of the lightning is amazing! It looks PINK.
Gorgeous images-especially the first of the lightning!! So difficult and special to capture. How I love a good storm!
The rain has arrived here too!Hope you made it home safe and sound……………loved the petite structure……….perfect for your weekend get a away!
Back at ya, Sister – SHA-ZAAM!!!!! p.s. that was an amazing pic and I really love this post!!
such haunting images — as for "luck running out" in France with the upside down horseshoe…a curious thing that here it is always placed up.
aaahhh!!!! i was one of the first who commented but it's GONE !!!!
dear heather <3
this post is poetry! words and photos.
i love those pics amazing!!!!
did you know that catching a bolt of lighting guarantees more luck than a four-leaf clover?
yes! it's true <3
love from berlin,
j.
magical realism
What a splendid wander! Filled with the ancient history and today's wonderment.
You write so beautifully Heather. And that first photo is just pure magic. BTW, they hang horseshoes pointing down here too. Maybe it's a European thing.
Gorgeous shots, I would love to explore that place.
Have a great day. yvonne
Your photographs are so utterly romantic. Looking at them just felt like stepping into the pages of a book.
Merci Jackie! And really we weren't far from torandoville, it was one freaky storm! Who knows, maybe the cabanon got lifted into the clouds after we left!
Thank you so much, G. Sending you the same.
Yes, you certainly know a thing or two about places backhanded by history…double-decked too now that I think of it! 🙂
Talking with you gives me a jolt like that lightning, Sister–shazaam!
It would have been even better if we had gone inside the cabanon to wait it out with a bottle of Montrachet and an Hermes blanket but it still was a lovely moment…very romantic in its way…
Thanks, Heather! Hope you are well… 🙂
*blushing*
Thanks miss Suzahcruise.
Thank you, Sir and I admire your tenacity.
There was that freaky orange light like there is before tornados, Wyn!! Eeee;…
Heeheehee. It was the storm, not me, Judith!
Reminded me of the storm that had Dorothy rushing to the safety of Auntie Em's house. What a great shot of the lightening; every photographers dream moment.
So beautiful, from Detroit to Province to the end of the world and places backhanded by history. I love that. And best wishes for your week, G
SUCH beautiful light/photos – bravo and thank you, Sister!!!!!
The French countryside, a crazy rain storm… and a little cabanon…
The perfect combination, Heather… xv
That first shot a treat!
Fantastic opening shot, H.!! Duly impressed. 🙂
Hauntingly beautiful. I admire your eye.
You have captured the storm for sure – in the bricks in the grass everywhere!! One can feel it catching up and pelting down – shelter or no!!
I can almost smell the air just by looking at these photos. How do you do that?