Friday, September 2, 2022

August Break

 

Day 1: morning light

Like the years before, I participated in the August Break meme on Instagram, hosted by Susannah Conway. Every day for the entire month of August we show a photo that fits the prompt of the day. This year I participated almost every day, but I don't want to bore you with a barrage of photos. There are not quite half of them that will get their "moment of fame" on this blog.

Day 3: Handwriting. I have some old family letters that I keep in my grab-and-go box. This one is from my great-grandfather to one of his daughters, written in September 1919. This daughter was my favorite grandaunt. The letter is written in Sütterlin, the old German writing, and since his handwriting is quite sloppy, it is difficult to read. But what a treasure to have!

Day 6: I'm reading. I discovered this book "Little Stories of your Life" by Laura Pashby through an online friend, and I'm loving it. The focus - as the title suggests - is on the little things, how we can write and photograph them and thus create mindful and thoughtful storytelling. It is a wonderful tool to slow down and pay attention. The journals next to the book are composition books that I altered and serve as my daily journal and as the notebook for my little stories. One day, some of  these stories will be posted in this space, but for the time being I am writing them in German. I have always loved creative writing, but it flows best if I write in my mother tongue.

Day 8: favorite taste. This was a tricky one! There are a lot of tastes I like and don't want to miss (like hearty dark bread), but when it comes down to it, it's chocolate. Whenever we are in Germany we buy several of this coffee cream chocolate (you get them at Aldi Süd). I haven't found anything like this in the States (nor did I find really good Nougat).

Day 10: yellow. This sweet little wildflower on the grounds of Hailes Abbey fits the bill.

Day 13: 6 o'clock. I simply assumed that it's 6 o'clock in the morning - and this is what I see early in the morning when I come down. Cats - none of them mine - waiting for me to feed them (I told you here how this came to be). White and orange Kibeau in front, big fat King Louie (who steals their food) next to him and Otis in the back. I still haven't figured out how to discourage Louie from coming here even though he by now knows better than to go on eating from the cats' bowls when I turn up. 


Day 15: unicorn. Lacking a real unicorn, I had to rely on Kaefer putting a sugarcone to her forehead. I took this photo four years ago in Ireland - it's still one of my favorites. This is also for Nicole's Friday Face Off.


Day 20: clouds. Oh the drama in a cloudy evening sky over the North Sea on the beautiful isle of Sylt, one of my most favorite places in the entire world!


Day 24: three. An excellent opportunity to showcase the seedpods of the poppies from my garden. They are quite photogenic, don't you think?


Day 26: oranges. This is a fruit for the cooler season. It's always fascinating to see the orange trees heavy with fruit in the Central Valley and behind them you see the snow covered mountains of the Sierra. Winter in California! Having no oranges right now, this is an old photo from some years ago when I was trying to do still life photography.


Day 27: little. A word open to interpretation. I decided to go for "when I was little". I was a happy little girl. We didn't have much money - refugee families are not blessed with a ton of money -, so it was special to get a ride on one of these moving animals. We had visited my grandparents (my grandma is behind me) in Timmendorfer Strand where they had spent a short, low-key vacation. I still have a few memories of this day. Sometimes I long for this innocent childhood happiness, that for me ended when I started 5th grade (which in Germany is the beginning of high school in many Bundesländer (states)).


Day 30: evening light. Again, I opted for an older photo. This one was taken on Christmas Eve in 2015 when we were driving along Interstate 25 from Sante Fe to Golden in Colorado. It was one of those college trips that we took before Kaefer's high school graduation. This is the moon rise over the enchanted land of New Mexico. We were very lucky to be close to an exit ramp so we could leave the interstate and safely take some photos.






14 comments:

sirkkis said...

Lovely photos :)
Happy weekend xx

DVArtist said...

I really love this August Break post. So many wonderful things. The photo of you on the rocking duck and your grandma behind you. Precious. 5th grade starts highschool? Did I read that right? Thank you for joining Friday Face OFF, however, you need to put a link back to my post. Thanks so much and have a lovely day.

Lorrie said...

So many lovely photos. And how fun to "meet" someone who has been to Hailes Abbey. I loved our visit there in 2016. I'm reading "Little Stories of Your Life", too, and celebrating the ordinary moments in my days. Writing them down in my journal, or my blog, keeps them for the future. I can understand that writing in your native tongue is much easier!

Christine said...

Enjoyed your post.

Elephant's Child said...

What a beautiful, and very evocative, collection. Thank you.

Latane Barton said...

Oh, those oranges look so good and refreshing. Just wishing I had one right now.

Valerie-Jael said...

I love the photos you have shared here. Little things are always good to photograph, then the little things make our days complete. I have a lot of old family documents and photos which I saved from the garbage after my great aunt died, and they are such a treasure. Love the photo of you 'riding', it reminds me of Kirmes. Have a great weekend, and keep taking your wonderful photos! Hugs, Valerie

David M. Gascoigne, said...

Such an exquisite collection, Carola. So much to ponder here. I will be now be on a mission to find a unicorn, an animal that has escaped my attention during an entire lifetime of wildlife watching. I doubt that I will be able to locate the Kaefer subspecies, known to be the most attractive form, but I will be searching diligently anyway. Hugs - David

My name is Erika. said...

Wonderful photo Carola. There is something about the air or environment in New mexico that the sky is often quite eye-catching. I don't know what it is, perhaps the lack of trees. That moon rise is amazing. Have a wonderful long weekend. Hugs-Erika

Gene Black said...

Honestly, I am glad that the US Aldi store doesn't have that chocolate - I would be far too tempted to try it. (I can't eat sugar or I have issues due to diabetes.)

Moonrise over New Mexico is an enchanting photo.

Veronica Lee said...

I enjoyed all the lovely things you shared in this post, Carola.

Have a great weekend, dear friend.



NatureFootstep said...

I too, love your unicorn photo. It´s cool! :)
You also have some nice nature shots :)

Andrea @ From The Sol said...

I love Kaefer's smile and she does a good Unicorn impersonation :) Also loving your happy childhood picture ... the face of innocence for sure. Sorry it had to end while you were still young. Everything in this post is delightful. I love the cats (and that you feed them). Your photography is exquisite and I love the letter from your great-grandfather to his daughter. I agree that is a treasure. Love this post, Carola ... Hope your fall weather is coming and the fresh cool air and beautiful colors bless your life ...

Andrea @ From the Sol

Beatrice P. Boyd said...

Enjoyed this August break post, Carola, and thanks for including such information on your interpretation of the photo subject.