Ingela Bohm's Blog, page 28

The gift that is Advent

Christmas is my favourite holiday, and my general motto “more is more” is never truer than in December. We have a big house, and so we have to have a lot of decorations. It’s logic, you see?

Silly Advent pig candle stick from my childhood. *Sigh*

Good morning

Yes, jackpot! It’s always a gamble when you’re trying to capture a specific kind of light from a specific place. Sometimes you make that half hour trek and the sun is swallowed by clouds before you’ve arrived, but this morning I was there.

And here is today’s harvest.

As I turned homewards, the intensity melted into a lovely pinkish purple, and then the clouds closed over the landscape – preparing to give us some SNOW! Hoping to show the results in my next post.

Photons in the sky

At the edge of our atmosphere, sun particles are dancing, dusting the northern hemisphere with photons. Beautiful, with or without the science.

Above the aurora, the Plough. Below, we gape in awe.

Still going strong

It may be cold and the roads may be icy, but some plants don’t care all that much. You don’t really see it when it’s grey and cloudy, as it has been for about a month now, but as soon as the sun comes out, it hits those bright green things like something out of a fairytale.

Princess of Swords

A rebel and a free-thinker. A girl who sees through the bullshit – all the bullshit, even the well-meaning bullshit. Can be a pain in the arse, a know-it-all, a party-pooper. But never let it be said that her heart clouds her mind.

Oh my, this is a cool one. Walks her own path and chooses loneliness over a cage. Her sword is still small, because she doesn’t know everything, and she can jump to the wrong conclusions because it’s just so fun to jump. But tell her how she’s wrong, backed up with facts, and she’ll have no trouble changing her mind. After all, her mind is her biggest asset, and who wouldn’t want to develop that?

Moon tangle

Not a full moon, but still magical…

Sunset over the lake

Moon drops

We’ve been slighted by the super moon – yesterday all you could see was a blanket of clouds. Tonight the blanket has thinned somewhat, and the quite ordinary-looking but still spectacular-as-always moon is peeping through.

It’s November with a vengeance. Gothic weather and darkness enough to satisfy the most ravenous nyctophile.

On a night like this, a simple stroll through the village has the feel of a Hallmark postcard.

I love the contrast between the cold glare of the moon and the orange glow of the streetlamps. As if painted by a master.

Fumbling through the darkness

As always, my creative endeavours mirror real life. I’m struggling to find a way to photograph the night, and at the same time, I’m dealing with some personal darkness that has nothing to do with the camera.

And smack bang in the middle of these unexpectedly rough times, my dissertation deadline is looming. Next Wednesday marks the end of writing, rewriting and polishing. By then, it has to be done, even though parts of it still feel as confusing as an out-of-focus tangle of branches.

I will do it. I know I will. But I’m running on fumes, looking at my own words as if through a haze of clouds. Wondering what on earth I’m trying to say.

Yes, it’s safe to say that the final six months of my doctoral studies did not turn out the way I thought they would. Between my back pain and family trouble, my schedule has been shot to hell. But hey, it’s just a dissertation – the least important part of my life. And outside my window, there’s still a wealth of beauty. In a few days, I might head out and look at it.

Soul candles

This weekend was All Hallow’s Eve, which means that people lighted candles on the graves of their loved ones. They’re still burning tonight.

It’s such a pretty, melancholic sight: all those candles, symbolizing people who are no longer here, but who are still remembered with love. The ground covered in white as if to lull them to sleep.

In a way, it resembles Good Friday: a moment of calm, of reflection, before the joyous season begins.

And I’m happy to say that things are looking good in that department, judging by the snowfall.