musk thistle (off the beaten path in Kansas City series)

and adorning
my beautiful warehouse friend

musk thistle weeds

dad used to send me
scythe in hand

to end their
spread
upon the land

but here they be
next to concrete
and glass

looking fetching
and winsome

as i walk past

panes (off the beaten track in Kansas City)

the old warehouse
stood silent
neglected

and alone

her purpose
supposedly gone

but one spring morning
she caught the eye of a woman
wanting to "see"

*This week’s adventure was a free morning in Kansas City with my camera. I dropped my husband off in an older section of town for an educational seminar at a lumber company. It was my plan to spend a couple of hours with the camera just exploring. I only made it a few blocks before I had to turn around and park beside an old empty warehouse. I probably could have spent the full two hours on that building alone. But, I was also eager to see what lay “beyond”.


This series will feature some shots that I took within a short distance of the lumber company because I just kept seeing such interesting things!! I think I could spend the rest of my life in kansas city and never be finished shooting. :0 (In fact, I could probably spend the rest of my life within a 2 mile radius in Kansas City and still be finding things to “see”.)

**Yesterday there were some problems with blogspot.com thus two postings in one day. :)

color coming together (color speaks series)

one
alone
is astounding

but alongside another

beyond astounding
comes
to be

optimistic yellow (color speaks series)

a faithful friend
when sadness seeks
to settle in

orange (color speaks series)

splish
splash

i see her sprinkled
here and there

as if
nature's favorite complement


*"An artist finds his happiest combination in a play of complementary colors. They are direct contrasts yet do not jar; they awaken the beholder but do not disturb him."  ~Charles Burchfield

magenta (color speaks series)

magical
marvelous
mysterious

magenta

green, (color speaks series)

and you
my favorite

so often in the background

bespeaking
hope
meekness
and

magnificent mercy



*I realized this morning that I had forgotten to share my most recent adventure. Writing about green, hope, and mercy reminded me of it this morning. Last Sunday I was privileged to join some dear friends on an outing to Manhattan for a lovely afternoon filled with beautiful music. My good friend Kathleen and her family had donated their mother’s Steinway piano to the Kansas State University Department of music. The afternoon began by meeting Gary Mortenson , the head of KSU’s music department, at the music building where the six of us were treated to a private concert on the Steinway piano. Slawomir Dobrzanski , a brilliant concert pianist and native of Poland, played two Chopin pieces. The first piece took me to the magnificent ocean, a roaring river, and a rippling waterfall. The second took me to a forest glen where sunshine trickled through fragile leaves. I find it amazing how our senses are all connected. Like color, music too “speaks” and can bring incredible visual images to our minds.


Back to our outing…After the piano concert we drove to a lovely home on the edge of Manhattan where we attended a “salon concert”. We were treated to elegant appetizers on the balcony as we took in the view and warm sunshine. We then heard a woodwind quartet, followed by a brass quartet. The musicians were all KSU professors and were all obviously enjoying themselves. After the music we indulged in luscious strawberry shortcake and great conversation on the deck overlooking rolling hills of green. It was one of my more “cultured” adventures. :) And one I will remember always.

*"Life seems without effort when I am filled with music."
        ~George Eliot, The Mill on the Floss

Happy Mother’s Day, Moms!