More Scenes from Haywood Hollow

Where is Haywood Hollow anyway?

It's a little refuge from the rest world, actually.
Oh sure...there are other places just as beautiful or even more so.

It's near Columbia, Tennessee, where Adam has built his beautifully rustic home,

high atop a ridge overlooking...you guessed it...Haywood Hollow.

Walking out the front door, this is the driveway leading to the road....way down below.

I almost feel like I've died and gone to heaven when we visit there.

He's offered us some land there to build on...if/when we decide to in the future.

This is the gate to "our" meadow :)



I can almost visualize our little homestead when I close my eyes...



...a few goats grazing in the front yard...

...and there's the chicken house out back...see it?

It's a fun dream to dream, anyway.

~
And how about this cool fence made from pallets?

It's on his neighbor's property, way down below.

It may not be the most attractive fence in the world but it sure is unique...

...and it keeps the animals from their petting zoo from getting out.

Well, most of the time anyway.

Every now and then, Adam gets a call from him,

asking for help to rescue an escaped goat or....something.

 There are lots and lots of pretty fuzzy things too...

...and have you ever seen a pregnant tree?
~
 And lastly, I'm tossing in this photo of Olivia and her Pawpaw Jim....just because :)

So.... just build me a little cabin.

I'm ready to move :)

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Mosaic Monday

Roses of Inspiration

Naked Trees

There is just something about this time of year that I love.

The fresh face of autumn has passed, yet it's not quite winter...

...at least not around these parts.

~

We spent the latter part of last week and the weekend at Adam's lovely country place in Tennessee.

As I walked along the rural roads near his home, the trees just seemed to speak peace to me.

 

What is it about a naked tree anyway?

I took many photos.

Although the pictures can speak for themselves.
 I found a few quotes and poems to accompany them.

I hope you enjoy them along with the trees of Haywood Hollow.

"I prefer winter and fall, when you feel the bone structure of the landscape—
the loneliness of it, the dead feeling of winter.
Something waits beneath it, the whole story doesn't show."
~Andrew Wyeth

"The trees are about to show us how lovely it is to let dead things go."
~anonymous

"Listen ...
With faint, dry sound,
Like steps of passing ghosts,
The leaves, frost-crisp'd, break free from the trees
And fall."
~Adelaide Crapsey, 1878-1914, November Night

AUTUMN WOODS

~James S. Tippett

I like the woods

In autumn

When dry leaves hide the ground,

When the trees are bare

And the wind sweeps by

With a lonesome rushing sound.

I can rustle the leaves

In autumn

And I can make a bed

In the thick dry leaves that have fallen

From the bare trees

Overhead.

"The stripped and shapely
Maple grieves
The ghosts of her
Departed leaves.

The ground is hard,
As hard as stone.
The year is old,
The birds are flown."
~John Updike

THE NAKED TREE
~unknown

The majestic tree looks forlorn today
As its last leaves ever so gently fall
Denuding as the season changes
Heralding the end of Fall

The start of the season saw a tree aglow
Swathed in the glorious colors of Fall
Its leaves painted in scarlet and pink and gold
Its beauty held people in thrall

Now that the skin of leaves has peeled off
Its body is as bare as a skeleton
The branches are bony limbs of wood
Scrawny fingers of twigs at the end

And as the chilly wind blows through the air
It bares its naked branches to the cold
Defying the winter to bring on the snow
Alone and vulnerable, but bold



Do you see the heart?

I love seeing the naked trees against the backdrop of a cloudy sky.
And we all know that clouds usually enhance the setting sun's appearance.

This is the view from the back porch.

Yes, there's something about those naked trees...

...those hauntingly beautiful, mesmerizing, naked trees.

Broken

It isn't really worth much.

It's just a cheap ceramic mug purchased from Goodwill, made in China.
I look forward to getting it out and drinking from it every fall.
I think it's pretty and I really like the design.
And it holds a lot of of coffee! :)
~
One day a couple of weeks ago, I found it broken in my dishwasher.

I was going to throw it away...but then...



...super glue to the rescue!

It looks as good as new, right?
But if you look closely, you can see the cracks where it was mended.



Even after gluing it back together, I'm kind of afraid to use it now.
Funny thing is, it's probably stronger now than it was prior to the gluing.
 It actually does seem sturdy enough...
...but I have this image in my head of putting it to my lips...
...full of hot coffee...
...and the handle letting go.
~
I still consider it to be pretty fragile.
~
So what happens when people get broken?
Where is the super glue for them?
Sometimes they are broken beyond repair...or so it seems.
~
I am experiencing brokenness this week.
It's actually not me, quite so much...
...I know where to find the Super Glue that has put me back together more than once.
He goes by the name of Jesus.
~
Yesterday, Jim and I drove our oldest to a long-term Christ-based drug/alcohol treatment center.
He has been fighting his addiction to alcohol for half his life.
We pray that the next 8 months will help undo some of what the last 18 years have done...
to his mind...
to his spirit...
to his body...
to his very soul.

The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.
~Psalm 34:18

Right now, he seems broken beyond repair.
Oh...but I know better!
He has a long road ahead to becoming whole and he will always have some cracks...
...cracks that will allow the addiction to seep back in... if he doesn't apply the glue.
The Super Glue.
And on a regular basis.
~
As with the broken coffee mug, it will be hard to trust that he can hold together...
...and to be able to contain everything that his life hands him...
...when the stresses of the day-to-day press down on him...
...those days when when he faces disappointments.
And those days will come.
He will be fragile for a long time, possibly for the rest of his life.
~
I pondered deeply whether or not to share this on my blog.
I would never want to exploit him or his issue in any way, at any cost.
But I have found through this network of blogging sisters,
I feel comfortable enough, knowing that you who are believers, will pray for him.
 ~
Prayer is a powerful thing, my friends.
 Thank you in advance for your prayers for Aaron.

He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 
~Colossians 1:17 

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Spiritual Sundays

November Neutrals

Can you believe that November is upon us already?

The year has just flown by, don't you agree?

Although it's fading fast, we still have some pretty color in a few places.

It's kind of a let-down when the bright fall colors have all but faded away.

 

But as they say, beauty is in the eye of the beholder...

...and my eye(s) recently beheld some beauty in various lovely neutral tones.
I was going to title my post "50 Shades of Neutral"...

...but I didn't :)
~
These photos are from my road less traveled on Saturday morning.

The sun was still low in the sky, creating halo-like effects on everything it touched.
~
They say that every picture tells a story.

Well, in the photo below, I see a tall, long beaked bird whispering a secret.

(or he could have been yelling at another bird...who knows?)

No, I'm not losing my marbles...you see it too, right?

Please tell me you do.

The morning dew sparkled like glistening diamonds on these fuzzy lovelies.

Who needs color, anyway?

Okay.....I do.....but I still think these neutrals are glorious!



And speaking of color, I guess you could consider these milkweed pods color...

...BUT...olive green is actually considered a neutral in the fashion world :)

I liked how this black-ish grass added a nice contrast.

 

The fields are full of these beautiful neutrals...

...and they are often so easily overlooked due to their lack of color.

But doesn't it strike a wonderful balance?

I think so.

~

So whether your first week of November is full of color or kinda neutral,

enjoy it it...either way is all good!

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Mosaic Monday

Grace at Home