The Goddess Of The Season +Autumn Leaf Of The Day #79

 

“It's autumn," I said. "I can see the trees turning through the windows."
He tucked a strand of hair behind my ear.
"It's going to be the Day of the Dead soon," I said.
"Sounds gruesome."
"It's a festival." I looked at him over my shoulder. "The only one that gentry and peasants share. We celebrate Persephone going down to Hades for the winter, they remember Tom-a-Lone getting his head cut off by Nanny-Anna. Everybody makes grave offerings, then there's a great sacrifice to Hades and Persephone, and that night there's a bonfire and they burn a straw Tom-a-Lone dressed up in ribbons.”

 
~Rosamund Hodge,

  Cruel Beauty

 

 

I am doing a lot of reading about the Goddess, Demeter. She is the goddess who governs Autumn and the harvest. Until yesterday I hadn't realized that there was a specific goddess devoted to the seasons, which is embarrassing because of course a higher god, or goddess would watch over the harvest, it's just that I always focus on the god, GOD, as being the one who does all the work to bring my favorite season to life. Shrug. But I love reading about mythology, always have, learning about her is a good and fascinating thing to do. I grew up with the movie Xanadu, which tells the tale of one the 9 sisters of the arts and science, the daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne.

 

 Olivia Newton-John played the muse, Terpsichore, the muse that inspired dance. The film was a was a homage to the wonderful 1947 film, Down To Earth, which starred Rita Hayworth as Terpsichore. Both films are great for different reasons, but hey, what about Demeter? What an amazing tale that would be to watch. She has been imagined in the arts, mostly, as an older woman, and I could see anyone from Meryl Streep in the role. She has truly mournful story. You can read about her life here. It's worth a look see. That leaf is absolutely gorgeous. So pretty it took my breath away. And it's a very nice thought that a lady like me created it, and appreciated all the things about Autumn I do, I think she would also understand my grief as well. That's comforting. Really, Hollywood should do less from the Marvel Universe, and more from mythology.

 

An Amusing Eye For Autumn And The Leaf Of The Day

"The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and all science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: his eyes are closed."

~Albert Einstein

I had to have a diabetic retinal scan last summer, July 3rd to be exact, and I thought the image came out kinda cool, so I took a picture, of the picture, because I knew I would be ready to resume  blogging right about now, and this would give me something interesting to write about. The test result was fine, no eye damage from my diabetes, which is awesome, because I love photography, and I would be lost without it, even if I do experience a lack of inspiration from time to time. But hey, with autumn upon us, and an eye for the unusual, my inspiration is definitely ready for some playtime. Maybe resting my eyes for a few seasons helps!

Spider webs are a new photographic adventure for me. On the one hand they scare the crap out of me, on the other hand, maybe I will discover spiders aren't the scary monsters I think they are! Oh who am I kidding? Spiders are hideous, but I want to experience a greater challenge in my photography, and I can't think of any better way, than to photograph something that scares me! All this fear could be avoided, if women were allowed to be kissed by a muse the way men are! Damn misogynistic Greek Gods! Zeus sends his nine daughters to inspire men in the arts and sciences, and what do we women get? 

The strength to discover our own creativity!

And to be fair, there is no muse that inspires photography anyway!

#7 Leaf Of The Day

September 28th, 2018

Cull Canyon 

~Mood: Happy

~Me 

 

 

It's A Meteor Shower Mulder...

"...Then there are those who care not about extraterrestrials, searching for meaning in other human beings. Rare or lucky are those who find it. For although we may not be alone in the universe, in our own separate ways on this planet, we are all... alone."

-Jose Chung (Charles Nelson Reilly) The X-Files, Jose Chung's From Outer Space

I got an email this past week from, SpaceWeather.com, reminding me that tonight, into tomorrow morning, (August 12th) will be the peak of the annual Perseid Meteor shower. I am going to take a nice, long nap this afternoon, to prepare me for the all night event. I look forward to this every August, when little bits and pieces of the comet Swift-Tuttle, streak across the sky, in a striking display. It is estimated that watchers might see as many as 50 - 100 per hour, and according to Wikipedia, the meteor shower has been observed by sky watchers for around the last 2,000 years. In fact, in medieval Europe it was known as "The Tears Of St Lawrence." According to star lore, the Perseid Meteor Shower commemorates the time when Zeus, the king of the gods, visited the mortal Danae, in the form of a Shower of Gold. As a result of their union Zeus and Danae became the parents of Perseus.

I love the sky, and the stars, and with all the stress lately, it will be relaxing to set up the tripod and camera, grab a bowl of popcorn, and Elvis, and lay back in the grass to do a little daydreaming at night. The weather has turned warm today, with little fog or overcast, and the forecast is for a warm day tomorrow, which makes it perfect conditions for viewing the meteor shower! I don't know if I will get many photos or not, that would be a bonus, I am just looking forward to cuddling up with Elvis and letting my mind wander across the sky. If only I could call Mulder and ask him to join me! LOL. "Hello Fox, it's Carly here, wanna come over and watch the meteor shower with me?"

How about you? Will I be all alone in the night, or will you be out there with me? If so, do you plan to photograph the event, or will you just sit back and enjoy the show? Will you watch it from your own yard, or will you visit an observatory? If you could watch the meteor shower with a fictional character, who would it be? Tell me everything!

Perseid Meteor Shower

2008 Perseid Meteor Shower (NASA)

-OndineMonet