Down & Dirty
This weekend? Positively f a b u l o u s! Chock full ofsimple delights, autumnal celebrations, exquisite company and the divine pleasure of immersing myself into nature. Even this nasty infection/virus I am fighting seemed insignificant. Love that.
Yesterday, I found myself at Ganyard Hill Farm ... in Durham, North Carolina ...perusing the pumpkin patch & other delights that are simply a seasonal rite of passage; but ones I hadn't experienced in quite some time. The combination of the crisp air, sounds of children laughing and autumn's colors dappled about gave me shivers; I was present in the moment. I felt alive... fully alive! How often do we take that feeling for granted?
Since I ventured to the farm a bit late in the season, many of the crops were picked over; it became a good old fashioned treasure hunt to find that perfect pumpkin, to spot remnants of corn among the barren stalks and to pick the perfect pods of cotton. I couldn't tell you what exactly my fascination with cotton is all about, I just know I am instinctively drawn to it - and have been for as long as I can remember. I am smitten with the raw, creamy, natural shades and the multitude of textures. There is a deep and often painful history behind those plants - yet it also provides us with so many luxuries... so many necessities. I dunno, for some reason my obsession with it.. just fits.
While looking for some cotton to take home with me, I heard a young girl literally - squeal - and i mean a-loud-only-a-9-year-old-girl-can manage-squeal - with this raw, pure delight. In that i-so-cant-believe-people-are this-lazy disapproving tone she exclaims "People are just afraid to get down and dirty, look how much I found!" ... her mother was smiling and shaking her head as the young girl filled her arms with a trove of cotton - all hers for the keeping, merely because she wasn't afraid to get down on her knees, get dirty and look at the field with a different perspective.
Raw, contagious enthusiam at its finest.
After hearing her? I promptly changed my own vantage points. I knelt on the ground, sat in the dirt and became fearless with my lens. I shot the crops and the beautiful farm from angles I was tempted to skip in the name of clean clothing. Pffft. I stand by my claim that children are some of the best teachers... because as adults we over analyze and complicate things far too often. We miss what is right in front of us far too frequently.
It is a good reminder isn't it? Never be afraid to get down & dirty for you just don't know what treasures or views you may miss.
Christy
