2.25.2011 Addendum

Driving back from the airport, my mind is racing with thoughts and emotions from the trip to Fayetteville, GA and being back home.  A few miles from the airport, I pull over into a small parking lot in Cave Springs to write down some thoughts.  I am home from an experience I will forever cherish and would not trade this past week in Georgia for a visit to some exotic part of the world. Yes, the stay was trying at times, yes, it was emotional.  But there was a richness and a fulfillment that could not have been achieved by a visit to anywhere else on Earth.  What I feel I have in my possession, in my mind, my heart is a priceless ruby encrusted jeweled orb that has been fashioned by what it means to be a family.  The orb remains valuable only as long as the family remains strong. I am so thankful to have had this experience with Frances this past week and the many other people encounters the visit brought about.  What a wonderful part of my journey it has been.
At some point while I was sitting in the parking lot, I took a closer look at the house in front of me whose lawn was strewn with various ornaments.  When I first drove up, I thought it was a flea market of sorts but on closer inspection, I believe it was just a residence.  The angel with the two frogs in the background really caught my eye.  And the two hanging planters to her side give her an added Blind Lady Justice aura.  I'm not one prone to lawn angel statues but, next time I'm up that way, I may see if they would like to sell her.  She seemed to be offering up thanks as I was writing my thoughts.

 When I arrived in Arkansas, it was 36 degrees, a dramatic change from the week in Georgia.  In the bed of the truck, I noticed thin layers of ice.  In the picture, I was trying to capture the delicate nature of the ice but I was surprised by the end results of the photograph.  Though the ice is barely captured, I like the composition and contrast of the liner with the sand, left over from when I sanded the roads from the snowstorm.  I think what really makes the picture are the bits of debris.  The red twig in the sand seems as if it's been captured in a fossilizing state.

Later, when I stopped for gas, I slipped my hand beneath the ice wanting to hold this incredibly fragile creation.  My first attempt failed and on the second attempt, the layer was so thin that by the time I got the camera in position, the layer already begun melting and falling between my fingers. Talk about priceless jewels.  Here is a wonder of nature that can only be held for a few seconds before it disappears.  Attempting to hold these thin layers of ice seemed to be a way for me to physically hold the wondrous events of this past week.