Sass, I love that garden picture above.

Imagine having a place like that to walk in every day, simply for the pleasure of it. And I know what's around that corner is just as lovely.

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“There, peeping among the cloud-wrack above a dark tor high up in the mountains, Sam saw a white star twinkle for a while. The beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to him. For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King

I can't see the picture here at work either. Nor can I even access it from the web site. When I get home, I'll try to download it and then upload it to photobucket and posted it again. Its a lovely picture.

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In gratitude forever … .

Here is the picture (hopefully this will work):

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In gratitude forever … .

Chanctenbury Ring. The site of an old iron age fort sits atop a hill on the South Downs. Unfortunately (as I've only just discovered) most of the oldest and largest trees were destroyed in a great storm in 1987. I could see the Ring from my bedroom window ... the hill was crowned with a dense grove of trees ...

This photograph is taken from inside the crown among the young saplings looking out over the Downs.










Edit: I can see your hibiscus blossom now, Voronwë. Lovely!

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Ever mindful of the maxim that brevity is the soul of wit, axordil sums up the Sil:


"Too many Fingolfins, not enough Sams."

Yes.

Beautiful, V and Sass!

A few lilies from Mrs. Whistler's garden:

Sassy, I started the "Memories" thread that we talked about in Bag End. And yes, I figured out how to scan the pictures.

How long is it going to take for us to all get tired about saying how lovely each other's pictures are? A long time, methinks.

Beauty abounds.

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In gratitude forever … .

<<<Sw00000ns>>>

* for Voronwë's hibiscus (geez, that sounds more than a little rude, doesn't it? ) It's one of my favourite kinds of flower, you know. I've never noticed the five-sectioned "flute" at the end of the stamen before.........I love the way close-ups like this help me see something new in the familiar.

* for Mrs. Whistler's lilies (I just love the second pic, with the white lilies and red salvia.........lovely arrangement! Does your wife design the garden beds herself?)

* for Sassy's South Downs (the pastoral pic you posted earlier reminds me quite a bit of some of the farmland here, but this latest one has such a feel of the Shire to it)

Well, this morning I woke up to our first frost. My morning "commute" along a winding road lined with trees and meadows was glorious as the early light caught the fine white crystals that edged every branch and stem. Alas, fleeting beauty.............it's raining now.

But to honour the occasion:



Frost covering the trees on a Japanese hillside.
I think some of the most beautifully serene landscapes I've ever seen have been in Japan and England.

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Who could be so lucky? Who comes to a lake for water and sees the reflection of moon.
Jalal ad-Din Rumi

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In gratitude forever … .

Sunset at White Sands National Monument, New Mexico.

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In gratitude forever … .

A photo from the Web site of a climber who is also a gifted photographer (link). His focus is documenting his climbs, but many of his images are stunning. I love just paging through the site—there is so much to see.

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“There, peeping among the cloud-wrack above a dark tor high up in the mountains, Sam saw a white star twinkle for a while. The beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to him. For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King

We might just get struck speechless by the glory of it all!

For me, it was particularly the hibiscus (can see it now, thanks! ), the Sussex pic (what a light from the sun behind the trees!), and the frost on the trees that made me gasp!
(Is there a special word in English for that kind of frost? Because in German there is.)

And I love the first one of Mrs Whistler's lilies with the dragonfly on them! The composition and the detail is beautiful!

What's the German word, hobby?

And would the English one be "hoarfrost"?

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“There, peeping among the cloud-wrack above a dark tor high up in the mountains, Sam saw a white star twinkle for a while. The beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to him. For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King

Oh, yes, I've heard that one! Thanks, Prim!

In German this is "Reif" or "Rauhreif". It means just the frozen dew you get on the twigs and grassblades.
I don't know where the word derives from, but I think "rauh" and "hoar" are related in meaning.
I think hoarfrost and Rauhreif sound a bit as if it was a particularly bad kind of frost, which is not the case I think. I like the word "Reif", which I find somehow poetic, that's why I wondered if English has a word, too.

Well, "hoar" from "hoary" just means gray or white and can also connote age ("hoary-headed sages," "hoary old truism").

Somewhere we need a thread for poking away at interesting words.

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“There, peeping among the cloud-wrack above a dark tor high up in the mountains, Sam saw a white star twinkle for a while. The beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to him. For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King

I think that could go in the Lasto Beth Lammen forum. I nominate you to start it, Prim.

I also think that people are going to have a hard time remembering the name of that forum.

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In gratitude forever … .

Well, thank you, Voronwë—I would love to start that thread. I'll do it tomorrow—I just sent off a concert program I've been working on for three days, and I feel LAZY.

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“There, peeping among the cloud-wrack above a dark tor high up in the mountains, Sam saw a white star twinkle for a while. The beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to him. For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King

I also think that people are going to have a hard time remembering the name of that forum

We'll call it The Beth Forum for short.

Jn

edit: it just occurs to me that there might be an Aramaic origin behind the Elvish word. "bate, or bite" in Hebrew and Arabic means "house" - it has become "beth" in American Hebrew ... but it also has the connotation of "conclave".

I think I mentioned this during the convention committee when we were discussion the form of hearings, that the Hebrew court is called "beth din," that is, "house of judgment." The word "din" exists in Arabic too, but it has a religious connotation that it does not have in Hebrew ... something like "dogma".

Prim! You used that mountain sunset picture as your TORC sig-pic, didn't you? It's stunning.

Today, I deviate from Sussex.



In keeping with Tolkien's theme of Water and Light ...

A photograph Voronwë posted two or so days ago reminded me of In Wildness is the Preservation of the World ... the book I so treasured all those many years ago ... so off I went into Google world ... and lo! and behold! Here is the very photograph which graced the title page ... tell me if you don't consider this art with a capital 'A'. I am simply astonished at the texture, the mystery, the overwhelming sense of wonder that Elliot Porter was able to capture with his camera.

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Ever mindful of the maxim that brevity is the soul of wit, axordil sums up the Sil:


"Too many Fingolfins, not enough Sams."

Yes.

Wow! That is stunning, Sassy.

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In gratitude forever … .

Wow!

Definitely Art! Breathtaking!

And we really need that thread about word meanings - fascinating things Jny!
Prim, I realise now that I mixed it up with "hoarse", which is a similar meaning to "rauh" - not sure why we should think this frost was rough - maybe there's a different meaning involved - but "whitefrost" fits perfectly!