Life Update: Poetry at my Feet
The vacation pix I'd show you if I was still on Instagram.
One of the things I miss most about leaving social media (which I wrote about here1) is being unable to share the photos that fill my phone. So, if I was still on Instagram, here's what you'd see, in sort of an order, from the last two months. Enjoy!
In September my husband and I celebrated our 50th anniversary by visiting lifelong friends in Guadalajara Mexico, a city that is over 300 years old. The neighborhood where we stayed was not only old but positively charming. Here are some of my favorite scenes:
A bench from the neighborhood 'glorieta' i.e. circular park
One of the many fountains (Guadalajara is called The City of Fountains)
The courtyard of our AirBnB with a fountain, of course
My feet on one of the very old sidewalks (I love how they fill in cracks with pebbles!)
A view from the main chapel at Hospicio Cabanas in Downtown Guadalajara, established in 1810 as an orphanage (Google it!!)
Then we came home to cooler (yay!) weather and fall color. A small photo tour for you:
The new International Terminal at Seattle International Airport. I have no idea what all those colorful, wavy, taffy-looking forms are in the baggage area but they definitely caught my eye!
Sunrise the morning after we came home
A perfect Northern Flicker feather that had fallen on our lawn
The Japanese Stewartia foliage in my backyard was stunningÂ
Loved this still life with leaf in my perennial bed's birdbath
Sunset in a cotton candy sky from our back deck
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IN OTHER NEWS
Did you know? I have a new Book: Mining the Bright Birds: Poems of Longing for Home—
I continue to hear from readers about the aha's they've experienced reading the poems in Mining the Bright Birds, released October 1st. The launch of this book has been slow and quiet, which is why I’m sharing it here once again. If you’d like to know more, here is the link2 to my Books page for some background as well as ordering info.
Mining the Bright Birds: Poems of Longing for Home is available from your local bookseller and wherever books are sold.
SPEAKING OF BOOKS…..
A Yellow Wood and other stories—
I am a very picky fiction reader; I very rarely read anything contemporary, but this book, my friends, by author K.C. Ireton, is a beautiful, quiet miracle.
"A Yellow Wood and other stories" opens with American college student Maggie who discovers a stash of sonnets in the attic of her great-grandmother's home in Herefordshire, England, and sets out to uravel the mystery of their authorship, finding friendship and love along the way. (From the back cover).
Four additional stories round out this volume. Whether depicting the affection of a daughter for her mother, the love of a wife for her husband, the friendship of women in community, or the simple kindness of a stranger, these stories are quiet and gladsome tales of ordinary people learning to trust and love in extraordinary ways."
ENTER TO WIN
I have a signed copy of A Yellow Wood to send to a (very) lucky reader. If you'd like to be entered to receive a copy of A Yellow Wood and other stories, simply click on this link to fill out a Contact Entry form. (Entries close October 31st, 2023). Winner will be notified November 1st (ish).Â
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That is all the news for now from my Autumn-filled corner of the world. For all of you who follow me here, let me offer my humble gratitude for your reading, comments and support. It means the world to me!
Gratefully,
Jody
One more photo of beauty at my feet. Even the blackberries are putting on a show.
What are you noticing these days?
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My email subscribers will recognize this post; just had to share with the folks here!
On my website—-jodyleecollins.com
Beautiful places and spaces you have visited.