Looking at this image I photographed about a month ago already makes me nostalgic about the end of summer.
Of course, unlike those silly people, I actually know that autumn begins after September's equinox. So, perhaps, things are not quite as dire yet! ;)
This weekend, a number of people has independently complimented me "on my painting," upon seeing some of my photographs in print.
I took it as a a positive sign, of course.
That impressionistic effect is best achieved with macro photography, like this image.
Of course, I had to mentally block the frustrating fact that I haven't had the chance to paint in quite some time, even though I was once quite skilled.
And I will be again.
That's what these sweet-scented flowers, the favorite of bees, reminded me off: a large hand reaching down.
There are certain scents, sounds, and images that prompt memories seemingly buried in the back of the mind long ago. One such positive nostalgic trigger is springtime lilacs in bloom.
When I was little, my mother taught at the Moscow State University and often brought me there. The University's grounds include beautiful parks and awe-inspiring Stalinist architecture surging toward the sky. Her professional holiday, Chemist's Day, has been celebrated in May for as long as I remember. And that, of course, is when all those deliciously scented and gently colored lilacs are in bloom.
One Russian tradition says that if you find a five-leaf lilac flower, unlike the typical four-leaf exemplars, you should eat it and make a wish. I suppose it's akin to the luck of a four-leaf clover in Celtic culture. For a child that I once was, the search was particularly exciting. I've made dozens of wishes that way. Even though I can't recall any of them coming true, I still look for five-leaf lilacs on occasion.
Just in case.
I've always been critical of the images featuring plants sprouting through concrete—popular and often used to illustrate resistance of some kind. And yet I couldn't help but photograph this dandelion breaking through the rocks below. I guess I'm a bit of a cheesy romantic after all!
I'm not a fan of consumer holidays. However, as far as they go, Mother's Day is one of the most benign exemplars even if (especially if) it acts as a reminder to give more attention to one's family on a regular basis.
In addition to my mom, I was certainly thinking of my family—my ancestors, more specifically. After all, Mother's Day falls close to the 9th of May, Victory Day (in World War II) in Russia. As a consolidating experience for "Greater Russia" (the USSR), it is still one of the most important days of the year for us.
There is a wonderful website on which one could look up one's family members who fought in that war. It was really touching to find the listing for my grandfather, my father's side of the family, which included the medal he was awarded. He was only 23-24 years old in 1945! It was even better to see the same from my friends.
That ancestral experience still unites us.
And so I hope that you all, too, spent some worthwhile time with your relatives.
