Winter Eyes

It takes my eyes a while to adjust to the new season. Mother Nature has put on a more sombre dress, but not less beautiful. Winter's stark beauty has yet to be completely fulfilled; we need a layer of snow.

As my husband and I were putting our back yard to sleep for the winter, I speculated about how, as a child, I could spend hours in the cold, wearing my snow suit and insulated snow boots, sliding down a hill and climbing back up for another run until it was too dark to see. Today, standing there in my Converse high-tops and not feeling my feet, that seemed a lifetime ago.

This looks like a nice winter home for a mouse, don't you think?

Toy

My photo assignment this week was to take a favorite childhood toy and photograph it in a displaced manner.

First of all, I didn't have a lot of childhood toys to begin with. I don't say this with any regret; I spent most of my childhood outside playing in the woods behind the house, which was my own big, private playground. I liked playing outside. And I don't recall the few toys I did have with any passionate fondness.

I certainly didn't save any toys from my childhood, so I had to figure something out. I went to the thrift store, certain I would find something that spoke to me and was somehow in keeping with the assignment. And that's when I found her. I've never owned a porcelain doll, and considering this is Halloween, she takes on a real spookiness. I photographed her outside in the dried leaves, I propped her up on the window sill, even situated her in a tree. No matter where I put her, she seemed to be witness to some horrid crime. I have to wonder ... whose doll was she? And what did she see?

I think she does conjure some childhood emotions. Like fear, to name one.

If you want to see the other shots of her, please go here.