Wednesday, August 31, 2011

JUST THINK - IT COULD HAVE BEEN WETTER

I thought about photographing the burnt black and torn leaves of my nasturtium plants, the bowed bunches of chives and my urn-shaped strawberry pot, which was being used for a bit of floral colour rather than soft fruit. What is extruding from the urn looks pretty sorry for itself. 

Then I changed my mind about creating pictorial evidence of the havoc wreaked on my plants, because of the storms and the torrents of rain that ripped through this area last weekend.  Instead, I started to tidy up my salad and herb patch as best I could in between more showers of rain.

Meantime, on the washing line, where washing swayed in the wind while the weather looked deceptively promising, with the next unexpected rain fall, the towels got damp and the bedding ended up as wet as it was when originally pegged out to dry. It could have been worse, the washing could have been wetter.
 

(A wash from another time drying in the wind).
Rotary Line + laundry

8 comments:

keiko amano said...

ZACL,

Is this a link-verse like blog that Vincent started on the theme of a clothes line? Nowadays, I see it here there in the blog sphere.

On the photo, I like the pink and blue. They look swaying in the wind. The Washing line somehow makes us feel comfortable.

I'm glad it didn't get too wet.

ZACL said...

Hello keiko,

I don't know anything about a link verse to themes of washing lines here in blog sphere. However, I am impressed that my general theme might have connected with something.

The picture I uploaded was of washing drying sometime in June 2011, not earlier this week. At the time, I took the photograph because I liked the combination of colours, the types of clothes and the trouser legs pegged on the line, yet they appeared to be 'running' in the wind.

I agree, washing on the line does have a certain comfortable feel about it.

Anonymous said...

I do sympathise that your weather has been like it has!
It does seem that climate change is making the weather more unsettled and extreme worldwide.
I think that here the most noticable thing has been how windy it has been throughout the year. Flighty xx

ZACL said...

Really, windy throughout the year in NW London! I am flabbergasted. You must say more about this phenomenon. How did you deal with it in relation to your plot?

I always joke that what we called a breeze, soft Southerners would call a wind, and what we would call a wind, would be described as a gale. There's no doubt Mr F, weather patterns are changing.

We heard that some of our haphazard weather experiences are, in part, due to the Gulf Stream moving further south. I wish it would hurry up and move back to where it was, conditions were more tolerable.

After our dreadful last two Winters, the last one in particular, being indescribably grim, we hoped for a reasonable Summer season, (by our standards). It's nowhere in sight yet!

Vincent said...

I was gladdened by the photo of washing on the line.

Keiko was saying it was like linked verse, by analogy.

Here is some linked verse from a translation of Basho's travel sketches:

A solitary crane
In the half-reaped paddies
The autumn deepens
In the village
(written by Tosei)

Under this bright moon
Over the village,
Let me help the farmers
Harvest rice.
(written by Soha)

A farmer's child
Hulling rice
Arrests his hands
To look at the moon.
(written by Tosei)

- and so it goes on, with different contributors maintaining the thematic connection.

ZACL said...

Vincent,

I am fascinated by your replies in verse. I see what you mean by verse and thematic connections.

It would gladden me if you said more about your sentiments about the washing on the line. Your thoughts tend to come from different sources to mine. It greatly interests me.



"Shades reach to the sun,
legs move in the wind,
their colours run,
In warmth they dry".

Vincent said...

Gosh, ZACL, you're a poet! It may take a while before I can begin to follow that. Will require the inspiration of hanging out more washing outside (it's too wet at present) and seeing what happens.

ZACL said...

We drove West into heavy wet weather this afternoon, Vincent. We'd have done better keeping East.

Today's washing is ready to un-peg from the line. I have taken a couple of photos, though I haven't examined them yet. It's a very dark wash and it may not be sufficiently differentiated as a scene, do anything with. It will be interesting to see what digitally materialises.

The only reason for taking the pix was because I only have one 'washing' picture in my photographic trove for possible future use.

Thanks for the poetic compliment.