SWEET ABANDON

wishing you lingering summer days,

light that glows on the inside & out, 

memories to treasure.

more life on here in a few weeks! 

x

thank you to my model
Anastasiia Lokkila

THE UNSPOKEN

the way the heart moves.

faded & grainy daguerreotype

on a faded & dilapidating porch

with model Anastasiia Lokkila.

BECOMING JUNE

 

 

becoming june,

becoming freedom.

a moment with Julia Margaret Cameron.

coffee with cream left over

from yesterday's pavlova

(everyone's had better things to do

than pop to the corner shop

for some more milk.)

it made me think 

about my Finnish grandma Hellin

who would sip on hers

from a saucer

sitting on her yellow porch.

softly blurred childhood memories

like photographs faded by the sun.

if I could have a wish,

I'd ask for a chance

to sit there on that porch

and have a chat,

woman to woman, 

heart to heart.

 moments with roses. 

becoming roses. 

patient attempts

to capture fluttering butterflies,

but they won't be tamed.

strangely i feel them take flight 

somewhere deep inside. 

x

MIDSUMMER

summer came 

in her robe of light

and sprinkled the earth

with flowers.

we've found ourselves

in a deserted city,

with most people headed 

to their summer cottages 

for midsummer.

I think we'll pack the car

with picnic stuff

& take a little road trip.

I'm yearning to see 

the sparkling sea

& pick (at least) those seven flowers

to slip under the pillow.

it's warm,

nature's bursting at its seams,

and in summer, 

the song sings itself,

as Mr William Carlos Williams says. 

Happy Midsummer!

x

(my gorgeous model: Anastasiia Lokkila)

LIFE IN UMBRIA (MONTEFALCO MEMORIES)

not many words in this post,

but about a million pictures

& a zillion memories behind them

from a week in the small Umbrian hilltop town

of Montefalco last summer.

a glimpse of the piazza above

turned into that fantasy setting

for velvety Italian evenings,

people gathered for a spritz 

before dinner,

while dark-haired, chocolate-eyed children

dart around on the square.

it's where we headed every night.

our home was down this little vicolo

about two minutes from the piazza.

the stone walls hid a simple, charming paradise.

after a week in Tuscany,

we loved the slightly more authentic vibe,

less tourists,

living more like locals.

x

all images shot in Montefalco.

MONTH OF THE WILD FOLK

At last came the golden month⁣
of the wild folk⁣
~ honey-sweet May, ⁣
& the flowers come out, ⁣
& the air is full of the sunrise scents ⁣
& songs of the dawning year.⁣
⁣
Samuel Scoville Jr., Wild Folk⁣

from a spring shoot yesterday,

model: Anastasiia Lokkila

LIGHTLY

Easter break.

we've been taking it slowly,

eating well,

overdosing on chocolate.

an excursion to the sleepy town of Loviisa

with its rows of wooden houses.

Ali Smith's Spring

on the go. 

and catching up on Unforgotten

with Nicola Walker

~ she has a fan right here. 

beyond this little holiday bubble 

I'm happily cocooning in right now,

 things do seem in balance.

after a tough start to the year,

now a nice amount of work

without the stress.

a clear head

after a flu of a lifetime.

 so much LIGHT!

a date scribbled in the calendar 

for a creative shoot

that's all beauty

and about pursuing a dream of my own. 

I can easily beat myself up

for not pursuing my own thing enough,

but I'm learning to take that lightly, too.

the small steps taken with joy

leading wherever they should. 

just as long as they don't get forgotten along the way. 

“It’s dark because you are trying too hard. 

Lightly child, lightly. 

Learn to do everything lightly. 

Yes, feel lightly 

even though you’re feeling deeply. 

Just lightly let things happen 

and lightly cope with them... 

...So throw away your baggage 

and go forward. 

There are quicksands all about you, 

sucking at your feet, 

trying to suck you down 

into fear and self-pity and despair. 

That’s why you must walk so lightly. 

Lightly my darling, 

on tiptoes and no luggage, 

not even a sponge bag, 

completely unencumbered.”

― Aldous Huxley, Island

With light,

lightly... 

x