Tell me, O Octopus, I begs

Is those things arms,

or is they legs?

I marvel at thee, Octopus,

If I were thou, I'd call me Us.

-"The Octopus" by Ogden Nash

acrylic, 18"x24'' donation to the St. Mary's Catholic School "Diamonds, Denim, & Dice" benefit

A New Year

When despair for the world grows in me and I wake in the night at the least sound in fear of what my life and my children's lives may be, I go and lie down where the wood drake rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds. I come into the peace of wild things who do not tax their lives with forethought of grief. I come into the presence of still water. And I feel above me the day-blind stars waiting with their light. For a time I rest in the grace of the world, and am free. - Wendell Barry, "The Peace of Wild Things"

Featured here are the works of talented plein air photographer Kevin Buckley! The first photograph features County Wicklow, Ireland, and the other two shots were taken at Holy Cross Abbey in Clarke County, Virginia. Such scenes are "thin places" in the classic sense of the phrase. "Caol ait," the Gaelic term for thin places, are areas where the spirit is recognized, and the presence of life beyond is more easily ascertained. They are places of interconnectedness that come upon us suddenly. Like a smell that evokes a particular childhood scene, these spots provide a sudden jolt into a holier vision, a vision that though it may not yet be fully discernable, is deeply felt. At least one of the abbey shots was taken upside down, as the photographer tried to fiddle with his iphone. Thanks, Dad, for sharing your work, and here's to more candid shots of beautiful landscapes in the future!