Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Summer's Almost Gone . . .

What is it about vacation winding down and work looming on the very near horizon, like tomorrow, that creates such a sense of wistful longing for a Summer that could continue forever, those long days on the water, ending up perhaps spread on a beach cloth for a late afternoon read in a good book while glancing around at other beach life ? Such is life, all things must come to pass. This colorful cloth with no one on it summed it up for me . . .
.




































And for some reason this piano instrumental piece from George Winston seemed to convey the mood I'm in this evening even better than the Door's original recording . . .
.

.
.
.

28 comments:

Lynne with an e said...

Lovely piece of music. Rich with melancholy. Much like you tonight? Sweet dreams.

English Rider said...

self-indulgent you know what from someone with a French work-vacation ratio. Get over yourself! September will give us some glorious Indian Summer days. You'll just be at work, in an office and unable to wriggle your toes in the sand. Heh, Heh, evil chuckle.

@eloh said...

All that beautiful fabric...makes me want to sew something.

Steve said...

I'm having to return to work today... that picture had me staring wistfully out of my window wondering it I could possibly get away with pulling a "sickie" without arousing too much suspicion... alas, the answer is no...

Loulou said...

Here in India moonson is still going on, not what you would call "Indian summer" ;-)
I like your photography Owen and the idea of it. It is good to free your mind during summer in such way.
I am sure you are now full of energy, positive ideas, and new creativity will happen through the magic lantern show I reckon!
Take care
Loulou

Adam said...

I've been back at work for ages - in fact I hardly had any holidays at all this year!

Batteson.Ind said...

Well.. no comment.. you know the deal here about summer...:-(
Usually I can't stand instrumental versions of songs.. but this is a gem!.. I'm about to go and wallow in a dark room and sob with the beauty of it... cheers!

John D. Carnessiotis "Asteroid" said...

All the colors of summer on one single piece of cloth lying on a sand beach!
Summer may indeed be gone and slowly fading, but a taste here and a taste there, a fragment of a melody or the shine of a passing smile, the smell of the sea or of a woman or man will stay with us, won't they?
Don't say no, please!
;-)

La Framéricaine said...

"Summer" probably ranks up there with "home" and "love" for nostalgia, or, better yet, anticipatory nostalgia.

To paraphrase a heroine, "We're not in Summer anymore, Toto." And you know what an adventure she went on to have.

Happy rentrée!

Karen said...

Beautiful music and your photo reminds me of summer days at the New Jersey shore.
But now I live in Florida and it is summer almost year round. Wanna swap homes for awhile? I'd rather be in France.

Blind Fly Theater said...

That's a beautiful shot, Owen. I connected with it immediately (suppose that would be universal). That song, though played beautifully, is (in my flea-bitten opinion) perfectly suited for a permanent self-inflicted coma :D :P ;).
As far as the end of Summer, I think of it as a happy goodbye with anticipation of its return next year, and an excitement of a new season upon us. I was raised in Upstate NY, but eventually landed on the shores of San Diego for several years... It was like paradise for a while, but then the constant sunshine and stable mild temps year round began to get monotonous.
Now back in NY, I've come to relish each season (though I would lop off two of the five months of our frigid and snowy winters!).
David
;)
*

Caio Fern said...

for a coincidence i have singing this song for the last 3 days all the time ( and here is Brazil , the WINTER is almost gonne ) .
by the way ... the picture are great too !!

Jean said...

J'adore ces couleurs flamboyantes que le sable chaud met en valeur .
Ces couleurs réjouissent le coeur .

jeff said...

Toi Owen, tu as un coup de blues ! Non non ! Ne dis rien ! A l'écoute de cette musique nonchalente et de ce paréo jeté si lentement ( ou l'inverse )... tout semble dire que tu as du mal à quitter ce bel été, riche en soleil, aux soirées si douces et aux filles si tendres !
Viens dans le sud ! C'est encore la canicule par ici ! ! !

Allez à plus dear Owen !
Tisane un coup ! ça passera !
Ciao !...:-)

CiCi said...

Sounds like you have a long vacation. If so, good for you. I know that countries like France and Germany lead the way with very long time off for workers. Not so at all in the U.S. It sounds so relaxing to picture some relaxing time on a beach cloth reading a good book.

Plum' said...

Hello Owen,
Je passe en coup de vent (as usual): je rejoins Loulou, j'aime aussi ce que dégage ton post nostalgique.
Take care Owen!

amatamari© said...

Splendida foto!

The Sagittarian said...

Holiday? What is this word, holiday?? I've been shackled to my workplace since the end of January and you don't here me complaining!! (Well, not in France you can't but I suspect my neighbours can....)
Get yourself off to mine, you clearly need a drink poor sod!

robert said...

It may pass, but never will be over.

Nathalie H.D. said...

Très joli moment de nostalgie, tant en musique qu'en image. Mais Jeff a raison : viens dans le sud, l'été est encore là!

William Evertson said...

Summer??? Someone had a summer.

Catherine said...

what a melancholic note you are striking...my term beagn over two weeks ago so I am already well in the swing...good luck with your return to work...

Owen said...

Hi Lynne, last night was the "deep blue Owen"... but that was probably because I was just holding my breath too long... in order to burst out laughing... and drive those blues away through hyper-ventilation... anyway, all is well ! Nothing a little visit to More Canterbury Tales won't cure !

======

Dear English, many thanks for the reality check... actually I think having so much vacation may not be such a good thing, because one gets so accustomed to not working during all those weeks off, that one gets the blues briefly at the the thought of having to actually go earn some money again. So, thanks for helping me see the error of my ways, and I will stop whining and get back to what all good french-people do... wining !
:-D

=======

Hi Eloh, doesn't even need to be sewed, can just be picked up and wrapped around oneself...

=======

Steve, you could always pig out and call in with swine flu symptoms... I'm sure no one would want to come check the facts... or you could just call in and say that you are feeling far to well to come to work !
:-)

========

Hi Loulou ! If you could send us some of your monsoon rain, that would be great, our garden is parched ! And you are right, vacation was wonderful and the batteries are all charged up, ready to go into the Fall and the Magic Lantern will keep on truckin' right along... :-)

=========

Hey Adam, my condolences, hopefully you can get away at Toussaint... ? Work is like alcohol, should be consumed in moderation...

Owen said...

Dear Vicky Watercats... can just see you wallowing and sobbing ! oh dear, maybe I better delete this video... between you wallowing and David actually in a coma, maybe it wasn't such a good choice ???
Cheers, and cheer up fast !
:-D

=======

Asteroid, can't possibly say no to such a poetic summary... I'm sure whoever that paréo belonged to had impregnated it with scents and exotic perfumes of vanilla from Tahiti and lavender from Provence and calvados from a little noontime nip from a silver flask...

========

Dear Fram, many thanks ! Voilà, la rentrée est bien en cours maintenant... pas de retour en arrière... but nothing wrong with a tiny taste of nostalgia once in a while... have a great trip !!!

=========

Hey Karen, funny, I used to go to the Jersey shore for vacations when I was a bit younger... places like Brigantine, Avalon, Port Republic... well, not sure I want to swap with Florida, when the wind picks up down there, it really picks up... although the grapefruits must be plentiful... but you can always come visit France ! Or even move here...

=======

Hi Flea Bitten David, I'm going to count to five and then snap my fingers, when you here the snap you will return to where you were before you clicked the play button on that coma inducing video, and then don't click it again, ok, unless you want to spend the next six months comatose. You are right of course, Fall is a time to rejoice in the colors of falling leaves and turning wheel and cooler nights when sleep can be so deep... I like having seasons too, and like you I also spent a fair bit of time in San Diego, from May to December in 1983... spent Fall on the beach or heading down to Mexico on weekends... hmmm, wonder if that hurricane will get to San Diego ??? See you !

=======

Ciao F, It's a great song to sing anytime of year...

========

Merci Jean... merci beaucoup... si le coeur se rechauffe là dessus, alors, ça valait l'effort...

========

Ah Jeff, qu'est-ce que j'aimerais passer qqs semaines de congé encore dans le sud... maintenant que les foules ont repris le boulot metro dodo, ça doit être le bon moment de venir s'incruster sur une plage à Hyères... ou Demain... bon, un jour, oui, un bon jour on va boire cette sacrée T ensemble, d'accord ??? D'accord...

========

Hi TechnoB, in effect, France is very civilized when it comes to vacation time... as English Rider so kindly pointed out above, I should just shut up, because I know all about having only two weeks of vacation in a year, and IMHO, that is not enough... here in France 5 weeks is pretty much the minimum most people have, and depending on other factors, it can get as high as 11 weeks (and that is not for teachers, that's major corporations) Anyway, it's a hard life, but someone has to live it...
:-D

========

Owen said...

Salut K'line Floraison... si en passant tu ramassais ce paréo, et tu le nouais autour de tes tiges, j'suis sûr l'effet serait ravissant... bon, un petit coup de nostalgie la veille de la plongée dans le fond du boulot... pas de mal, ça ne mange pas du pain...
Merci... :-D

==========

Amatamari, merci, gracias, muchas gracias... welcome to this humble little blog...

=========

Dear Saj, I'll be right over, I'm sure your assessment of the situation is accurate, as usual... in vino veritas, n'est-ce pas ???

========

Ah Robert, merci pour ta vision positive... many thanks

========

Hi Nathalie, oooh je sauterais dans le prochain TGV si je pouvais, serais là à la gare d'Avignon pour 7 hrs du mat... pour dire bonjour à... Nat !
Merci et bisoux !

========

Hey Bill, jeez, where were you that you got shortchanged out of a Summer this year ? Well, you can always hop a flight to Nice, they're still having Summer down there I here... and there are many nice things about Nice ! I think Delta has a direct flight too...

========

Thanks Catherine... well, sometimes a little melancholy serves to cheer me up... does that make sense ? I know, it's a bit convoluted, but who said life was simple...
:-D

Buskitten said...

Hi Owen!
Just popped in over lunch to say 'Hello' and have a squiz at your lovely blogity-blog!
Your words are lovely, threy made me reflect about how much my life has changed over the pst few weeks, and remembering my time in Italy....the heat, the lazy days of frolicking in the lake, reading, drawing, eating delicious food, riding our bikes......
I can't listen to the music clip here in the office, but will do so at home over the weekend.
Thanks for your nice comments on my blog - I am really enjoying the job, it's an exciting project, and great to be working with kids. Even better that Tiddles is part of the presentation! (Means I get to draw)
I hope all is well with and yours,
Lov
Liz and Tiddles xxx

Roxana said...

i don't know why, but this image seems perfect for the music (perhaps a sense of solutide and regret?) - and i am totally in love with both, as you could see on my blog, i am a big fan of fabric, can't resist :-)

LR Photography said...

Hi Owen, I know that summer maybe gone in a while but the fall is also a wonderful season. Nice to hear from you again, great posts here like always.