Twilight Gifts of Autumn

Pool at Sunset

Reflection Pool at Sunset © 2013 Bo Mackison

“Every day comes bearing its own gifts. Untie the ribbon.’ ~ Ruth Ann Schabacker

A walk through gardens in an autumn evening is a gentling walk. The colors are muted, less brilliant than in full summer sunlight, yet they take on a preciousness of their own. Nuances of colors, the mark of changing seasons. A few late season flowers bloom in full glory, surrounded by dropped petals and browning blossoms of flowers past their prime.

The reflection pool, at rest in the evening pause, takes on the autumn colors of yellows, oranges. The last water lilies are in bloom. The grasses, seeded, shimmer in gold and silver. Leaves fall, catch the slightest of breezes, and quiver through the air.

It is a peaceful time, this transition time from sunset to twilight.

In the Mission Garden – A Time of Reflection

Garden, Mission San Xavier del Bac

In the Garden © 2011 Bo Mackison

Today marks the first month of my two month stay in Tucson. The “Bo Goes Solo” experiment, to my great relief, has been a quite a success. I think I could become a desert rat with ease, though to be honest, I’ve only experienced the beauty of spring and nearly perfect weather. I would probably be talking a different story if I was here when the temperatures hit 100˚ and stay there for weeks at a time.

I look back at the last month in amazement. While the world has been spinning and Madison has been on the news day after day, I’ve been spending a lot of time sitting in gardens. I spend much of that time taking photographs, but I also take time to simply sit and absorb. Every place has its own space, its own mood. I’ve spent time in reflection in mission gardens, in the great solitude of the desert at mid-day, atop a mountain accompanied by the constant chirping of migratory birds who are stopping here temporarily.

I’m getting to know a different habitat and the different creatures that live here. I’ve gotten accustomed to visits from the javelina. First, one adult made the rounds at dusk. Now I often see the mom and dad with their two offspring. I’m not fond of the adults’ appearance, though the baby javelinas are cute in an ugly kind of way.

I hear the coyotes singing at night and have seen a few on my desert walks. The road runner I saw when I first arrived hasn’t run past my door again, but other birds are plentiful — several species of hummingbirds, Gambel’s quails,  finches, woodpeckers, even a glimpse of a mountain bluebird.

So I celebrate today, the day “in the middle”, privileged to have spent the first month learning how to “be solo”, and delighted to have the next month to continue my explorations. I’ll also be printing my new collection of desert and mission photographs for the next art fair at the end of the month. I am truly grateful for this time in the desert.

This photograph was taken in a small courtyard garden at Mission San Xavier del Bac, a most remarkable place.

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Bo Mackison is living in Tucson for two months, exhibiting her photography in art shows, taking photographs, and blogging about photography, art fairs, and living life “solo.”  There are many gifts to find when one takes the time and opportunity to seek.

Birthday Celebration

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Whimseys © 2007

Tin-pressed ladybugs
Copper flowers, gee-gaws, bells
Birthday wish garden

A birthday is just the first day of another 365-day journey around the sun. Enjoy the trip. ~Author Unknown

What better way to celebrate my birthday than with a photograph of — this? Looks like some sort of celebration to me. I’m not sure exactly what kind of party the establishment had in mind, but I’ll use the garden art for birthday candles. I might be able to match a gee-gaw for each year, but it will be close.

Photographed in downtown Fish Creek, Wisconsin.