I'm afraid I've gotten into a bad habit of using our dining room and table as a bit of a messy, gear-organizing space and kind of catch-all. Cameras and lenses, assorted batteries and chargers, even running or hiking gear wind up there, waiting for their next trip out the door for work or play.
A couple of days ago I decided I owed it to my mate to de-clutter the table, so camera gear got packed away in the closet where it belongs and my hiking stuff got stowed in its proper place in the garage.
As I cleaned up I found a tiny insect wing, and, when I showed it to Leah, she suggested I put it on the window sill in our kitchen -- a place where we keep little miracle-objects we collect from here and there.
The delicate wing now has a spot near a Buddha Eyes pendant we brought home from one of our trips to the Himalaya, and a small bird's egg we found in our yard. There is also a length of string that came from I-can't-remember-where, and a piece of red blessing cord from one of the Dalai Lama events I have photographed.
That evening, for no particular reason except perhaps to note the winding-down of summer, we turned on the "party lights" that hang from the wisteria that grows on our front porch.
This winter, when it is chilly, dark and rainy here -- a season we happen to enjoy for its own qualities -- I suspect it will be nice to look at these pictures and remember the sweet summer.
