November 25, 2008

Late afternoon

Late afternoon

During the winter, evening sneaks into afternoon. I'll be sitting on the comfy couch, reading a book or writing on my laptop computer, or maybe sitting on the floor playing blocks with the two little neighbor kids who have been coming over a lot lately. Sunlight will be coming in the west windows, touching the piano and bookcases with gold. But moments later, I'll look up from the page or the screen or the block pile, and I'll notice that the room is filled with shadows, that the sunlight has gone.

Once I notice the darkness, it moves in quickly. Shaggy Hair Boy, doing homework in the chair, will turn on the lamp. I'll carry in some wood and build a fire. The windows turn into dark mirrors that reflect the flames, the lamps, the kids on the couch. This is where we will be, mostly, all winter long, settled in front of the fire every evening with books and laptop computers and plates of food. Outside, snow falls through bare branches. All around the house, the woods hold onto the darkness.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

This picture is GORGEOUS to me. Books and soft light. Incredible.

YourFireAnt said...

What an evocative post, Jo(e). Lovely!

FA

word verification: redlyti. Red lightie! ;-)

Liz Miller said...

Damn, lady, you can WRITE! And take a meeeeean photograph.



My word verification = "hystolow"

Overeducated Twit said...

Mmmm. What a lovely looking bookcase. I have booklust now.

Lomagirl said...

I have neighbor lust and fireplace lust (though I like living in a place where I don't need the fire). But the neighbor lust thing is that you are playing blocks on the floor with the neighbor kids, and I wish you were my neighbor so I could send my kids to see you.

Anonymous said...

Absolutely lovely.

Ursula said...

"There's a certain slant of light...."

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landismom said...

Okay, can I admit that my first reaction was, "there is no dust at all on those book shelves. Amazing!"

BrightBoy said...

I love this post. This is the kind of thing I like to show other people.