Farewell & Adieu...

There are many ways to say goodbye and at times we don’t even notice we do it differently than others. My goodbyes can be described as thoughtful and almost secretive, but every time I say goodbye I remember a quote I once read by J.M. Barrie, Peter Pan,

“Never say goodbye, because goodbye means going away and going away means forgetting.”

However like I said before there are many ways to say goodbye dictionary.reference.com refers to a goodbye as “an instance of saying goodbye; a parting”. This can also be said in different ways in English as well as other languages.The way dictionary.refernce.com states it refers to you being able to see whatever you are saying goodbye to again. I think whether you forget it or not is ultimately up to you.  I say farewell to this section of life where I questioned everything there was to see at the ditch. I say adios to the earth I cradled in my hands and I say bon voyage to the leaves that are begging to become one with the soil.  Sayonara to the squirrels that now sleep sound in their nests or burrows. Au revoir to all the wonders I've discovered and to everything that I've learned. I will see the ditch again, but this time in a different light. Although it is goodbye I will not forget any of the memories I've made or the experiences I've experienced. I was once told,

“if you are brave enough to say goodbye life will reward you with a new hello”

     There is never a right time to say goodbye, but there does come a time where you must move on to explore new things. The ditch has taught me all it has to offer and it is with this thought that I say farewell & adieu…

"Don't Be a Word Bore: Alternative Ways to Say Goodbye." English Town. Education First Group, 08           Oct. 2013. Web. 14 Dec. 2014.
"Good-bye." Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com, 2014. Web. 14 Dec. 2014.
"English to French, Italian, German & Spanish Dictionary - WordReference.com." English to French,             Italian, German & Spanish Dictionary - WordReference.com. Word Reference, 2014. Web. 14 Dec. 2014.

A Tale of a Long Lost Friend...Rain

     There’s nothing quite like getting caught in the rain. It’s beautiful in the way the drops fall simultaneously on the pavement or in this case on dry cracked earth. I have been waiting for the day the ditch comes alive with every water drop it absorbs. It’s been raining here in this little old town for an hour or two, which is only a short time considering it’s the first rain of the winter season. Due to the fact that Reno sits in the rain shadow of the Sierra Nevada mountains the annual rainfall averages around 7.48 inches (190 mm) per year (usclimatedata).the real question now lies if the water will stay in the ditch or if the water will be all soaked up leaving behind a hollow canal. This thought reminds me of a quote that reads:

“From every wound there is a scar,

and every scar tells a story,

a story that says,

I survived.”

   

    The ditch is like a massive scar from before the drought we are now experiencing. The green plants and grass will tell a story of struggle and survival. The rain may be back but there will always be scars of the time where the ditch lost its best friend water.

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"Temperature - Precipitation - Sunshine - Snowfall." Climate Reno. Climate Data, 2014. Web. 12 Dec. 2014.

Beauty in the Simplest of Places

Beauty.

 It’s the most complex concept, yet it’s in the simplest of things as well. The place I observe has many little things that possess bits and pieces of grace. Beauty isn't always in appearances it’s the place in general. The crumbling bridge that hangs for dear life to the earth has a sense of calmness and serenity emitting an air of grace. The squirrel that scurries at a rapid pace holds the elegance of a delicately painted mural. Beauty has no boundaries and can even be explained using a plethora of colors.  

                  http://static.tumblr.com/pyw6btq/CQilxjm14/tumblr_ltfmzdxkic1qknlteo1_500.jpg

       The ditch itself can be described as a dark brown that holds potential that hasn't been reached yet. The rocks are a silvery, smoky grey that shimmers and the plants near them glimmer with a creamy gold that screams lovely! The beauty in places like the ditch has been created by the stars in the galaxies and constellations. It holds the beauty of the blues in the sky and the depth in the raging ocean. 

      

    A place is like a person, it is unique. The ditch where the light doesn't shine as much due to man made warehouses still holds a marvelous beauty. The animals that used to visit at some point saw this and chose to come time and time again. The water that has been dried out only dims that beauty to the unsuspecting eye. Imperfection is beauty.

“I always find beauty in the things

That are odd and imperfect-they

Are much more interesting.”

-MARC JACOBS

The Falling Leafs

Fall has always been one of  my favorite seasons. The leaves burst in colors and the trees wrap themselves in a thin scarf of frost. It’s almost as if all summer natures beauty has been bottled up and before winter it explodes in a passion of reds and oranges. The Grand finale before the curtain closes. The tall trees by the ditch put on a good show this year before bundling themselves in their brown winter coats. The leaves were a crisp orange with a yellow tinge as they struggled to stay with their bearer. They all seem to fall at different times and speeds as if trying to fly like the birds. They wish to imitate the birds that leave the nests in the spring, but soon realize they don’t possess the smooth wings to do so.

Every autumn I am reminded of the poem "Come Little Leaves" by George Cooper,

“Come, little leaves said the wind one day

Come to the meadows with me and play

Put on your dresses of red and gold;

For summer is past, and the days grow cold”

Each of them takes a separate journey pushed by the autumn breeze. They are left in different places to be buried under the white blanket on that fateful day in December. Snow seems to bury everything and hide what’s underneath; soon the ditch will be nothing but a place for fallen snowflakes. Then I guess a new story will be written of dancing white faeries and grey skies. 

The Hidden World

   
          Since the beginning of this observation project I've learned that there are many things we overlook everyday, every minute and every second that we are alive. We are unconscious of the hidden world under our noses. I've recently started to see this world unravel right before my eyes, one that's full of wonders and marvelous phenomenons that I never knew were there. The ditch by my house has shown me abandoned homes such as the burrow that has grown cobwebs on its edges due to the lack of nourishment. The footsteps of the abundant ebony ants seem as loud as a metropolis and the shrubs on the sidelines seem to be dancing to the waltz of life. However I start to think, the more this new environment flourishes and the more the crawly insects build their utopia what will happen when the water comes back? if it ever does, but I guess that's what mother nature does. Evolve. Still the surrounding trees seem to whisper to me their worries of suddenly being propelled to the land of the forgotten. Yet I know that at least there will be one person who sees the hidden beauty behind concealing gates. That's what matters, that's whats significant. That's why i'm here.

Creation of Inspiration

       
          I was once told everything in life is temporary. The ditch by my house 2 years ago that flourished with life is now a dry trench. The drought is absorbing all the moisture through an invisible straw. This place has turned into nothing, but a memory that refuses to vanish. The fragments left in my mind are barely held by inconspicuous fingertips. This place is changing all the time, but is the change really worth seeing? In the end nothing EVER really stays the same.