Blogtober 23: Looking at Details

 

Clouds scudded across the sky this morning. Very little rain fell today, but more is predicted over the next few days. I spent the morning indoors, editing, and part of the afternoon in the garden. The blueberry bushes are fiery red. Soon there will be more red on the ground than on the bushes. 

Tiny mushrooms are growing in the grass, many of them dotted around the lawn. How cute they are. I clipped away the grass surrounding them so I could take a proper photo. That inspired me to look for other small details in the garden. 

Water droplets on a Lady's Mantle (alchemilla mollis) leaf. 

Center of a Rudbeckia. Just a few yellow blooms remain. 

A single bee hung around the Guara. I wonder why this one is still out collecting pollen when there are no others to be seen. 

Mint is indomitable. We put up a small greenhouse in the spring. For the base, my husband used square concrete pads along with some old marble pieces from a fireplace. It's a lovely floor - easy to hose clean. But mint is springing up between the cracks. I don't really mind as it fills the greenhouse with a lovely fragrance on warm days. But I am going to have to get very stern with it for I don't need it taking over the entire place. 

I don't think the invasive European Wall Lizards like the mint and stay out of the greenhouse. A reason to encourage its growth. These lizards have no natural predators and were introduced when someone who had a small zoo released them into the wild. They are becoming a plague. 

A sample of what I clipped today to make a small bouquet for the house. 

I recently saw a clip from a Doctor Who episode where he brought Vincent Van Gogh to the Musée d'Orsay where Van Gogh's works are displayed. The artist sold only one painting during his lifetime, and in this imaginary visit to the museum, he is in disbelief to see his works lining the walls. It's a touching episode. Van Gogh continued painting for as long as he lived, not knowing that his works would one day be so popular. 

I've been thinking of his words, "It is looking at things for a long time that ripens you and gives you a deeper meaning." In all of our chasing novelty and the latest thing, perhaps taking a few moments to consider small details of nature, of home, of our loved ones, will give us greater satisfaction. 

Let's Take a Walk

We'll begin on the main street of Auvers sur Oise, beside a park. A statue of an emaciated man with paintbox and easel slung on his back and shoulders dominates the little park. Yes, it's Vincent Van Gogh. 

Let's walk together through this town where he spent the last 70 days of his life.

On this sunny July day, flowers look their best. We slowly wind our way upwards through narrow streets, taking time to admire the colours and textures along the way.

Looking down, we notice metal circles set into the pavement, providing direction to many of the artist's more famous haunts.

There's an unconfirmed, but persistent, piece of history in my family that we are related to Vincent Van Gogh through his mother's family. We often refer to the artist as "Uncle Vince."

We continue upwards and round the corner. There it is - the church made famous by Van Gogh in his painting l'Eglise d'Auvers sur Oise. It looks less impressive to me than the painting. Here it seems to be just a rather ordinary Gothic church. Van Gogh imbued the scene with tortured emotion with his brush strokes and colour choices.

Let's continue on up the road, past the church. Soon we come to the edge of the village. Wheat fields stretch golden into the horizon, almost ready for harvest. Many of the last paintings of Van Gogh feature these fields.

Look to our right. There is a cemetery, surrounded by stone walls, with a metal entrance gate. We enter and make our way to the back of the cemetery. There, against the outer wall, are the graves of Vincent Van Gogh and of his brother, Theo. They loved each other very much, and many, many letters passed between the two of them. Theo was a successful art dealer, Vincent an impoverished painter. Theo supported Vincent throughout his life, and encouraged him in his work. Although Theo had a wife and child in the Netherlands, his wife knew how much the two brothers loved each other and brought Theo here to rest beside Vincent.

Out into the fields we go again, here to stand where Vincent set up his easel and painted the wheat fields with those ominous skies and black crows. Skies are blue today, and the fields empty of crows.

A copy of the painting marks the scene. We make our way back towards the village along a narrow footpath.

Back through charming streets where houses wear brightly painted shutters,

  where alliums bloom against stone,

and roses creep into windows.

We enter the Auberge Ravoux where Vincent boarded in a tiny room reached by a winding dark staircase. No photos are allowed of the room. It is empty save for a single chair. 

Instead, we'll sit for about 10 minutes in another room and watch a movie, wordless, that entwines Van Gogh's paintings with quotes from his letters. It's lovely.

Poor Vincent Van Gogh suffered terribly throughout his short life. Mental illness, loneliness, and poverty dogged him at every turn. Yet, like all of us, he determined to express his thoughts and emotions. Unlike most of us, he did it through his paintings. 

And so, we finish our walk, thinking about love and beauty as people have done throughout time. 

Beside the Auberge Ravoux a tangled garden drowses in the sunlight.