The quiet hours can be overwhelming. When one finds the way outdoors, at times when no other human guests are likely to be encountered, there is no shortage of wonders to be found in such silent vistas. Nor is there any way around confronting the unadorned absences of those who should be here with us.
There’s nothing quite like watching the sun emerge above a sea of clouds, or disappear underneath the horizon at sundown, to underscore the thin and immeasurable wordless space between heaven and earth.
I’ve been alone to see such moments–before dawn and after dusk–in some of the planet’s most densely-populated cities, and some of its emptiest places.
It’s been quite some time since I’ve been able to regularly appear on these pages. I’m still not able to explain what’s caused me to be-for far longer than I could have imagined-uncharacteristically hushed about major portions of my last several years.
But such enforced silenced swaths have left me enough space to share my very present past, packed today with the quiet hours in which I still celebrate the July marriage that brought me everywhere I’ve been since leaving home for school. Not only to the earthbound places my husband and I were lucky enough to share, but all the places to which his loss indirectly has brought me.
On each such anniversary, I’m astounded anew that he hasn’t aged alongside me. It stunned me when, during one of these quiet hours, I first realized I’d not only caught up with, but already somehow lived beyond the age he’d reached at his death. It was more crushing when I realized one of our children had lived more than half a young lifetime without him.
But in quiet hours at timeless vistas and ancient places, I can sometimes spare my aggrieved self the focus on earthly years. I allow myself to see the enduring forever.
Even when the colors fizzle, or are overwhelmed by fog, there are treasures in the near-silent spaces of the endless quiet hours.
Happy Anniversary.
Love in the Spaces 
Hi Stephanie, how lovely to read a post from you and thank you for sharing your wonderful photography.
Our treasure of memories is truly precious.
Thank you! I’m so glad to be able to share what I’ve seen.
You’re welcome
So good to see you here again and with this piece that reminds me so beautifully that the love remains through time and space.
And what places you’ve been! Sending hugs. Tricia
Thank you so much, Tricia! I’m so grateful to be able to share the places I’ve been!
Stephanie, I can’t stop admiring these beautiful photos. The pre-dawn mist and the sunrises are gorgeous, especially.
I’m so grateful that you stopped by and enjoyed them. Being able to share them is the best part. Thank you!
Happy Anniversary to you Stephanie. The photos are wonderful particularly the cranes nest.
Let’s get together soon.
Love,
Joanie
Welcome back Stephanie, you’ve been missed. As always your words reach directly into the heart and somehow one can recognize both your strength and the love you continue to recognize and honor. Thank you for sharing your thoughts and your always-beautiful images. The closing is amazing.
This time I’m hoping to really be back (post to follow later today, I hope), and thank you for sticking with me. That last deep blue morning shot is a particular treasure, up before dawn on a tiny island and watching the world awaken as it had for centuries upon centuries.
A very touching post.
The photos are beautiful.
Thank you–I really appreciate your continuing to come by with all the long lapses. I’m hoping as of today I’m going to be able to write way more freely and fill in some missing pieces.
Beautiful, Stephanie. So glad you found a possibility to post this. ♥
Thank you, Leya!
Beautiful. I loved the contemplative introspection.
Thank you, John! I’m hoping to be able to share a lot more now.
Welcome home, and Happy Anniversary.
Thank you. This really feels like home!
Simply beautiful, Stephanie.
Thank you, Sofia.
Thank you, Sofia.
Your words resonate deeply with the experience of love and loss. The way you capture both the weight of absence and the silent strength found in nature’s quiet moments is moving. Thank you for sharing your journey and for reminding us that love endures, shaping the spaces between what was and what still is. Wishing you peace ~ 🙏🏻
What a beautiful comment. I’m very grateful.