My World Tuesday: Gone to Carolina in my Mind

Topsail


Time stands still in winter. Snow days open up hours upon hours of exactly what we want to do. We do those things to our hearts' content, and then we go back to sleep and wake up to a new day of same-old. Except this year. One snow day opens onto another opens onto a delay or an early dismissal so that the stillness and solitude of winter become isolation.

And then the air warms and the rain falls and roads clear. Birds sing, and the promise of life, life, life calls us out of the silence of our winter dens. I remember H2O is not snow and snow alone. It is also a dynamic life force called the Atlantic Ocean that beats like a heart on the edge of North America. I touch that pulse every chance I get in North Carolina. It's good.





Wilmington

Thoughts of North Carolina include thoughts of Wilmington, a beautiful place where pretend penguins stand comfortably amid flowers and birdfeeders and lamps alongside the Cape Fear River. Of course.



Wilmington

North Carolina: comfort, peace...and the girl with the gas mask. Why not? You have to put something on when you get up in the morning. Too much to think about? Don't. Go back to Topsail and walk the beach. Wake up early, go, and watch the waves. See how the sunlight penetrates the cresting wave as the breezes send the foam back into the water. Breathe as the Earth breathes.


Topsail


Sound effects: here.

My World Tuesday

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40 Comments

  1. by the title alone... one of my favorite songs of all time. you gave me a picture of Carolina which i only knew from the song.

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  2. You make it sound so beautiful and inviting. I love James Taylor and always knew he couldn't sing to something that wasn't true.

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  3. Would love to be there or anywhere the sun would be shining.a

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  4. Anonymous10:58 AM

    What fabulous shots of the sea... I miss it so!

    I love the sense of promise after a long winter isolation.

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  5. Oh, how I would love to be there!

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  6. Words of longing.....

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  7. It sounds so wonderful. No wonder you love it so.

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  8. I love your beach pictures and the way you have captured the waves. Your description of the Atlantic is wonderful as well.

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  9. Wonderful captures as always and the perfect words! I do know so well what you mean and how you feel and no one expresses it better than you, Sandy! Hope you have a great week, with more sun, less snow!

    Sylvia

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  10. seems that in the midst of winter, you and I have water on our minds... in it's many forms too.
    I will get my poem for OSI to you soon.

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  11. The coast calls but I have, sadly, so far ignored it. Just plugging away here on the keyboard (right now writing about he hazards of uranium) and hoping that gas masks don't ever become part of our outer wear!

    Love the little virtual get away.

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  12. Nice that you think so good of my state : )

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  13. Sure North Carolina looks a nice place to visit! I love the huge wave in your photo! Power!! :)

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  14. Great shots of the ocean and of Wilmington.

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  15. Great pictures and I love the song.

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  16. I love those sea shots with the wind blowing the surf around.

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  17. oh Sandy, that last photo is just breath taking! I feel your longing...the season will change soon and before we know it we will all be longing for cooler temps again!

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  18. Nice post and I love the mural and the ocean waves.:)

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  19. I like the thought about breathing as the world breathes. I'm trying to take deeper breathes.

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  20. Anonymous6:50 PM

    How alluring a sight. Thank you for this nice escape. Please have a wonderful Tuesday.


    daily athens

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  21. Mmmm, you have awakened dreams for e too, but they are precious memories of Vermont and the Maine
    coast for me.

    Dream on and as you dream, the earth awakes . . .

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  22. Sandy, it is not hard to tell that you are an ocean person. I am a mountain person, but I like both. Thanks for your comment on my poetry blog. It really made me laugh!

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  23. Wonderful shots. The first and last shots are great.

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  24. Wish I was there... you make me dream to be there. :)

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  25. Lovely and it looks like I have a snow day coming Wednesday!

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  26. Great post. Makes me want to get back to South Padre, Galveston, Destin, La Jolla or anywhere I can sea and hear the surf, sand, and wind.

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  27. Great post, Sandy. The views of the ocean are amazing.

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  28. Do you have a part time job with the tourist bureau? You should! Your words are so beautiful in your description. Who could resist going there?

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  29. And just as the Earth breathes, so do your words. Breaths of life. Inspiring, encouraging and a pleasure to read.

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  30. I love when you write about the North Carolina shore as I have spend many beuatiful moments there. We stayed almost every summer for a week at Topsail.;)) My favorite place to be and relax.
    Lovely images and words... bringing back sweet memories.;)
    xoxo

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  31. Lovley post, Sandy! Love the ocean photos. On these snowy days I am dreaming of the warm sandy beaches too.

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  32. What a massive energy nature has!
    Amazing photo!
    I love the last one!

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  33. Your heart really is in NC isn't it Sandy? It's a tug that's always there and what a beautiful place to be drawn to. Your comments on the changes in a single day of weather are so true, and that seems to be the case more and more recently, and everywhere.happy week.

    PS: Pics of Clyde please! Ched's request too.lol

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  34. It looks like a very peaceful and beautiful place to be.

    Have a nice day.

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  35. What beautiful places to go in your mind! Wait for me...I'm coming too!

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  36. Oh my goodness. I just need to bookmark this page and keep coming back to visit. Perfect!

    I was 15 years old and sitting on Wrightsville Beach alone when I first started believing in God....

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  37. oh, to follow Paxie.
    let's leave it at that then....

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  38. What a lovely post this was--I really enjoyed reading it. Some very nice thoughts-- well put. Mickie

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