I love the word, ephemeral. It’s a wisp of a word that flies out of my mouth on fairy wings and disappears the moment it is said. I love the fleetingness of it, the here-one-moment-gone-the-next thrill of saying it aloud.
That I was able to capture this sunset was also a thrill. I hadn’t planned on it. My husband and I were simply driving to meet some friends, and there it was, the trees along the way stretching their arms up in halleluja, singing the sun’s praises. Will you look at that, they seemed to say. Isn’t it glorious? It was, indeed. Seconds after I got this shot, the gold blister of sun was replaced by a thin stitch of orange along the horizon line. The yellow glow was gone.
And so were we.
Inspired by the Weekly Photo Challenge which can be found here.
A Wilderness of Words 
Beautiful!
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Thank you! I so appreciate it.
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Perfect. And now, Mary, the word that flew into my mind is “wistful.” I think you could do that one too – but maybe I’m just being………..
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Oh, that is a good word, too. I am often wistful. I may take you up on doing something with that word, I just need to find the right photo to go with it.
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That very idea has been at the forefront of my thinking – being present at the exact moment – not late, nor early but right there, right then. Sunsets and sunrises are like that – you blink and they are gone and they are exactly like so many other moments in our lives, you get one chance and then, poof, gone. Great interpretation. Happy Spring and May that snow be melted and gone – ephemeral.
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” . . . being present at the exact moment – not late, nor early but right there, right then.” Well said, Clay. I like that idea very much.
It was snowing this morning when I woke up. I looked at the window and the flakes were so huge I could swear that I could see the design of each flake. When I looked again a few minutes later the snow had stopped. Ephemera happens all the time.
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I love the word ‘ephemeral’ too. For me it is something a bit more than the accepted definition, that is something that comes and goes very quickly: for me it has something of the mystical in it. whimsical, like somebody else said. something that you really want but it just alludes you, flies in your face and says here i am, then disappears, rarely to be seen again.
your sunset picture captured from a moving car captures that so well. 🙂
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Thank you, Debbie. I love your further definition of ephemeral. How apt that the “perfect” definition for the word eludes us just a bit, not quite within reach, but almost . . . which could also be a metaphor for the meaning of life. A thing we will never quite grasp.
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I love your interpretation, Mary, and your lovely description of the moment. It brings me into the scene with such welcome arms!
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Thank you, Cathy. You are always so kind.
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For some reason, your second sentence brought a very vivid image of cotton candy into my mind. Beautiful photo, beautiful writing, a beautiful moment captured and preserved.
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Cotton candy. Yes! I can remember what that feels like. I think that is what I liked best about cotton candy as a child. The fact that no matter how hard I tried, as soon as I put my tongue to it, it was gone. Thrilling and at the same time, pure magic.
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Like ephemeral, I like gossamer. Both imply something flimsy and fleeting…
Great photograph.
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Gossamer. Another really great word. I think I’m going to go make a list of lovely fleeting words.
Thanks, Andy!
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“If this isn’t nice, I don’t know what is.” 😉
Your photography makes me so happy and serene. (Serene is another fleeting word.)
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Kurt Vonnegut! 🙂 Happy and serene is nice. I’ll take it. xox
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“Gold blister of sun”: lovely. Peace and thanks, John
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I too love the word. I’ve been using it all weekend after doing my post. Nice shot.
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Thank you, Debbie. Your series of photos are perfectly ephemeral as well!
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I appreciate your comments, thanks!
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Many thanks, John. I’m glad you liked it.
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Mary, I love your interpretation of the (connotations, resonances of) the word ephemeral, as well as the unplanned photograph. It’s also neat to me that ephemera refers to paperstuffs that probably will waft off someday, flitting away like fairies–grocery lists, love notes, postcards, post-it notes. I guess there’s something simultaneously romantic (for the idealist and artist in me) and a tad distressing, if I have to be honest (for the serious-ist, pragmatist, and environmentalist), in that scrap of an image and sound . . . of communication or expression being unapprehended. But, then again, perhaps it was loved at one time and then lost. Great post, at any rate. Definitely got me thinking and inspired.
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I love the way you think, Leigh. And I agree on the idealist/artist, pragmatist/environmentalist points. I tend to treasure bits of ephemera, tickets to some special outing, notes, especially from my son when he was small. They are tucked away in different places around my house so that I come across them at odd times and am carried away by memory for a spell. Followed by the guilt of knowing that one day all those bits will end up detritus. The price of being human, I guess.
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“Will you look at this/that” is probably one of my favorite phrases and you captured in the most beautiful way – like you always do. I just love your page, Mary. I’m always so happy when I’m here 🙂
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