A Drawing

I am an artist. All of you, my dear readers, know this. But, sadly, you have seen precious few of my drawings. I decided to do something about that. I couldn't before, seeing as how our scanner was not very good. We have a new, wonderful, scanner now, and it works beautifully! My dear sister, Kae, scanned a few of my pictures for me, cropped out close ups, re-sized them and put them on my computer. For this I am extremely grateful.


I chose to to do this one first, as a sort of a thank-you post for my sister: this is one of her favorite of my drawings. You can click on them to make them larger to get a better look.


It is of a fellow and his friend beside a little waterfall and pool. His name is Ariel, Ariel Anavah. Please don't think of Ariel as a girl's name. It was first masculine, Hebrew, "Lion of God". Anavah is also Hebrew, meaning "meek", for such is the lad. I do not know the name of the girl.


I started the picture on January 16, and probably finished it within the following weeks. I always amused that, since their clothes were so nice, they had gone out for a walk before a feast. Being young and merry folk, this walk broke into a run and she scaled a tree.

Have a wonderful day.

My Dear Mother...

I wish I had a beautiful poem to recite, but I have none. I even wish that I had words fitting and dear, but these are far from me. All I have to say is this: I love you my dear Mother more than any person I have ever known or ever shall. Let all the world become as darkness to me if I should ever stop loving you.


This wretched world does not deserve you, and those who know you are the most fortunate people there are because they do.


This post is for you, on the anniversary of your birth. I shall always remember it because you are dear to me.

I love you My Dear Mother.

Remember...

On this day, and always, Dear Reader, remember those brave and loyal men who fought and gave their lives for their country and your freedom which you now so peacefully enjoy. Remember them and be grateful for them, that is the least we can do for our brothers and fathers who gave so much.

God bless America

The Plivice Lakes

I know, I know: I've all ready done a post on the Plitvice Lakes. But I felt the need to do another one, for a few reasons. First, that post was only the second I had ever done (i.e, it wasn't that great) and second, the lakes are so pretty and I wanted to share with you how awesome this place is.


Really, the other day I was looking at pictures of them and thinking: wow these are awesome, I have to do another blog post on them. Well, more or less.

In case you were wondering, this is the only picture, so far, to appear twice on my blog

The Plitvice Lakes, Croatia, hast to be one of the coolest places; I would absolutely love to go there and see them for myself. Do you know what's really cool? Years ago, when I was a little kid, I saw a documentary on The Plitvice Lakes. Of course, I had no clue in a million years where they were, or what their name was. So, all these years later, I was looking up stuff about Croatia on The Internet and I discovered The Plitvice Lakes. And, even though I hadn't previously known the name, it wasn't long before I realized that this was the place that I had seen in the documentary.


Croatia has such an interesting color to it. No, no, not a historical color or cultural color (Well, it has that, too.) I mean an actual color, an odd, blue-greenish-gray chalky color. The trees, the rocks the grass, the water, all seem to have that color that I see only in Croatia. (In pictures: I've never been there.) It is not a color that I am fond of, but no other place is really like it an any way so I do find it extremely interesting.


I have thought, from time to time, that at The Plitvice Lakes, in some places, it looks like the plumbing is broken, like there is a leak somewhere with water just randomly gushing out.



I have been reading a bit about Croatia lately and it really does sound like a neat place. It is really a dreadful shame that my geography book made it sound so dull, as dull as you can make something in one little paragraph. I really can't forgive it for that: I, generally, forget about things that are, or at least, sound dull. It is my opinion that geography books should be interesting and well written and that people should be well informed on the subject: NO one should have to ask where a country is. I speak from experience, Dear Reader.


My first Plitvice Lakes post had some great links to places that had lots of information and pictures. So if you are interested in more than my jabbered opinions, you can look there.


You probably read several posts ago how much I love water. Well, The Plitvice Lakes to a person who is obsessed with waterfalls, streams, lakes, springs etc., is like a car junkyard to a person who is obsessed with rusty metal. In other, more poetical words, a dream come true. Really, this place is awesome! Extremely AWESOME.

All of these glorious pictures are from

Bruno Monginoux /
www.Landscape-Photo.net
(cc-by-nc-nd)

Thank you so much for your glorious site of beautiful, free, pictures.

Citadel and Fortress...

Greetings, my dear Friend.

I am now the proud authoress of two blogs. Fear not: By Castle and River is still my favorite and my main blog; the other, called Citadel and Fortress , is going to be all about castles.

If I do a post about a particularly interesting or beautiful castle, (The term for the two together is cool.) I will do a post of it here.

Now you might think, "But your Blog is called 'By CASTLE and River'! Why don't you just blog about all of your castles on it!?" And I have an answer: the word "Castle" in my title does not necessarily imply that I am blogging about castles, but rather, a world where castles are not ruins, museums, and places for people to visit but mighty structures where great kings rule and powerful armies defend.

If you are not impressed, just wait: it will soon improve.

Julie

The Bright Sword

The bright Sword shining, O, what a glorious thing


The blade of the weapon, sharp, in the sun doth glow forth in a wondrous light

The graceful hilt, the deadly blade

The sword bright and shining full of valor and strength


To protect, to defend, to win renown


A merry game a play at sport


A fight a battle against evil and darkness


To fight then to win to win then glory, safety, and peace


The bright Sword shining, O, what a glorious thing.

Green Leaves

The Forrest is changed. I can feel it in the water. I can see it in the Trees. I can smell it in the air.
Much that once was is lost, for there are few now left who remember.

It began last Autumn with the falling of Leaves. Yellow Leaves from The Tulip Poplars, tallest and grandest of all the Trees. Red Leaves from The Maple, young and fair. Cream Leaves of The Birch, lovely and small. For within these leaves was bound the strength to sustain and protect each of the Trees.



But they were all of them deceived, for a new age was coming. In the land of the North, in the glacial Arctic Land, Old Man Winter was planing to destroy them all. He made the Winter Winds and into them he poured all of his cruelty, his malice and his will to dominate all life.

One by one, the Green Leaves of The Forrest fell to the power of the Winter Winds. A last alliance tried to withstand. That proved futile.

For three and a half months the Trees slept. History became legend. Legend became myth. And some things that should not have been forgotten were lost. The Green Leaves passed out of all knowledge.


Darkness crept into the forests of the world. Rumor grew in the West, whispers of a nameless wonder, and the Green Leaves perceived. There time had now come.


For the time will soon come when Green Leaves will fill all of the Forrest...


How can I even hope to begin to try to explain how wonderful the Green Leaves are to me? A wonder they are to me. Every day, The Forest becomes greener and thicker, more lovely.


We were truly desperate for the Arrival of Spring and the Green Leaves. I do not mind the cold for the most part, but I should have soon withered away, were it not for the hope of the Green Leaves which I clung to. But that proved difficult: it seemed as though the bare, lifeless Trees were all that there ever had been and all that there ever would be.


I find few things more lovely than the Sunlight shining through the Green leaves, making them a lovely golden color, making each and every Leaf glow with a glorious light. How can one even comprehend such beauty?

O, Green Leaf , fair,
the light upon you shines,

O, Green Leaf, fair,
the wind upon you blows,

O, Green Leaf, fair,
the rain upon you falls,

O, Green Leaf, fair,
how lovely thou art,

upon the mighty

and ancient tree you grow,
yet you are small and fair.

O, Green Leaf, fair,
the light upon you shines.

I do not consider myself one who can put words together, convey exactly what I think about the matter, and make it as beautiful, or anything else, as I see and feel it. In general. It seems, at times that the more inspired I am by something as enchanting as the Green Leaves on the Trees, the more at a loss of words I am.

I can try to explain it, I can even show you pictures.* But what I would really wish, is that you, my dear reader, could come and see how glorious.

*The pictures, by the way, do not even begin to start to do the forest a little bit of justice. I do, however, thank my dear sister, Kae, for taking them.



I am sure that many, if not, all, of you have have trees with new Green Leaves, but "...in every wood in every spring, there is different green."**


I, as you probably already know, have been so wonderfully blessed as to have a forest. Our part of it is not very big and it quite messy in some places, but when the morning Sun rises in the East and shins on the Green Leaves and the rain drops of last nights storm and make it all to glow, none of this matters, for in the end I think that it is the most lovely forest there is.


Well, Dear Reader, this the longest post I have ever done. But still is seems as though there is so very much more that I could say, write a book of it, a volume of sonnets and prose, and yet still never be able to capture in mere writing all of the wonders of The Forest in the Spring.

**J.R.R Tolkien ( One of the few people who could properly describe the wonders of the Forrest)

P.S. I apologize if the beginning of this post does not make much since: is was based on a (very cool) prologue of a movie. I was just sort of...experimenting, if you will. See, a few of the original lines made me think of Winter and Spring, I was going to use just those ones but I got a wee bit carried away. Have a wonderful Spring, my Friend.