Autumn Dreams

This photo is made of light.
And water.
And dreaming.

I rode my bike up the hill to visit my favorite little vernal pond in the Scotia Barrens. I found it covered in leaves, and shining with autumn reflections. I took many photos, and the one above is probably my favorite.

I have been sharing some updates on the situation in the American south, from our latest weather disaster. My friend Celia in North Carolina has just been bowled over by the support of friends and all of the offers of help. I'll share her latest update, and it might be the last one, for now:

Back in our reception zone for the day. The first thing I want to say is thank you, thank you for all the offers of support and shelter. There are so many I can't keep up with them all--which tells you how many great people there are out there. I appreciate every one of you, even if I you don't get a response from me. For now, we are sticking it out here with our two sweet kittens. At some point, we may decide to bail for a few days at a time (sans kittens!), and may contact some of you.
The support teams--medical, disaster, infrastructure, and so on--continue to roll in. The FEMA manager assigned to this region has officially put us in the category of "a major disaster." She said that FEMA will be here until everything is back to normal.
It's probably not too long (within a week?) before we get power back. But we heard unofficially this morning that the water system may not be repaired until December. We have a dear old friend who lives in South Asheville, which is on the still-functioning Mills River water system. We can go to her place for showers and laundry, and we are eternally grateful for that. It's about a 25-minute drive each way. We will get by in the house with gallon jugs of water for dishwashing, teeth-brushing, etc.
The roar of helicopters and the screams of sirens still fill the air. They are working very hard here. Asheville is starting over. To paraphrase "Train To Nowhere" from Cast Iron Bluegrass' Rob Sine, "Who will we be? What will we become?"
(I'm including a link to the song, Train to Nowhere, by Cast Iron Bluegrass; yes, that's my good friend Celia on bass! Find more info about their band here.)

I read that Dolly Parton announced (from a Walmart parking lot in eastern Tennessee - that's Dolly, keeping it real!) that she will be personally donating $1 million to the Hurricane Helene recovery efforts. "These are my mountains . . . these are my rivers," Dolly said. "We are with you, we love you, we hope that things get better real soon, and we're gonna do our part," she said. Her assorted businesses will be matching that donation with an additional $1 million. I've begun to think of her as the Patron Saint of Appalachia; Appalachia extends into Pennsylvania, so I know some of what I am talking about. Go, Dolly, go!

I couldn't decide between two songs for this blip story, so here they both are: first, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, with Runnin' Down a Dream; and second, Dolly Parton with a gorgeous cover of the Collective Soul hit, Shine, some of whose lyrics appear below (and leave it to Dolly to turn any song into a gospel celebration!):

Love is in the water, love is in the air 
Show me where to go 
And tell me will love be there? 
Will love be there? 
Teach me how to speak, teach me how to share 
Teach me where to go 
And tell me will love be there? 
Will love be there?

Yes, Dolly, love will be there. . . .
Love is ALREADY there. . . .