Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Carriage Ride

As the late afternoon sun cascades across buildings on upper Exchange, holiday carriage riders sing carols and drink hot chocolate too keep warm. For quite a few years, when J- was younger, this venture from Monument Square down through the Old Port streets was a staple of our holiday season. The ride, along with a Christmas carol sing-a-long and the lighting of the PMA copper beech tree were must dos to really get in the holiday mood. The jingling of the horses' bells, the freezing temperatures and the chance to wave at the bystanders and wish them a Merry Christmas brought back my own 'christmas memories' of long ago. "It's fruitcake weather..." from "A Christmas Memory" By Truman Capote

9 comments:

  1. Such a weak sun doing its best. I love the casually discarded bicycle.

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  2. We just attended a performance of Capote's Christmas Memory a week or so ago. What would Capote have made of your chipmunk adventure, I wonder. Love this shot, Birdman. Our first winter in Portland we took this carriage ride and met a lovely woman and her delightful daughter, Rose.

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  3. B & me Still remember waiting with you all to take that carriage ride. Wow, was it cold! I read Capote's Christmas Memory for the first time last year. It was a gift from a dear friend. I love it.

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  4. The light is absolutely gorgeous in this picture!

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  5. Remarkable mix of light and shade, highlighting a scene both old and new. Nicely captured! I, too, love "A Christmas Memory." It gave me a new appreciation for a much-maligned holiday staple!

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  6. Ah but no snow. I'm pouting. I'll get over it. Your winter solstice shot was absolutely fabulous.
    Merry Christmas/Joyeux Noël.

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  7. Nice! Light and shadow do it every time, don't they. And color here, of course.

    Hope you can enjoy your reprieve.

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  8. It’s that time of year again! I’m doing the rounds and apologising for my complete failure to more regularly offer comment on everybody’s incredible efforts for the year. I know how hard it can be to keep up with the daily grind of everyday posting, and want to thank you for your efforts.

    I especially want to wish festive greetings for all from down here at [nearly] the end of the world, the bottom of Tasmania.

    So, if you could delete whatever is not applicable, I’d like to wish you a very pleasant/merry/happy/wonderful/safe Amaterasu; Ashurall; Beiwe; Choimus; Christmas; Dazh Boh; Dongzhi; Goru; Hanukkah; Hogmanay; Junkanoo; Karachun; Koleda; Lenæa; Meán Geimhridh; Modranicht; New Years; Ras as-Sana; Rozhanitsa Feast; Şeva Zistanê; shōgatsu; Summer Solstice [if you're in the Southern Hemisphere]; Sviatki; Vánoce; Winter solstice [if you're in the Northern Hemisphere]; Yalda; Yule-tide; Ziemassvētki; and Коляда!

    With a hearty three cheers from Kris, Jen, Henry and Ezra!

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