© Sharon Brown Christopher

Several days ago, as I passed through the dining room, I caught out of the corner of my eye this lone leaf. Actually I first saw the huge outdoor cobweb that surrounded and upheld the leaf. Since my spouse had waged successfully a massive war against all things relating to spiders only three days earlier, I was startled and a bit vexed.

Then, it was as if the leaf, fluttering in the wind, beckoned to me. While my words were telling Charles of this new unwelcomed development, my curiosity moved me closer. Despite my irritation at the spider’s persistent strategy of homebuilding and food collection, I stood for what turned into minutes watching this decaying leaf as it danced with the wind. I asked Charles for some time of reprieve and got out my camera.

In the Fall, 2914, issue of Stone Voices Christine Brooks Cote says

It’s not a question of finding something to photograph. Rather, for me it’s about stumbling onto photographs that help me make sense out of my life. I make pictures of lots of things, and now and then I discover one that is exactly right, a perfect fit. It’s perfect in that it expresses my personality. It somehow represents who I am. It says what I want to say better than I can say it. It makes sense of what I am experiencing.

This summer I have lived with a circle of friends in the midst of grief and dying and death. Through it all I have been held in being by what has seemed like two thin, fragile strands, strong enough to enable me to dance in the storm. Yes, Christine Brooks Cote, this image makes sense of what I am experiencing.

Contributed by Sharon Brown Christopher