Saturday, December 13, 2008

Gingerbread Cottages



White are the far-off plains, and white
The fading forests grow;
The wind dies out along the height
And denser still the snow,
A gathering weight on roof and tree
Falls down scarce audibly.



The road before me smooths and fills
Apace, and all about
The fences dwindle, and the hills
Are blotted slowly out;
The naked trees loom spectrally
Into the dim white sky.



The meadows and far-sheeted streams
Lie still without a sound;
Like some soft minister of dreams
The snow-fall hoods me round;
In wood and water, earth and air,
A silence everywhere.



Save when Some farmer's sleigh, urged on,
With rustling runner and sharp bells,
Swings by me and is gone;
Or from the empty waste I hear
A sound remote and clear;



The barking of a dog, or call
To cattle, sharply pealed,
Borne, echoing from some wayside stall
Or barnyard far afield;



Then all is silent and the snow falls
Settling soft and slow
The evening deepens and the grey
Folds closer earth and sky
The world seems shrouded, far away.



Its noises sleep, and I as secret as
Yon buried stream plod dumbly on and dream.

"Snow" Music and Lyrics:
Loreena McKennitt

Cottages of the Floral Park
Santa Ana, CA.

11 comments:

Seawashed said...

These are so cute! We love to go light looking too. There is an entire neighborhood in midtown Sacramento that are of cute old cottages such as these, all decorated in lights with light archways along the sidewalks that you walk thru and lights strung from huge old oak tree to tree along the street. Santa is always sitting be a firepit waiting for children to sit on his lap. It's all enchanting.

ellen b. said...

Oh what a dreamy post. Loved every one of them. Is one of them your cottage? :0)

Glennis said...

Hi, Cori. these are so pretty!! You've captured them perfectly, too at just the right time of night.

Have a great weekend!

pam said...

Cori, what a wonderful post. Thank you for sharing.

Just A Girl said...

Ellen B. asked if any of these darling cottages belonged to me and I'm sad to say that not one of them is mine although there are several I tried talking sweet hubby into buying.

This is my favorite neighborhood in Santa Ana. It's directly off the 5 fwy on Broadway street and is definitely worth exploring. They have a garden tour coming up in a few months.

SmilingSally said...

Charming--each and every one of them. Happy Pink Saturday!

Gabriela said...

Happy Pink Saturday!

These houses look fantastic!

~ Gabriela ~

Kathy said...

What beautiful little cottages! They look as if they are right out of a story book. Loved seeing them, Cori.
Kathy

Anonymous said...

Wonderful post.

Pat @ Mille Fiori Favoriti said...

Hi Cori
These homes are all so wonderful and even more so with their Christmas lights and decorations.

Thanks so much for your good wishes on the birth of our grandson -- we have been on cloud 9since he was born!

Hugs, Pat

Sondra Behne' said...

What lovely photos..thanks for sharing them with us.