Month: April 2013

Spring Cleaning, Sosny 2012.  Вясновая ўборка, Сосны (Любаньскі раён) 2012 год. Streaming through the smoky copse, the mid-April sunlight caught my eye and tugged me to the side of the road.  As I photographed the shimmering light, a man in a leather jacket, accompanied by a hulking sidekick, approached and peremptorily asked who I was… Continue reading Photo of the Day for April 20, 2013

River Bjarezina Valley near Navasjolki 2013.  Рака Бярэзіна ля в. Навасёлкі (Маладзечанскі раён) 2013 год. The (Western) Bjarezina rises in southern Maladzjechna District, northwest of Mjensk.  In the area of this photo, the river, not far from its source, passes through quiet hill country and several villages rich in architectural patrimony but now off the… Continue reading Photo of the Day for April 19, 2013

Churches of Belarus (part XXVIII):  Orthodox church of the Apostles Peter and Paul, Hruzdava 2013.  Цэрквы Беларусі (частка XXVIII): царква Сьвятых апосталаў Пятра й Паўла, Груздава 2013 год. This 1871 wooden church has particularly harmonious lines and proportions.  

Belarus in Faces (part LXXVI):  Mr. Tolja, Karaljeutsy 2013.  Беларусь у тварах (частка LXXVI):  спадар Толя, Каралеўцы 2013 год. Tolja told me he had had to go to work as a boy, owing to his father’s death in World War II.  He later became a forester and retired after 30 years’ hard work.  Now 77,… Continue reading Photo of the Day for April 17, 2013

Belarusian Homesteads (Part VI), near Luzhyshcha 2013.  Беларускі хутар (частка VI), ля в. Лужышча. The homestead (khutar) embodies the common Belarusian’s dream to farm his own land, no matter how limited the acreage.  See other photos in this series, March 11, 2013 and previous. This photo is from the end of March, 2013, when a… Continue reading Photo of the Day for April 16, 2013

No one in his right mind takes floods lightly.  Floods can lead to great misery, to loss of life and property.  One is grateful for the efforts of emergency services and volunteers to rescue people and to cope with the damage.  One prays that those whose property has been damaged in this year’s spring flooding… Continue reading Annual Spring Flood in Polesia / Палеская паводка

Holy Communion, Easter Morning Mass, Iuje 2013.  Сьвятая камунія, Велікодныя імша, Іўе 2013 год. Attendance was so great, spilling out into the churchyard, that it took 25 minutes to distribute communion.

Easter Morning Mass, Church of the Apostles Peter and Paul, Iuje 2013.  Велікодная імша, касьцёл Сьвятых апосталаў Пятра й Паўла, Іўе 2013 год. The church was crowded beyond standing-room-only.

Easter Morning Procession (Part II), Iuje 2013.  Велікодная працэсія (частка II), Іўе 2013 год. The new town-square monument just visible in the background to the left of center of the second photo honors the four religious professions traditionally found in Iuje: Roman Catholicism, Orthodoxy, Judaism and Islam.  The statue on the side facing the camera… Continue reading Photos of the Day for April 13, 2013

Easter Morning Procession (Part I), Iuje 2013.  Велікодная працэсія (частка І), Іўе 2013 год. The parish of the Apostles Peter and Paul holds its Easter morning procession at 7 a.m.  This year the parish was able to walk along Iuje’s main street and around the town square.  Given the length of the route and the… Continue reading Photos of the Day for April 12, 2013