Month: November 2014

Indian summer in Polesia:  one of a series of solitary oak trees along the Tsjerablichy-Machul’ road 2014. Бабіна лета на Палесьсі:  дуб ля дарогі Цераблічы-Мачуль 2014 г.

Indian summer, Shypilavichy 2014.  Every October these carefully-tended family plots in Shypilavichy, teeming with pumpkins, attract the traveller’s eye. Бабіна лета, Шыпілавічы 2014 г.

Indian summer along the Slutsk-Staryja Darohi road.  This allee of poplars is a favorite section of our preferred route to Polesia:  a feast for the photographer’s eyes in all seasons as the leaves catch and hold the light from spring through fall and the branches cradle snow in winter.  With the passage of years, each… Continue reading Photo of the Day for November 8, 2014

Lenin.  Bjaz’dzjedavichy 2013: Ozymandias (P.B. Shelley) I met a traveller from an antique land Who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stone Stand in the desert. Near them on the sand, Half sunk, a shatter’d visage lies, whose frown And wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command Tell that its sculptor well those passions… Continue reading Photo of the Day for November 7, 2014

Tight fit.  Vjalikaje Maljeshava 2014.  Шчылінка.  Вялікае Малешава 2014 г.

After the blessing of flowers, Honey-Blessing feast/feast of the Maccabees, Davyd-Haradok 2014. Пасьля асьвячэньня кветак, Мядовы Спас/Макаўе, Давыд-Гарадок 2014 г.

Blessing of flowers, Honey-Blessing feast (Mjadovy Spas)/feast of the Maccabees (Makauje), Davyd-Haradok 2014. Асьвячэньне кветак, Мядовы Спас/Макаўе, Давыд-Гарадок 2014 г.

Blessing of flowers, Mjadovy Spas (Honey-Blessing feast/feast of the Maccabees), Davyd-Haradok 2014.  Асьвячэньне кветак, Мядовы Спас, Давыд-Гарадок 2014 г. Parishioners in Davyd-Haradok await the blessing of flowers in electric anticipation.  At Father Ryhor’s passage around the churchyard,   they raise their bouquets with a fervor which is deeply Christian and at the same time replete with… Continue reading Photos of the Day for November 3, 2014

Awaiting the blessing of flowers, Honey-Blessing feast/feast of the Maccabees, Davyd-Haradok, August 14, 2014. У чаканьні асьвячэньня кветак, Мядовы Спас, Давыд-Гарадок 2014 г.

Mjadovy Spas (Honey-Blessing Feast/Feast of the Maccabees), August 14.  Мядовы Спас/Макаўе. Combining Christian rites with pre-Christian traditions, the feast of Mjadovy Spas is the first of several harvest-related commemorations in the Orthodox liturgical calendar.  Most celebrations in Belarus emphasize the blessing of honey and water and the ritual washing of one’s eyes to gain spiritual… Continue reading Photos of the Day for November 1, 2014