Mixing it Up & Moving On

Pam's Pressed Leaves, 2020 Photo by ERSwett

Pressed
leaves - - so
easy to collect &
so simple to
compost.

Pam's National Geographic Collection, 2020 Photo by ERSwett

National
Geographic, not
so much. Each year, eleven
pounds of images from around the world.
But last week, it was time for this collection of stories
and images to move on, to mix and mingle
with holiday wrappings ​and
​old bills.

Photographing the Photographs, 2020 Photo by ERSwett

​Our
children
did not plow
through them, as I
once did, and no library
wanted them. This 450 pound
collection was, in fact, a
burden from
another
era.

Goodbye, 2020 Photo by ERSwett

When
I returned from
the recycling center, I was
not surprised to experience an increased
flow of fresh air in my studio - -
The shelves, lighter and
more open, an
invitation.

Bread & The Rhyming Dictionary, 2020 Photo by ERSwett

We
were managing
the clutter we brought
home from my mother-in-law's
house, which we had cleared out three
years ago. It was time to say farewell to her pressed
leaves, National Geographics and her
dog-eared rhyming
dictionary.

The Rhyming Dictionary & How to Build a Better Vocabulary, 2020 Photo by ERSwett

The
compost
absorbed all
of it, including the 
expectations of creating
the perfect turn of phrase in a
gift card, thank you letter or speech
at the garden club. In our pile, the leaves
& this book will nourish new growth
in a new year & maybe even
inspire new ways of
thinking post
2020.

Composting Expectations, 2020 Photo by ERSwett