"Gather ye rose-buds while ye may." Robert Herrick

"Gather ye rose-buds while ye may." Robert Herrick

Hello Friends!

Friends, Romans, countrymen...y'all. Foodies, gardeners, artists and collectors - let's gather together to share and possibly learn a thing or two in the mix.

Donna Baker

Sunday, May 1, 2016

Theory Of Donnativity


Morning has broken.  I am become philosophic.  Problem is, I can't remember, which is funny - kind of.  Since the short term memory is the first to go, I don't know why I can scarcely remember the long ago Theory Of Donnativity.  That's what my kids deemed it.

It had something to do with all of our interconnectedness - like a web.  About how change is good: the unknown being fresh and new as opposed to the known, which is stale and old.  Stasis.

Now I know some of you cling to what is known (or as I used to tell my children, that it would be a boring world if we were all alike).  My own husband simply cannot deal with change; cleaves to the past with all his being.  I, on the other hand, eschew the past, only want to see what's to come as I move forward in life.  I don't know why I am like that.  I associate it with my curiosity, but that is just my take.  Whatever....

So, I took this picture on the patio one morning.  The remembrance of that theory came up (or I should say the inability to remember it).  None of it really matters anyway.  So, I looked up some quotes about spiderwebs.  Seems like many of the great writers were interested in spiderwebs too.  Virginia Woolf.  Henry James.  Who'd a thunk?  Here were a few of my favorites.

Man did not weave the web of life.
He is merely a strand in it.
Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself.

Chief Seattle


"'Why did you do all this for me?' he asked. 'I don't deserve it.  I've never done anything for you.'
'You have been my friend', replied Charlotte.  'That in itself is a tremendous thing.'"

Charlotte's Web


"O what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive".

Sir Walter Scott


"Poetry is a fresh morning spider-web
telling a story of moonlit hours 
of weaving and waiting during a night."

Carl Sandburg


Hope this first day of May is a splendid one for you.



37 comments:

A Brit in Tennessee said...

Happy May Day Donna !
What a stunning web, gilded by morning dew, simply spectacular.
I tend to hold onto the past, change is hard for me. However, once pushed forward I seem to embrace it....how weird is that !
Hugs,
~Jo

Joanne Noragon said...

Happy May Day and White Rabbit to you. Lovely web of drops. I only honed in on one of those web sayings: Oh what a tangled web we weave. It was recited to me at an early lie. It was so confusing, but seemed important, so I teased it out and got it before I was a teenager. Now, I did my fair share of lying until the day I figured it out and realized how many consequences I could have avoided. Especially the awful ones.

La Table De Nana said...

Great photo!Like glass beaded curtains..and the light..
I think I am both..stuck in the past and thinking too much about the future..not focusing enough on the now and just being ok with it..hard to explain.

Frances said...

Donna, that is a beautiful image that certainly reveals natural creativity at its best..

I also wish you a very Happy May Day. It's odd that I have also just done a post that contemplates change.

My late father used to muse about the "Slinky" theory of life, inspired by that flexible wire toy. He felt that we did catch each others' existence much like the Slinky toy's tangles. Not quite as poetic as the quotes you've included, but I think you'll get the gist of what he meant.

xo

donna baker said...

It means you are wonderful, my dearest Jo. Flexibility and changeability are virtuous. I wasn't familiar with this little kind of web and thought it interesting. The sun coming up reflected off the lake and made the little droplets glow.

donna baker said...

Don't tell anyone Joanne, but a painful past is how I learned and is probably the reason I eschew it. The little spider thanks you for her gorgeous web and I hope you and your sweet girls have a wonderful May.

donna baker said...

I understand Monique. The rising sun was reflected off the lake and backlit those droplets. It was such a different web that I am used to; so small and irregular and yet it held up all those drops. Pretty amazing.

donna baker said...

The Theory of Donnativity and The Slinky Theory. I just love that Frances. I wish we lived closer and could get together and visit on a regular basis. What a grand time we would have. Happy May to you too.

elaine said...

What a gorgeous picture Donna - oh what a tangled web we weave! I am not sure how I feel about change; sometimes I crave it, other times I dread it. Life is very complicated isn't it. Happy May Day to you too.

Mary said...

I'd love a chandelier that delicate over my bed! Beautiful photo.

Hope so much your hubby is doing better by now - such a bad injury, so sorry. As for you, you don't have much luck with beds - that's amazing it could smell so bad, definitely not healthy so hope you manage to do something soon to make it safe.
Happy May Day - Mary

Elephant's Child said...

Happy May Day to you.
Love the bejewelled web. And am intrigued by spiders more generally.

donna baker said...

Thank you Elaine. Too complicated for me. I kind of think it's pretty much out of our hands; like just holding on. Hope all is moving along at your home and that May brings all good things.

donna baker said...

He's outside without his cast, so hope he doesn't snag it or hit it. He goes back to the hand surgeon in a week and a half. You are very kind to ask. Hope the stink is gone when I get back to the city house. I am glad to know others have had this problem. I was shocked about it.

donna baker said...

And to you Child. Isn't it amazing that those silken threads could hold all those droplets? Little spiders don't bother me - in fact spiders, though creepy, don't scare me unless they are venomous.

Frances said...

I completely agree, Donna. This crazy blogging connection can be a wonderful place. xo

Michelle said...

Spiders are gifted with such talent.

Bea said...

'Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself'. These words have resonance. Thank you for sharing your May Day musings!

Val said...

Gorgeous photo, Donna.

donna baker said...

I do like the little ones and garden spiders even though they are fairly large.

donna baker said...

Yes Bea, the interconnectedness. I like Alexander Pope's take about being all part of the chain...

donna baker said...

Well thank you Val. So kind of you to say so.

ellen abbott said...

when we first looked at the country house it had been vacant for a year and there were these huge golden orb weavers webs all over the place. after we moved in though they all left.

Sandra Cox said...

Beautiful picture and perfect quotes. I admire your attitude. I think change is hard for most of us the older we get.

donna baker said...

I think, if I'm right, those are little gold spiders, kind of crablike, and are cute.

donna baker said...

It does become harder, but maybe that is the reason we should change even more. Swimming upstream? Against the flow? I am hopeless. Oppositional throughout life. Teensy spider thanks you for her beautiful work.

Doc said...

Wonderful photo. I grew up in a military family moving every few years, probably why I hate change now. Like your husband I hold onto the past.

MILLY said...

Thank you for visiting . The spider web is magnificent , and I have been reading some of your posts which I have enjoyed. You too sound like you live in a wonderful place close to nature. Millyx

Deborah Nolan said...

Donna beautiful photo to go with your thoughts. Hope your start to May is a good one. Hugs!

Deborah Nolan said...

Donna beautiful photo to go with your thoughts. Hope your start to May is a good one. Hugs!

donna baker said...

I was friends with many "army brats" Doc as I grew up by Ft. Sill. I understand completely. I must say the ab's were the better students and more well-rounded. But, I'd be like you had I moved every couple of years.

donna baker said...

Thank you Milly, for coming to visit. I think I found you through Monique's blog.

donna baker said...

Thank you Deb and hop May is great where you are.

Unknown said...

I have a friend, Don, who often quotes the "Book of Doniel," which reminds me of your Theory of Donnativity!

Unknown said...

I have a friend, Don, who often quotes the "Book of Doniel," which reminds me of your Theory of Donnativity!

donna baker said...

That is funny Tracy. See The Slinky Theory above. What have you been up to?

Kirsten Steen said...

Oh my... I love that title but even more, I LOVE that photo! And I think my favorite is the quote about poetry (being a writer.) What do the kids recall The Theory of Donnativity as being? Hope you had a great Mother's Day! Xoxo

donna baker said...

Thank you Kirsten. I loved the Sandburg poem too. The kids says it was about the known and unknown. Duh, I did remember that.