The Rim of the Prairie . . .

I spent part of yesterday afternoon rummaging around in a local antique mall keeping an eye open for bits and pieces of ephemera to use as new photo props for my online shop when I happened across this book - The Rim of the Prairie by Bess Streeter Aldrich. I wasn't familiar with the book or the author, whom I'd only heard of and knew nothing about. Still, the book spoke to me. But I left without it.

By Saturday morning I had that book weighing heavy on my mind and decided I had to have it and I drove back to the shop and found it, bought it, brought it home and did a little research. I found that Bess Aldrich Streeter was born, lived, died and was buried not far from where I sit right now - I in Davey, Nebraska and she in Elmwood about 15 miles to the east. Her books are reflective of Nebraska in the late 1800's and early 1900's, much like Willa Cather's writing, whose writing about Nebraska life and prairie life I love.

Why is this so important to me? Have you ever lived anywhere that just 'felt right'? Someplace where you have such a deep appreciation for the landscape, the earth and the sky that you never want to leave ev

en for a day? That's exactly where I am and I think this book will open some doors to the past that will connect me with my present.

My intention was to find some books and a few pieces that felt 'prairie-ish' so I could re-take photos and update my shop site. What I've come away with is so much more and may really give me an insight to what I'm hoping to achieve in terms of expressing who I am and who I want the world to see.

It just spoke to me from the rack on the wall.