This week, while Terri Webster Schrandt is on a blogging break. I’m delighted to be hosting Sunday Stills.
What do you see when looking out of the nearest window to you?
I see rain falling onto a well-kept, green, front lawn. The sky is grey, and the trees are still, so there’s no breeze. It looks peaceful, and the absence of seeing any living creature gives me the feeling of what it could be like if I were the only living being in the world.
I often look out of a window and wonder if what I am seeing is actually there. With a blink of an eye, something that we thought was there can disappear when our window to the world opens up for us again.
Take, for example, the time traveller in this photo. From the year 1962, he wanted to see what our beautiful planet looked like in the last few years before it changed. How do I know he was a time traveller? We time travellers instantly know one another.
Have you ever wondered why you’ve taken an instant dislike to someone?
Let’s turn the tables, shall we? Make sure your secrets are buried deep. Why? Because our eyes are not only a window to the world, but also allow those who look into them to sometimes see the things we don’t want them to know.
Can looking in be as good as looking out?
It should never be about always looking out, should it? Look in, too. When we look in a window, we will see the world from a different perspective. It becomes a lot smaller and could even reveal secrets. I wonder what the first person to look into this window saw before whatever was holding him up was taken away?
Like you and I, every window can tell a story. Some will show you those stories, while others will only show them to a chosen few. Some won’t reveal their stories to anything in our world.
Beware what could be looking back at you.
And then there are the windows that stop us seeing clearly what is behind them. Is there something looking back at us wondering why we are peering into their world? Can we see them? Not everything behind these mysterious windows is friendly. Believe me, I’ve found out.
Here’s what you need to do to join this week’s Sunday Stills challenge.
Share with us your photos, stories, poetry, or thoughts, about a window. What do you see when looking in or out of it? Is it only you that can see it? Describe what’s there.
What was it that made you stop and look more closely at a window?
If you’re brave enough, share the secrets you found when looking into or out of a window.
Link your post back to this one either by creating a pingback or by leaving a link to your post in the comments. Everyone who participates in the challenge can then check out your post.
I look forward to looking in and out of the windows you are going to share with me. Have fun!
© 2019 Copyright-All rights reserved-hughsviewsandnews.com.
Looking out my window now! https://withjacktech.travel.blog/2019/01/22/sunday-stills-window/
Hi there, I have two submissions for you! One from the gold country area here in Northern California and the other, which couldn’t be more different, from France who has no shortage of amazing windows! Thanks for the challenge!
https://bulldogtravels.com/2016/02/25/gold-country-drive-doors-windows-edition/
https://bulldogtravels.com/2014/09/28/windows-and-doors/
You’re welcome and thank you.
Fabulous photos for windows. I took you quite literally and showed views of different types of weather outside one of my windows in my home office. I hope you enjoy.
https://ceenphotography.com/2019/01/21/sunday-stills-challenge-window/
I did, thank you, Cee. Thank you for participating while I’m in the hot seat for Sunday Stills.
My pleasure Hugh. 😀 😀
Love your time traveller pic. They could all make interesting prompts for stories. I don’t have any window photos but I look forward to seeing what you post about next week.
Thank you, Mary. I’m glad the Time Traveller didn’t move when I took that photo. Otherwise, you’d all have known what it is we do to time travel, and I’d then be hunted down by the time travelling police.
Next week’s theme is a firm favourite of mine, although I had great fun writing the post for this week’s theme, too.
I’m looking out my window this morning watching snow fall. It’s gray but that makes the white all the more vibrant. It is very cold. 🥶 I’ll stay in today and look out but I do like the idea of looking in through windows. Whenever I’m out in the car at night I love to look in peoples’ windows to catch a glimpse of their homes and see what they are doing. I figure anyone who doesn’t pull the blinds is fair game! Your photos are stunning, Hugh, and I like the mystery you added to the mix!
I agree that they must be fair game, Molly. I remember how I used to love looking into people’s basement flat windows when walking back on a Saturday night from the pub. That was many years ago, but some of the sights I saw still remain firmly on my mind.
The view from your window sounds lovely, but stay warm.
I see a London bus from my window. I am thankful I am not it.
JP
I’m not sure I’d like to be a bus either. I’d much rather be an express train.
As I sit and look out the window I see the lunar eclipse about to start .
Ooo! I hope you managed to see it all. It was too cloudy in my part of the world.
Interesting perspective on windows and the window to the world … that stained glass is jut exquisite.
Thank you, Linda.
Hi, Hugh – Thank you for hosting Sunday Stills while Terri is away. The photographs that you have chosen are a perfect choice for this prompt….and a great lead in to your signature dark mystery that follows! 🙂
I was delighted Terri accepted my invitation to host Sunday Stills for two weeks, Donna. I had great fun writing the post, too. It certainly got my creative cogs turning.
What s fabulous post Hugh, great photos and stories 💜💜
Thank you, Willow.
This looks fun, Hugh. I think you will get a bunch of posts. Best wishes for the week
I’ve had some great responses, John. No views of a beach through a window yet, though. 😀
Ha haha.
Nothing like a good view out a window! https://dailymusing57.com/2019/01/20/sunday-stills-window/
Thank you for taking part in this week’s Sunday Stills.
My pleasure!
Just marvelous!
Thank you.
You’re welcome.
Clever challenge, Hugh. And lovely windows, too.
Thank you, Noelle.
Fantastic shots, Hugh! When DH and I go for drives I often look at the windows of homes and wonder about the people inside- what their lives are like 🙂
I do exactly the same thing. We never get to know what goes on behind a closed door or window, do we? Not unless we take a peek.
Great windows here Hugh.
Thank you, Helen.
An enjoyable post, Hugh. I liked your photographs and your insights into the windows.
Thanks so much, Robbie.
Great windows, Hugh, of course with your usual dollop of mystery! Thank you for hosting Sunday Stills today and next week! I’m sure with your blog’s reach we’ll pick up more bloggers! When we built our master bedroom, I insisted on lots of windows including a slider door to the deck. It’s a lovely view. The morning after we came home two weeks ago, the south facing widow’s blinds were closed but it looked darker than usual even for a cloudy day. Upon opening the blinds, a branch from our neighbor’s tree had fallen against our house as a result of a crazy winter storm that went through just the day before while we were still traveling home. Luckily there was no damage, but it could have been bad. I also watch the hummingbirds feeding just outside my window!
You’re welcome, Terri. I started writing this post a week ago, and it’s changed a lot from the original version. I couldn’t resist adding some dark elements to a subject that is often seen as the bringer of light. You know how my mind works when I see a challenge.
Thank goodness there was no damage to your home from that winter storm. There has been some crazy weather all over the world. We’ve got off lightly, so far, in the UK, after parts of Europe recently had record snowfall. The emergency services even had to clear the snow off the roofs of buildings as there was a chance they could cave in.
Watching the hummingbirds must be so relaxing. I do like watching the birds that visit our garden, especially the Robins. I’ve seen a lot of them this Autumn and Winter which, some say, is a sign of a mild winter. We’ll see.
Thanks for letting me host Sunday Stills this week and next. Next week’s theme is very appealing to me (as you can well imagine).
Hi Hugh, great windows you have here! Love your challenge, here is my link
https://teandpaper.ca/2019/01/20/sunday-stills-window/ Have a great Sunday!
That’s a heck of a lot of snow outside your window. Thank you so much for participating, Elizabeth.
Some amazing pictures there, Hugh. The first one, with the time traveĺler in the background, is my favourite. The view out my own windows this morning, not so fortunate. Snow out there, and -29C. Inside is looking good, from any window 🙂
Brr! That’s cold, Aimer. I’d be afraid to close my eyes in case my eyelids froze to my eyeballs. I love being inside a warm and cosy house when the weather outside is freezing.
It was a shame that time traveller didn’t stay around long. He was off to 1492 to watch Columbus discover the Bahamas.
Bahamas sounds perfect today 🙂
That’s a very inspiring and insightful post, Hugh. I love what you wrote about our eyes. That’s so true. They can’t lie.
When I look outside my window I see the mountains covered in snow. Although it is a little cloudy today, the sun comes through and it looks friendly. I thought of putting a picture on a wall which looks like a window and shows my favorite view.
Thank you, Erika. Putting a picture on the wall of a view you like is very inspiring. I have one that hangs on the wall just above my desk. It’s looking towards The Houses of Parliment from the south side of the river. It reminds me of our last home in London (we lived about a 15 walk away), and we often walked along the embankment and took in London life.
I heard about the snow in your part of the world. Stay safe, and keep warm.
Oh, that is a wonderful way to keep wonderful memories alive.
Yes, we had mountains of snow last week. But thank God, the area I live in is safe. A lot of places a little higher are still cut off but the situation relaxes. Right now, it is just freezing cold.
Windows in the past were works of art, today they are pretty boring
I’ve seen some pretty cool modern windows, although I agree that, like doors, they can be pretty standard these days.
Now this is a subject incredibly suited for you, Hugh. I have a sneaking suspicion you are fascinated by windows and your prose does that justice. Windows are mysterious, in their physical form, or metaphorically. In one of my descriptions about my upcoming memoir, I write how it offers a window into a life less ordinary, yet touches on many familiar elements. I like the word “window”. It makes me think about opportunities and new worlds.
When I look through the window at this very moment, I see an inch of snow on the ground and sleet falling out of the sky. A perfect day to stay in bed. Usually not a bad alternative on a Sunday, but today was the only day during a 2-week visit in wintry New England that we would meet up with friends. 😦 The freezing rain will create slippery roads. I wish the view through my window would be different. Just for today; a view with a less dangerous outlook.
I thought you’d be spending the winter in warmer climates, Liesbet, like southern California or maybe Florida? However, whatever the weather, I’m sure you’ll enjoy meeting up with your friends. Freezing rain is something we don’t often get in the UK, although we did have some last month, and it caused havoc. Stay safe when out and about.
‘Window’ also means new opportunities to me. I often use the phrase ‘Window of opportunity’ and am always on the lookout for these windows which we too often allow to pass by without opening. My creative mind went down the usual ‘dark’ road when I wrote this post several days ago. Probably because I’m itching to write some new short stories from the dark side, now that my next book is in the final stages of being prepared for launch.
Thank you for sharing the view from your window with us.
Looking through my nearest window, I see the naked branches of the hedge.
Stark.
Bare.
Their shed covering littering the green lawn.
But though the image may look dismal, there are green shoots if hope.
Signs of a new beginning.
😊
Very nice, Ritu. Yes, there are signs of the garden waking up for a new gardening year. New beginnings are always presenting themselves to us. And with new beginnings, new doors (and windows) open for us.
Definitely Hugh! Though the cold and frost might hamper new growth for a while…
Yes, especially if what I’m hearing about the ‘beast from the East’ revisiting our shores.
Or is it the Pest from the North West? That is what my colleague is telling me!
Happy Sunday! 🙂
https://ladyleemanilablog.wordpress.com/2019/01/20/sunday-stills-window/
And to you, too. Thank you for participating.
https://steviet3.wordpress.com/2019/01/20/sunday-stills-photography-window/