Seems like a lifetime ago when Nine Cent Girl was born. The fiery hues of autumn had just subsided into a monochromatic black and white across my Vermont landscape, while fickle sunlight and arctic air drove me indoors. It was during this introspective time in the seasonal circle that my blog became a trusty beacon, illuminating my direction through what dark days lay ahead as well as brightening the unforeseen surprises dropped along my path.

Hundreds of posts later I find myself once again at a crossroads, shedding the last of the winter chill and embracing the new warmth ahead. How perfect then for me to don pieces of Prabal Gurung’s “Love” collection from Target to comprise my Spring shoot. My 4 looks are inspired by this fascinating designer, whose use of a kaleidoscope of colors is met by the details in his styling. In each photo I tried to uncover the dichotomy between the blooms right out my doorway with the remnants decomposing there, to capture the complex season. For while we regale in all the newness Spring brings, we must also acknowledge the difficulty of letting go of the worn and comfortable. Ralph Waldo Emerson tells us, “There are no fixtures in nature. The universe is fluid and volatile,” while Philip Larkin echoes this same sentiment in his short poem, “The Trees.”

The trees are coming into leaf
Like something almost being said;
The recent buds relax and spread,
Their greenness is a kind of grief.

Is it that they are born again
And we grow old? No, they die too,
Their yearly trick of looking new
Is written down in rings of grain.

Yet still the unresting castles thresh
In fullgrown thickness every May
Last year is dead, they seem to say,
Begin afresh, afresh, afresh.

In the full embrace of these opposing emotions visible in the Spring, when we shed ourselves of our old selves, I took to grove and hedge, adorned with nature’s bounty and Gurung’s collection, and danced with sunbeams, daring the light to make me new again.

“In nature every moment is new; the past is always swallowed and forgotten; the coming is sacred. Nothing is secure but life, transition, the energizing spirit…Life is a series of surprises…” (Ralph Waldo Emerson, “Circles”).

Rising out of the old, into this new day, one in which we perhaps have less control than we wish, I invite you all to join me for the next 100 posts as I continue to question, sometimes stumble but always stand anew. Perhaps love is the only constant we can offer each other. As Prabal Gurung’s collection suggests, Love is undeniably worth all the energy we can devote to it.

* photo credit goes to my darling Mj, who always catches me in the right light

** this post was originally posted on May 9th, 2013, titled The 100th Post:Love