Wooed by tall grass and America

pampas_grass, originally uploaded by amdrake.

by PhotoVirginia.com

Tom and I got caught up in watching the movie The New World this morning on IFC. It made the Virginia coastal plains look Edenic. The beauty of America before the "English invasion" can only be found in slivers today amongst the heavily trafficked roads and Starbucks. If you're given to using your imagination while standing among the remaining bits you can still conjur up images of what used to be. The movie somehow captured this feeling completely of North America as Eden, a new world. The cinematography turned what are truly standing and simple fields of tall grass into a swaying green and ochre dreamfield, a constant motif throughout. This sense of the beautiful America that once was and can now be found in the imagination can also be found in The Last of the Mohichans and Cold Mountain (although Cold Mountain uses shots of Romania to conjur up what used to be the Blue Ridge Mountains in Carolina). There is also an interesting documntary on PBS right now on the formation of the Appalachian Mountains and their culture.
Spring is coming, while on this northern cold wind swept island, and our mind travels south via these mentioned movies to where it is now green green green! Makes us want to jump in the car and head below the Mason-Dixon line.