I’ve mentioned recently that we have a new mission as a family, having chosen to relocate to a new city this summer and now, seriously looking forward to spring. Anyone watching the news lately has seen that the East Coast has been experiencing some intense winter weather, and certainly that’s been true for us. Temperatures have been especially cold and we’ve also received enough snow to cancel school most of the past two weeks. It seems like we used to celebrate snow days outdoors more often, and I’ve missed some chances to enjoy winter weather of late. But I’ve also embraced a couple of them.
First, on one snowy February night, Riley had his buddy Elias Hamm over for a sleep-over, and the conditions were prime for night-sledding. Both boys suited up with me despite it being pretty late in the evening, and outside we went with a wide assortment of sleds in our arsenal. There was some debate over which worked best, but I chose the tried-and-true “Blue Thunder” to get some tracks packed down. I tried others too, but nothing worked better for me than the hard-plastic elongated slider I usually grab. In our collection somehow we now have its red twin, and I also put that to good use on this adventure with the young men. At age 11, Riley is growing so fast that even his voice can’t quite keep-up. He recently asked how long it’s going to take to fully change; if you know, we all are curious. Personally, I’ve forgotten over the past 35 or so years. In the case of our son, it just means he’s getting more awesome… and yet some things remain the same: He is definitely always up for a good time.
In another thoughtful snow day pause, I imagined doing more to capture and document the loveliness of living in Boone so that you all could experience it. At different times since we moved to our Park Street home back in 2008, I have shared glimpses of life looking up into the forest that starts in our back yard and rises to the north. We’ve had a lot of great days in and amongst those trees, on the hills that go up and up for a mile or so before reaching a road named Junaluska, where the hills then generally lead downward, at least for a while. As you move on due northward from there, more beautiful North Carolina unfolds… mostly stands of trees and unspoiled nature, all the way to Virginia. So whenever I stand in my back yard and look up at the trees, what I see is inspiration, and an open invitation to venture out. In a perfect world, I’d go up there every day, get lost, then find my way home again most nights. Maybe someday I’ll try taking up that occupation.
I won’t bore you with all the details about times spent up in those woods, other than to say they’ve been too few, and I’ve loved them all. Even the couple in a row that I spent in 2012 desperately searching for the second-best cat we’ve known (at least that’s my opinion), and sadly, coming up empty-handed, are special. Here is the fact that is really getting to me: We moved to this place seven years ago, and in seven more years, if all goes as planned, Riley will graduate high school. Also, by this summer’s end, we’ll leave this place, and although we are holding onto this home and property for now, there’s no guarantee we’ll return. So now you can understand what I’m on about.
Sitting in my office during one snow day after another, even with the snow piling up, the trees continued to beckon me. As I thought about my Rare Air project and began preparing to publish a scene I shot in Washington State last summer, I thought it would be more appropriate to share something more wintery. Once this idea was planted, I felt very compelled to hike up the path into the trees to find a spot in the quiet woods where we could take it all in together. This I accomplished at the end of my workday on Wednesday, February 18, 2015… feeling at least a little like Robert Frost as I stopped by the woods on a snowy evening.
I hope you enjoy the results, and that life affords you many seconds of inspiration and appreciation… as well as the ability to enjoy them now and in times to come. Thanks for reading.
