He who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead; his eyes are closed.
—Albert Einstein
When I say “driveway” in the title I don’t mean the pavement in our apartment complex… I mean the unpaved half-mile road/sledding run going from the plowed road up to our place in the mountains. The above picture shows our family last Christmas Eve, trudging up to cut down our tree. In order we are
- Andy, my husband,
- Banshee, a granddog,
- Torben, my son-in-law,
- Sammy, my other granddog,
- Kaitlin, my daughter, and
- Me, of course, taking the picture and not shown.
Sammy and Banshee are city dogs, and Kaitlin and Torben drove them all the way from Illinois to New Mexico so they could have the experience of running free in nature. We hoped the dogs would love it, and we were not disappointed.
Taking Time to Look
It was a natural topic for my contribution to this month’s What I Learned From…. project. When Robert Hruzek announced it he asked us to
pick a spot, stop, and take a genuine, in-depth look around you…. Is there something; some scene, object or incident that catches your eye? Does it tickle your fancy? Remind you of something? Spark a lesson or example of something interesting?
We ended up taking three trips up to the land, and in addition to getting the tree we did some sledding and snowshoeing. I put some of our pictures up at Flickr, but the ones that touch my heart the most are these two by Torben (taken after Andy plowed the driveway the first time):
They remind me to stay connected to that feeling of wonder and awe, the magic of being alive.
What About You?
Can you pick a spot, “take a genuine, in-depth look around you” and share the experience with us?
Yep; there’s something about deep snow out in the woods that just sorta oozes that serene sense of peace. I would probably be right there next to the dog… just starin’.
Thanks for sharin’ it, Jean!
Yep; there’s something about deep snow…It puts me in a serene heaven of peace & quiet. 🙂 We get 8 feet of it at our cabin. It lights on the 60 foot Douglas Fir trees all around.
Ahhhhhhhh
No snow where we live Jean. What we have instead is the monsoon. Rain, beautiful, bountiful rain, day in and day out. Suddenly the brown of the summer gives way almost over night to the fresh green and the smells, that send you into orbit. Come June, I shall post something about it and with pictures, I promise.
rummusers last blog post..Large Portions Of Food – Impeccable Logic.
Robert and bikehikebabe,
I agree about fresh deep snow. And the nice thing about pictures is you can enjoy it again and again, without the cold. 😉
When I was working I had posters of snow-covered mountains on the walls of my office. I was talking to a colleague once and said, “You don’t like snow, do you Tai-Sen?” He pointed to one of my posters and said, “I love snow, it’s so beautiful up in the mountains. I just don’t want it down here where I have to drive through it.”
rummuser,
Before the drought we used to have rainy seasons where it would rain every afternoon. We loved it. A luxurious downpour followed by sunshine and bright blue skies. They’ve been gone for a long time now, but we still remember and miss them.
I’m looking forward to your pictures.
Your pictures of the snow leave me with an almost irresistible desire to dive right in and roll around…dogs and kids know how to live!
Terros last blog post..Weekend Shutterbug
I have learned to appreciate snow through the window much more lately. Earlier in life I felt an irresistible urge to sled and make snowmen, but after the first several snows this winter, I am ready to just watch it come down and wish I did not have to shovel it.
Snow sure is beautiful, but like most things beautiful, it brings with it a lot of work.
Terro,
Being a little kid myself, I have to agree:
That’s a picture of me last December after I accidentally plowed head first into a snowdrift.
Luke,
We live in an apartment down in town, so I get to enjoy the snow without shoveling. My husband does his with a snow plow up in the mountains.
What a beautiful, snowy landscape! The leaves are just starting to turn here, and now you’ve made me look forward to winter a little more.
thanks.
kazaris last blog post..Wishing for change, or a change of wishes…
kazari,
I’m glad you liked the pictures. My son-in-law took them, and I love them too.
Heavens Kazari, Where are you? Our leaves will be starting soon–green–looking forward to summer.
bikehikebabe,
Not heavens, but close. If I remember correctly, kazari is from Australia.
Snow is my favorite!!! And this winter, we had a lot of it!! Our dog is a lover of snow as well, loves tunneling through it, rolling in it and romping in it! He is white so sometimes it is hard to find him!
Annies last blog post..Windows & Windex
Annie,
I love watching dogs play in the snow too. I still remember walking home from the store carrying some groceries once. There was a dog on the sidewalk and he tried to get me to play with him. He play-bowed, tossed the snow with his nose and watched me hopefully. I told him I was sorry but I had to go home. He took one end of my scarf in his teeth and pulled, trying to entice me. That was years ago and I still remember him. 🙂