I fell asleep in the middle of a project last night that had a deadline. I had to clean up the laundry room so the maintenance man could look at the boiler. I had to throw some make up on to cover my mass of blemishes and find my sports bra so I could go to the gym and burn off some calories. I had to help my husband find a movie online for his class so he could write his paper this morning. I had to get the kids to school and as usual, we were running behind. I had to walk the kids a mile to the classroom, one running away, one lagging too far behind and neither paying an ounce of attention to me.
I had to get them each to their respective schools and classrooms and bargain with one to let me leave. I had to act like a silly fool outside the pre-school so that Cody would start his day off laughing, and 5 other kids too apparently. I had to skip the gym and run home to make sure that Mike was able to find what he needed. To make sure I had things squared away for maintenance.
I had all these things to do but I was dying to do something for me. I just wanted to run out and snap a few pics of the amazing frost that was stuck to everything this morning. Frost and sunshine are far too much for a camera girl to resist. I also have not taken the dog for a free run in months. I'm awful I know. I just found this great spot a couple weeks ago and it's perfect for us. A bit too close to the road for my liking, but just due to the noise. I can always do with out noise.
Ugly camera hung around my neck, 2 pair of socks and arctic ready boots, too thin pants for this temperature and some ski gloves that are useless against the cold and one anxious dog I set off on my way. Only a couple miles down the road, anger the 20 people behind me for seemingly stopping in the middle of the road for no reason to turn into a spot most likely miss the whole time they live here.
As soon as I put the car in park, Oz knew just where we were and was going nuts for me to let her out. WHY am I so cruel and make her wait for me to put on gloves and scarves and hats etc...?
As soon as I opened the hatch, she was off like a rocket. I so love taking her out where she can run free. She's terrible on a leash and something about being loose in the woods brings out her inner puppy. It's like watching your kids have the time of their life. You can't help but smile.
It took all of 5 minutes for me to realize how terrible the gloves were and about 10 to be steadily belittling myself for not grabbing some of those hand warmer packs.
The forest floor is covered in frost, all the thick grasses laid over from the weight. The most beautiful thing today is the spiderwebs all covered in this very heavy frost. The sun shines through the trees and bounces light off the frost covering every tiny needle on the evergreens, the webs hanging from every branch and leaf every way you turn. Walking through the deeper woods, the floor literally sounds like hollow flooring. I am always scared I'm going to fall through. Oscar and I crunched our way through the woods and out to a small clearing which surprisingly still had snow all over it. It's a tough spot for much sun to get in and while the snow has melted everywhere else, this is one spot I'm sure I will be able to find it for several days yet.
I forget how huge the trees are here sometimes until you get to the random clearing and have them standing against the back drop of bright blue sky.
I love this. I love all the nature, the stillness aside from the random bounding of a black streak racing by. No people or horns blowing, no alarms blaring, no tv show yelling or phones ringing. No checking to see who's updated facebook or what my horoscope is for the day. Just...nature. Just what God put there for us to see. Just what I fear losing, what I pray we, as humans, can protect and keep for generations to see. What a shame for anyone to miss this.
Here I am, while others are rushing to work, yelling at their kids, trying to find something to eat or get warm for just a few minutes. While others in the world are in a hospital waiting for the last breath, off in a desert dodging bullets and wondering what on earth they are doing there. While others are walking the street doing things they never dreamed they would, to buy things they never dreamed they'd touch, wondering who on earth they are. While others take a right hook square on the cheek for talking back or not cooking dinner fast enough. While others pray for forgiveness, food or fortune. Health or time or love or peace.
Here I am. Here I am, cold but able to seek warmth when I wish. Fed, housed, not beaten or shot at. Here I am, taking a simple stroll with my camera in the woods with my dog. Here I am, soaking up the beauty that is laid out before me like a gift. How blessed I am to witness it. How blessed I am to see it, to take the time to look at it, soak it up and know how blessed I am.
What good is a blessing if you are too dense to even know you got it?
I walked a bit more, getting colder and colder and wondering how long it takes a normal person to get frostbite as it seems half an hour is all it would take for me. I walked more thinking about the people that come here and do nothing more than complain and they drive right by this daily.
They drive by these towering trees that are spread out far enough to have open space under the canopy. Where the light streams through the branches and warms you but for a single second. Where you feel that...maybe something higher is patting you on the head. "Job well done. Thank you for looking at the picture I painted for you. I'm glad you like it"
I saw plants I've never seen before, colors you can't put in a box, animal tracks and little evergreens fighting for their place against the giants, but standing strong nonetheless.
As we neared another clearing, this one very large, my breath caught. Oh my...am I really standing here? I walked up on a small hill and looked all around. There is so much open space here that everything is wide open and draped over it all, a thick white layer of frost. The sun bearing over the tops of the monstrous tree behind me, the rays pour over onto this opening. From this hill, I can see nothing more than this simple white clearing, lumpy with the heavy grasses covered in winter. Surrounding that, a glowing multitude of trees. The land rolls with them as far as I can see, the tops tickled with the sun light and a blue haze all around the edges from the cold of the day.
I am in awe.
I am standing on a knoll, in a field in England on a frozen December morning admiring the gift laid before me. I am frozen and my feet and hands are literally aching, but who could care? I could literally sit here for hours and just stare. I wish I had my book with me so I could write about it as I look at it. I try to take a panorama but guess what?
The damn camera battery just died.
