Yesterday I walked down the hill to the lake. Rain like frozen sand pelted my face at times driven by the fierce wind. But, I noticed that after a while the noise, cold and wet ceased to be negative just different. I was not too cold or wet or endangered by the weather, though at times I heard trees just off the trail groan as they swayed in gusts. That made me a little nervous as I climbed over fallen trees that lay over the trail. There was one point when I had not seen a person for about 30 minutes that I felt as if I had wandered into a new world. I was at the top of a ridge and the trees seemed fantastic waving in the storm, the old fallen branches  lying in piles in the swamping areas just off of the trail, and roots like miniature castles lifted at the ends of tilted trees. I could hear birds calling when the wind paused. This place could easily be the magical wood of the winter unicorn. As I came down the hill back to the main trail, I saw two horses, accompanied by riders of course. Horses are so solid and muscular. Walking next to one the horses, I thought this animal could crush me so easily. It was at this point that I realized the wind had picked up and was shooting the rain sideways into my eyes and stinging my cheek, but I also became aware that I was not uncomfortable with this. I just walked on. My legs got tired. I noticed that I was getting hungry, but I was not feeling in a hurry. I could have called my wife and asked her to pick me up, but I had no desire to get home quicker. I knew that when I got home I could eat and get warm, and that was good, but walking was good too. So I walked through the wind, back up the hill, and made it home just as it was getting dark.

Here are some other photos I took on my journey. I played with some of them.

The Andrew Wyeth Effect

Raindrop Serendipity