Snow covered landscape
Cruel wind blows through naked trees
Icy branches sway
Lonely crow stands watch, waiting
The new year awakes, sober
Winter Tanka
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Author Archives: Freedom Hiker
2017 Hiking Favorites (2)
My second favorite hiking photo of the year! This was a sunset after exiting the woods in Ward Pound Ridge Reservation (late October). The contrast between the sky and the trees is what makes the photo special for me.
2017 Hiking Favorites
A couple of days ago I published my three favorite photos of the year. With the next few posts I am going to share my favorite hiking photos. This picture says it all-on the trail heading off to…where? Anywhere.
Is Winter Over Yet?
“O, wind, if winter comes, can spring be far behind?”
-Percy Bysshe Shelley
I hate to admit it, but the winter has already worn out its welcome. Although I love the colder days and lots of snow, it is a serious buzz kill whenever I even try to think about getting out into the woods. With only two hours of daylight left when I leave my school for the day, it is next to impossible to get to any trail in the area and get any type of hike in before the sun sets. This doesn’t really sit well with me. I guess I’m getting a case of modified cabin fever.
For the last few weeks I haven’t really been able to get out that much. Gone are the days of the summer when the hiking was easy. I could hike all day and not have to worry about losing precious daylight. Days when you could stop and take a breather for any amount of time and not have to worry about freezing to death have certainly gone by the wayside.
As a result, I am forced to be inside a whole lot more than I would like to be. At work and at home, the winter months mean that I will spend more time wishing that I could hike than I do actually hiking. So every night almost as soon as I get home, I pull the stationary bike out, move it in front of the tv and I ride. One thing I’ve learned over the years is that although the bike is excellent cardio training, it in no way can replace being out in the woods. The fresh air, listening to the sound of my breath as I push up hills and crossing the paths of like minded folks is beyond description.
Getting out into the woods is, hands down, the best way to dispose of the mental garbage we all carry. A nice mental enema…
Was It A Trivial Pursuit??
It was a very interesting day, this Christmas Day. At just around 10:15 yesterday morning, the power went out in parts of Mahopac. After about 20 minutes of blessed silence, my son (who was in the next room), texted me asking if we could play Monopoly. That’s right..he texted me. But that’s a story for another day.
Anyway, after not finding the Monopoly game board, we decided to play Trivial Pursuit. It was really nice to be able to sit down with my kids and not have to fight with some form of electronics for their attention. As the game passed one hour and then two, I realized how lucky I was to have two kids who didn’t mind spending some time with their old man.
Although it was forced upon us, those three hours spent together playing a board game made this Christmas Day a complete one. It has been a long time since my two kids and I had the opportunity to just sit down and play a game. It brought back memories of other days when we actually planned to play some kind of game if we had a snow day, or if it was really a hot summer day.
With all of that said, I guess my point is this-if you have older children, take advantage of any time that you get to spend with them. When they are younger, we know that they aren’t going anywhere and quite honestly, the thought never enters your mind. Now that my son, who is senior in college, will be either going to graduate school or entering the work force, is obviously on his way. My daughter follows in just a few short years.
Those three hours playing Trivial Pursuit were probably some of the best time spent during 2017! And BTW-I won!!!!!
2017 Favorites (3)
This photo rounds out my top three photos of the year. Taken at my parents house, I love the colors in this picture, especially how you don’t see a direct cut off, instead the darker colors fade into the lighter.
2017 Favorites (2)
My second favorite photo of the year was taken after a late afternoon hike in Ward Pound Ridge Reservation. It was getting dark very quickly and the temperature was somewhere in the mid 40’s. Even though it was a short hike, it was a good one.
2017 Favorites-My Favorite Photo Of The Year
This is my favorite photo of 2017. I decided that after I dropped my daughter off at hockey practice that I would go to the Appalachian Railroad station to take some pictures. I actually sat down on the tracks facing north and took this shot.
Finally…A White Christmas!
“No snowflake ever falls in the wrong place.”
-Zen Proverb
For the first time in recent memory (my recent memory, of course), we actually woke up to snow falling on Christmas!
A fresh coat of white to start the day.
A Black And White Sunday
“There’s something strange and powerful about black-and-white imagery.”
– Stefan Kanfer
These photos were taken today at the Trinity Pawling school in Pawling, New York. The ice rink at the school acts as the home rink for my daughters u16/19 travel hockey team. Today was overcast with a temperature in the mid to upper 20’s, which in my opinion, makes for excellent B & W photos.
A tree just outside the ice rink.
The view looking across the football field.
This light reminds of an old gas lamp.
One of the lights inside the ice rink.
The Zen Hiker 