“Until one has loved an animal, a part of one’s soul remains never awakened.”
– Anatole France
“Happiness starts with a wet nose and ends with a tail.”
-Anonymous
After a blizzard, cold weather and what seemed like endless days of rain, it is finally a beautiful day here in the Hudson Valley of NY. Nice blue skies and a warm temperature of almost 60 made for a great day for my dog Jase to get out and play. Here are some pictures of him just sitting around.
The view from Mt. Beacon in Beacon, NY
Why do I love the trail?
My feet falling upon the rocky earth, searching for the white hot blaze that leads to bliss.
I walk the wooded miles, up down all around, the stress washing off,
Each drop of sweat a needed dose of nothing. Asking for nothing, telling nothing. The silence of the wind as it washes over me.
Why do I love the trail?
The crunch, crunch, crunch of my boots, one step after the other, guiding me to serenity. Each narrow path, shrouded by oddly shaped green leaves, pine needles and a fine dust being kicked up as I weave in and out of tree roots, exposed by time and the seasons.
Why do I love the trail?
The smell of the woods, snow covered rocks and the cool streams running high after springs wrath. The rain falling through the trees, head raised, collecting each precious drop.
Why do I love the trail?
Because I can.
These pictures were taken at the South Kent School in South Kent, CT.
Walking on the path,
Immersed in the retreat
Of winter, hopeful
My daughter, survveying the winter wonderland.
“From the shadow of domes in the city of domes,
A snowflake, a blizzard of one, weightless, entered your room
And made its way to the arm of the chair where you, looking up
From your book, saw it the moment it landed. That’s all
There was to it.”-Mark Strand
“The blizzard doesn’t last forever; it just seems so.”-Ray Bradbury
In most of the snowstorms that we get you always have an accumulation of snow on the branches. With this storm, no such evidence exists. The winds last night were crazy!!! Anyway, I took a couple of B & W photos of my backyard this morning after about 15 or so inches of snow.
The Zen Hiker 