Green Thumb Sunday

Wild Waterfall Week

By following some unspoken wisdom, we soon fall into the perfect system for planning our hikes. We're playing with weather and time/ distance constraints on the one hand and a stack of random books from the library on the other.

The books prove themselves almost immediately. Waterfalls of Virginia and West Virginia is our north star. We look at the regional map and find the waterfalls that fit with our time needs. The author rates the different trails and falls according to beauty, trail type, photographic ease, etc. We then cross check the trails in Day and Overnight Hikes of the Shenandoah National Park to glean additional nuggets. These resources are awesome! We quickly make our choices from the abundant trails and waterfalls in the area, and are well rewarded for that bit of extra planning.

An Ounce of Preparation, Part II

One thing that drives me is, I want to Know. What I think is casual conversation, Cy laughs and relabels interrogation.

We have a brief stay in Masanutten, and I know nothing. I don't want to just get acquainted, I want a trusting relationship, I want to become the mountain's beloved confidant in too short a time.

I put out my feelers--the web lets them reach far. Three degrees of separation connects me a photographer who loves and knows the mountains the way I want to--and is a neighbor on SmugMug. Dave is generous with his insights. A trip to the library (air-conditioned bliss on a sweltering day) and AAA lay further framework. Casual conversation (I'm working on toning down the interrogation!) at parties turns up little but a recommendation of bear bells.

Jamal joins me at Borders and reads Naruto as I power back and forth between the shelves and the squishy chairs with armloads of books. They prove to be both a disappointment-- no insights revealed and overall crummy photography-- and an inspiration: that leaves more to be discovered. I laugh at myself and admit to him, "here I'll do all this digging and planning, and in the 11th hour end up just following where the Spirit leads!" That's cool. We both know the Spirit is the world's best tour guide!

Photographic Musing

Wolf and I browse Art Wolfe's collection of photos in Alaska.

"Some of these shots are amazing," he confides, "but some are just kinda nice. Not like Jim Brandenburg, where all the shots are incredible."

I'm thinking the exact same thing. "Mmm," I agree. "Art Wolfe shows the way things appear. Brandenburg shows the way they really are. Their true selves. Their secret selves."

What makes that distinction? Its the same difference as the description of someone in their alumni profile vs. a story their best friend would share about them. I'm reminded of Robert Pirsig's pursuit of "Quality" in Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.

That's my relentless quest when I woo the world through my lens. I want to know the world the way I want to be known. I want that lover's intimate understanding of the heart and spirit at stake, and the skill to translate that onto paper and pass it on.

A photograph-- however beautiful, however technically brilliant-- is silent without its secret story to make it sing.

Leaves Alight

Mow-A-Thon: In Memorium

Cheaper Than Models

"I hate flowers. I paint them because they are cheaper than models and they don't move!"
--Georgia O'Keefe

Horses move, bees move, even Yngvar, my tame deer skull, once moved.

It's deliciously, deleriously spring, and we live in the most beautiful place on earth. Brace yourself for flowers--lots of flowers-- in upcoming posts!

All around me...

All around me I witnessed the cycle of life and death-- with deer becoming wolves, bones becoming soil, lichens eating rocks, herons stalking fish. Irate wolves chased ravens, who in turn chased indifferent eagles, while I wandered in the knowledge that my quiet contemplation would lead me to them so that I might paint them on film.

--Jim Brandendurg, Chased by the Light

Browsing Brandenburg before I lend him out, I come across this passage which really hits home for a number of reasons. I dig out this photo I shot down by down by the ford, which was a redneck hotspot and favorite dumping ground for broken appliances and poached deer carci. A recent flood had washed the garbage downstream, but this doe was just above the waterline, and continued her quiet return to the elements undisturbed.