baxter

My cousin Jim visited with us early in December, snow had yet to fall in the mountains and this mornings temperatures were in the 50's, quite extraordinary for the Adirondacks.

Baxter Mountain in Keene Valley catching the trail off of Spruce Hill is a wonderfully short hike to experience a spectacular view. But even more in the quiet of December it was a time to walk with deliberate steps to marvel at the wonder of natures fallen summer revelry.

With every season a new celebration begins, we move from one to the other, it’s a journey from birth to death and if we are lucky to understand the cycle then we are blessed to recognize that the bad as well as the good contain messages for us.

The spring and summer bring such joy of warmth and freshness but in the autumn and winter I’m as curious as Leonardo da Vinci. Leonardo was a pioneer when it came to understanding the inner workings of the human body, in the 15^th century so little was known about the body that it took an artist to show the world.

So when I see the dry leaves and fading glory of life well spent I honor what was and what will be. The crisp sound of walking along the autumn trail is a journey of contemplation, I take my time, the day belongs to me. The community of life I'm passing through whispers it's secrets to my open heart.

I brush against the low branches as if to shake a hand, I look to the passing harmony of the forest as if I were on a busy street recognizing my friends. The streaming morning sun light creates art everywhere, it's a museum of movement, outdoors, for this day only. There will never be another moment quite like this one, I know this, I absorb it all. I touch everything with my skin, my eyes, my living soul.