Sometimes I have to get away from the house . . . the office . . . and the phone . . . and email . . . the internet . . . and the overflowing inbox and long to-do list . Sometimes I need more room to breathe. To think. To slow down the frantic pace of my thoughts. A short walk helps usually. Sometimes, though, it takes a long walk to really ease the tension, to settle my mind into a state of calm that allows me to set aside the day’s worries and irritations for a little while and notice the details of the world around me.
[1]
A duck feather caught on a twig, fluttering in the faint breeze.
[2]
The weathered patterns on an old, battered log.
[3]
The details in the lichens on a rock outcrop in the pasture.
[4]
An old skull washed downstream by floodwaters and deposited high on the creek bank.
[5]
The fine details of weathered bone and teeth left too long exposed to the elements.
[6]
The view from this angle hints at a long life and a body worn with age and use. The curls and swirls of varying tones fascinate me for some odd reason. I’d no idea there could be such variation in a tooth, but then I’ve not spent much time studying worn teeth from quite this angle. There are, I suspect, many such oddly fascinating things hidden in the mundane world around us. All we need do is slow down and see what’s been there all along.
[7]