“Nature gives to every time and season some beauties of its own.”
— Charles Dickens
— Charles Dickens
KOMOREBI
I call this photo "Komorebi” — an untranslatable Japanese word that conveys the aesthetic of sunlight streaming through leaves of the trees. Following is what I felt at the time.
I was cold. My feet were wet. The sun was burning away the beautiful October morning fog too quickly. I was about to call it a morning and head home to enjoy a steaming cup of coffee and a few savory caramels.
But as I rounded the bend of the creek, this scene unfolded. The sun’s rays contrasted tree shadows at various angles through low-lying fog that was refusing to give up. So, neither did I.
The tranquility was so very peaceful. I quickly framed my shot before it morphed. And then I simply stood in awe and basked in the serenity.
I KNOW THESE WOODS
I know these woods.
A whiff of hickory leaf decay,
Dry crunch of leaves and twigs.
On I walk, I dare not stay.
A shrill cry of a startled jay!
Don't worry little friend.
I know these woods so well —
Where I go, they do not end.
— JV
Rain quickly moves in at the wetlands.
A quiet December walk in the woods.
Eagle Bluffs Conservation Area
From sunlight into fog along the MKT Trail, Boone County, Mo.
Fall reflections
The State Champion bur oak tree in the Missouri River bottomland near Huntsdale, Mo. This tree, estimated to be 350 to 400 years old, is tied with another bur oak tree in Kentucky for the largest in the country.
