Hanging-Cloud Solitude

Mobile photography is my savior, as updates will be fewer, and DSLR—packed away, while I move.

Don't gasp yet, I'm staying in this area, just so I could continue bringing you the joy of nature! For now. :)

Under a Leaden Sky

This spring I've been going on modest hikes almost every day. Paradoxically, I photo-blog about them less. To be clear, what is "modest" in the eyes of a native mountaineer qualifies as "pretty strenuous" in those of an urban office dweller.

Or so I suspect. 

Numerically, these hikes take about one and a half to two hours, with a fluctuating altitude change of approximately 100 meters (350 feet). Ideologically, they serve as a great workout offering cardio and muscle toning in a natural setting instead of a crowded gym. Aesthetically, there is all that fresh evergreen air and the views of receding mountains! Oh, and the mandatory rock'n'roll that I listen to whenever I'm not in the wooded parts watching out for the sometimes-dangerous, but the oh-so-cuddly-looking bears and those pesky and stealthy mountain lions. And practically? My dog gets quite worn out, which is a good thing for an energetic, attention-seeking basset hound.

How many birds with one stone does that add up to? More than two, certainly! I think the English language needs a new idiom.

Taking Stock

People make New Year's resolutions—as an evaluation of the year gone by—in an attempt to do better in the following one. I tend to do so on my birthday, October 19.

On the one hand, this year I've reached one particular milestone that, I hope, will be in some libraries long after I'm gone. In terms of image-making, specifically, practice makes perfect, and my photography has improved dramatically.

My illustration, on the other hand, had to be put on the back burner. Thus, changing this is up to me at the expense of other endeavors...or sleep! This has also been an exceedingly stress-filled year often (but not always) without the payoff of concrete, tangible benefits. As a result, I seem to be at a crossroads without seeing things clearly just yet.

And so I head for another walk in the autumn mountains that look as subdued as I feel. As does my basset. (The latter is misleading, of course: all it takes is introducing a deer, turkey, or even a small rodent into the hiking equation!) An objective correlative of sorts. I remember this term from high-school English.

One gets a better view from above the heavens, and breathing is easier, too. Or maybe that's just the techniques I learned at Pilates.