I have experienced a sure and steady change during my my life. The world is becoming more lovely all the time. I am finding beauty in more and more places. Part of me says that it's not the world that is changing, it's me. But another part of me says there is absolutely no difference. There are times when I look around and I am just in awe at what I see, almost overwhelmed by what a fantastic place we all live in. Whether on the scale of a vast landscape or a tiny snowflake there is so much to wonder and marvel at, to appreciate. The little things that may seem so inconsequential to many have taken on an enchantment for me.

Much of last Saturday was nothing short of magical. We had gotten about eight inches of snow during the night and I was out before the sun was up. I was the first to drive through the snow and as the powder rose up around the truck it seemed as if I was floating down the road. And all around me, everywhere I looked, the world had been transformed by the snow. As the sun came up there was just the perfect combination of light and snow on the landscape. The first rays of the sun bathed the landscape with warm tones in the foreground contrasted with cooler shades in the background and clouds. I didn't make a large number of images, I knew what I liked and how I wanted it composed and that was it. Then I hiked for hours along one of my favorite trails along the Pine River.

I photographed landscapes and animals on the trail, but mostly I just enjoyed every moment, every view that I was given. I don't know where the time went, when I got back home it was 1:00. After lunch I did some work and then I headed out one more time to capture the sunset over the river. The magic continued right until the end of the day, On my way back the wind was blowing snow from an open field across the road. The road completely disappeared under the swirling snow and as the crystals were blown up to the level of the windshield it seemed as if I was driving through a cloud, like I was in a dream. A dream of an entire day of beauty.

I know exactly what Pierre Tielhard de Chardin meant when he wrote, "Throughout my whole life, during every minute of it, the world has been gradually lighting up and blazing before my eyes until it has come to surround me, entirely lit up from within."

Charles St. Charles III



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