I just moved past the half-century mark in age. I have added additional rings to my trunk and my branches are not as flexible and as strong as they once were. I have always been a believer in the saying “ You are only as old as you feel”. Today, I must admit, for the first time in my life I feel older than my years. The past several months I have been plagued with aches and pains, which are the result of an injured back.
On my birthday, I decided to continue my annual pilgrimage to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park to try my hand at capturing the beautiful fall colors. The park was full of visitors, just as I expected it would be. I spent the first day scouting new locations and visiting familiar ones. With a slower step and weakened legs, I decided to remain clear of the river rocks and ledges and only photograph from safe locations. A few instances, my desire to get the shot, invigorated my fearlessness and dulled my wisdom. Yes, I did experience a few slips, one that resulted with my Canon G9 landing and sinking in the water, another lessen learned.
Despite my injury, I still had a great time in the park. I returned home licking my wounds and hope to return next year not feeling years beyond my age.
I found this great quote by Anne Morrow Lindbergh. The quote pegs my current physical state.
Already I have shed the leaves
Of youth,
Stripped by the wind of time down
To the truth
Of winter branches. Linear and alone
I stand, a lens for lives beyond
my own.
A frame through which another’s
Fire may flow,
A harp on which another’s
Passions, blow.
The pattern of my boughs,
An open chart
Spread on the sky, to others
May impart
Its leafless mysteries that once
I prized,
Before bare roots and
Branches equalized;
Tendrils that tap the rain or
twigs the sun
Are all the same, shadow and substance one.
Now that my vulnerable leaves
Are cast aside,
There’s nothing left to shield,
nothing to hide.
Blow through me, Life, pared down
At last to bone,
So fragile and so fearless
Have I grown!
These are a few from Cataract Falls State Park
I will always get up early to find scenes like this .
