It just allows more life in, generally. I had two experiences last night that I want to share with you. The first one, is being outside at night, but in enough light that you can see your way around easily. It would have been better a couple of nights ago, under the auspices of the full moon. Were you out there? Ah,..!! It was amazing. The light was awesome, and the reflection on the snow, it was so beautiful and full of moonlight. All this being outside at night got me thinking of one of my favorite paintings, In the Pine Shadows, Moonlight by JEH MacDonald. I posted about this painting on Nov. 8th, as part of my review of the excellent show on now at the National Gallery of Canada, Artists, Architects and Artisans (on til Feb. 2/2014). I digress.
As I was skiing last night in the woods, I felt like I was walking into that painting. It was with me a good part of the way. The light was so similar, and the surroundings created exactly the same atmosphere. I'm going to take this opportunity to explain my favorite part of the painting. Have you ever stood in front of a painting for some time, only to find some unobvious aspect, that is really important? If you check out this painting, you are standing in front of it for some time, marvelling at the unusual quality of light the artist has captured, when you notice, there is a couple, walking arm in arm, in the shadows. This adds such a deeper aspect to the painting. It's not just about the light. It adds a sense of mystery, and romance. I love it! There is nothing more compelling than that!
One other thing I'd like to mention here, was that as we were skiing over a small bridge, with a beaver dam to the left, on the far side of the bridge, my skiiing companion told me to stop, and look right. We stood in silence, as a fairly large beaver waddled down the side of the bank, and splashed his way into the water and home. Incredible! Beavers don't like to be seen. Robin suggested he probably didn't see us, as people skiing at night isn't that common. The poor beavers probably think they have the place to themselves at night. We knew it was an active Beaver dam, because we saw some recently chewed up branches, etc., only a week before, in the same spot. Anyways, it's just a little miracle. I love seeing animals in their natural habitat, just doing there own thing, and not being affected by humans. Light footprints make for great viewing of nature.
I'm trying to remember that miracles are everywhere, if you just pay attention.
It's so similar to the painting! Check it out, like distant cousins on cbc 2.
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