One of the quirky things about me is that I love old tinted photographs & postcards of natural landscapes from the early 20th century. Photographers like Wallace Nutting & Charles Sawyer, in particular. I grew up with a signed Sawyer print of Echo Lake in New Hampshire in my parents’ bedroom, & I’d often look at it & think it so pretty. The idea of an artist touching up the black & white image with pigments seemed like a cool thing, the layering of art over art. And that the focus was a NH added additional fascination, as it made the state in which I was born & grew up legitimized as a place of beauty. How strange that the familiar can lose that visceral response of awe even if displaying the most spectacular scenes. I felt proud of NH, our “little Switzerland,” & so still I remain appreciative of those who share my love for our home state.

So, you can imagine my surprise when a recent Sunday excursion yielded photos of misty mountains in Little Cottonwood Canyon that appeared as if they had been tinted by hand.

And if you’ve been reading this blog since early on, then you’ll recognize my particular interest in fog & mist, which create a kind of ethereal quality to natural settings. Of course, my mind goes to the Misty Mountains from The Hobbit, as a Tolkien enthusiast. Mists & fogs often seem linked to magic & fantasy. Witches brewing concoctions in their cauldrons, thick fogs over ocean waters that hide merfolk & selkies, fairies & brownies that flit & hop about in the twilight between day & night, obscured by the mists. Perhaps it’s that juxtaposition of seeing something but not exactly what, knowing something’s there but not being able to see it clearly?

Even our representation of the soul’s energy is often linked to ghostly apparitions of the ethereal rather than the corporeal.

For many introverts like me, images of fogs & mists soothe the mind. It’s as if those cool vapors flow over one’s mind, calming & reminding one to breathe in. The act of breathing in aromatic scents, like those dispersed into the air by essential oil diffusers, reminds one to fill the lungs with life-restoring oxygen while taking in favorite smells that relax & reassure. And when looking at mists over acres of woods & forest, certain smells come to my mind, those which I love. The spiciness of pine, the mustiness of decaying leaves, the pungent mosses, & damp mushrooms springing out of bark or rotting wood. The earthiness of organic life brings us back to nature in a intimate way that no sterile environment will ever replicate.

Maybe that’s why I’m obsessed with old wood? Collecting old signs & preserving what was once a living thing. Futuristic visions of steel, glass, & concrete do nothing for me.

There’s such a beauty in the woods & mountains. That’s something Tolkien certainly treasured in his Ents, the giant tree herders who provided wise watch over Middle Earth, protecting the balance of life. Seeing these views in Utah reminded me more of New Hampshire than the other distinct & foreign landscapes the state is known for most–the Salt Flats, the red rocks of Zion, the hoodoos of Bryce Canyon. The trees & mountains of the nearby Big & Little Cottonwood Canyons remind me of the White Mountains. And that brings me a certain innate happiness, that of a familiar haunt in my mind to which I lovingly return.

During the drive, snow started to fall, so the fog & mists here were really a snow squall that moved through the Little Cottonwood Canyon, much to the delight of the skiers who were still on the Snowbird slopes in the middle of May!

Part of the gift of this blog to myself is that time spent reflecting & appreciating the beauty of nature I’m so fortunate to be able to enjoy. Many were concerned with my move from the farm that I would lose that special connection to place, & while, yes, it’s been a difficult transition in many ways, I’ve been able to find adventures into nature that I can share with my toddler son who observes with wide eyes & a sense of curiosity things he’s never seen. The changes of skies & clouds over mountains & vales & canyons & flats–so many incredible spectacles to appreciate!

My aim is to honor that “Sunday drive” my parents shared with me, exploring & adventuring & discovering new places & things to see.