People may travel. Places, light (ambience) and landscapes may not. That might be why travelling will never go out of style. And why we sometimes just get a strong urge to go to be somewhere specific.
There are many places to visit on Earth. Some we tick off the list. Some places we come back to again and again, always finding it fresh, new, exiting, invigorating. This is one of mine.
Fruvika beach, Vesterøya, Norway.
I find the ocean even more beautiful during winter. It’s like its quiet, powerful presence is more acute at this time of the year. Or perhaps the inwardness of winter make us more sensitive?
I like walking briskly on winding roads and pathways past fields and through forests to reach the sea from where I am based when here.
The forest is quiet now, just a single bird was heard, but there were many tracks from deer, showing its movements from the road into the forest, over some fields, then back again... Canine tracks: some obviously from dogs, but some smaller longer clawed ones might be from foxes, I know they are around… or badgers, perhaps? It is nice to stop and look and listen and enjoy.
The birch (Betula pubescens) stretch its branches towards the blue wintery sky, enjoying perhaps the longer days, feeling the spring is due in some more months, sensing the pleasant glow from the rays of the mid day sun…
The last days has been sunny and some snow had melted some places in the forest, creating interesting reflections in small temporary ponds, its transparancy revealing hidden stories and treasures…
Where the shades are deeper the ice is textured in a different way, the surface opaque, silklike in lustre, rendering other outlines, equally beautiful but different.
I know this area well. But there are still places I have not explored. You don’t want to disturb anyone and signs are scarse… So I was very happy when this area became designated as a Nature Costal trail, meaning I can wander along in any direction that takes my fancy, finding my way by following small patches of blue with signs at intersections showing different options for a way forward, knowing I will not end up in someones yard having to think of lame excuses for being an airhead not knowing the whatever was an obvious (really?) sign of… well well.... No more of that.
Not knowing the area is no hindrance – just follow the signs!
This way the residents get their privacy, the visitors get to know and explore beautiful areas with confidence. Maps have been made, historical descriptions is available, you can walk, bike, ride, ski or boat and the pressure on the most popular areas is down with the spread. You can find a place to be alone. You can find a place with buzz. Everyone is happy.
I like walking here. When – or if – you meet someone, they greet you with a nod, a smile, a quick hello. You can ask for advice, directions, tips on what to see, where to go, or just have a small chat with a stranger about their dog, something you have seen, or would like to see, then walk on after mutual greetings and wishes for a pleasant day. Or not. You can keep quiet and just smile. Or nod if you feel serious that day. It’s ok. It’s still friendly. Unpretentious. I like that. It makes me want to paint it from within.
I find an old Oak tree clinging to a cliff, caught up in a struggle for survival. It is squeezed but fit for a fight… I climb a small pathway and find ice hanging from the rocks, fluid water transformed into frozen moments of time…
It is all very fulfilling. I finish my walkabout, go home, grab a bite, do some work, read a bit: And then, the sun sets over the Fjord and I get up and put down my book to bask in the moment.
The sunset is slow here in the North. There always seems to be time, somehow. Or, rather, the days and the weeks change fast but the daily rhytm, especially at sunrise and sunset, is just so massively impressive and grandiose that spending time in nature, like most people around here do when they have a chance, really reminds you of your place in the Universe as less than a speck of dust. But a lucky one.
Reflections in Water, in Mind. Trees. Mountains. Snow. Sun moving on elsewhere. Time to rest now. Then to work.
No comments:
Post a Comment