I have returned to the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts (VCCA), where I’m trying to be immensely productive during my two-week residency. When I get tired, or need to rev myself up in the morning, I walk through the woods where the soft winter sunlight works its magic. Of course I don my camera, and then I get lost in the beauty I see through the viewfinder.

 

 

There’s still a cow gate where the trail begins, although the bovines have left the grounds.

 

Wandering around here is not without its hazards. Muddy spots make you slip, roots make you trip, and if it’s not barbed wire, it’s these much sneakier brambles that tug at you.
And then, knots dangle in the air!
My favorite bench overlooking the bog is still there, waiting like an old friend.

 

 

 

 

Once in a while, you find color if you look up!
And then you return, heartened, to the farm, i.e. the studio complex.