When I was a kid, I sometimes came to the mountains with Kindergarten Friend and her family, to stay in their camp on Snowshoe Lake. We'd play with her cousin and her sister at the big table by the side window, or we'd put on plays in the woodshed down near the dock. We'd go out in the lake in an aluminum rowboat, or one time we made some kind of strange pulley system in the woods with yarn and clothespins and pieces of paper with messages on them. I can remember walking to town on a sunshiny day to buy maple sugar candy and these "Seek-a-Word" puzzlebooks, filled with pages of scrambled letters you had to search through to find words. For some reason, we loved "Seek-a-Words" and they became a staple of our own puzzlebooks when we created them.
Kindergarten Friend's camp is still on that lake, and she comes there now with her husband and kids. The town – which consists mostly of a general store, a church, and a post office – looks the same as it always did. Even the maple sugar candy, shaped like a maple leaf and packaged against red paper, tastes the same. As we crossed the bridge that leads into the town, I took this photograph. The lake itself, with a 99-mile shoreline, is spectacular, but I've always liked the view in the other direction: those creeks that go meandering off to meet the smudged sky.
12 comments:
What a gorgeous photo! WOW! I love it, intense colors, very pretty, nice memories!
What a wonderful blog. Love the photos, this one is super! Wish I were there!
Love that maple candy--I had a pancake with maple syrup for lunch.
Yes, lovely. I wish I was standing in that spot right now.
Jo(e), your photos are just exquisite. I ooh and aah at each and every one. Your camera does an amazing job at capturing the vibrancy of the colors (or should I say colours :)), and your shot composition is wonderful.
Not to ignore your talent for words, but I am in a photographic state of mind these days.
What kind of camera do you use?
Nadine: Me too. It's always cooler in the mountains.
Ampersand: My camera is just a point and shoot. Kodak EasyShare CX7330. I'd love to buy a better camera someday, but the nice thing is that this one fits into my pocket so I can take it along wherever I go.
Oh, and thanks all, for the compliments on my photos ....
Oooo, that is pretty! If I am interpreting the name Snowshoe Lake correctly, I have delightful childhood memories there as well. Are there different Precious Metal beaches at different points on the shore?
Berrybird: Yes, that's the place!
I've been really enjoying your blog, jo(e), and have to chime in on the praise of your photos. Visiting your blog is really like going on a little holiday- you capture nature so beautifully.
jo(e) . . . reading your blog, especially this entry, brought back childhood memories for me as well. I grew up in a rural area and I recall meeting the kids who lived near me and playing for hours at a time in a babbling brook that ran across our property. We would sail homemade boats and splash in the water until our feet and hands were all shriveled up and numb from the chill of the icy, cascading water. What a great time!
argon(one): Those sound like great childhood memories!
You know, I am reading this book right now (Last Child in the Woods by Richard Louv) that talks about how this next generation doesn't have those carefree summer days in nature. It's a fascinating book with some scary implications.
jess: Thanks!
mmmmmmmm. Another great photo.
"those creeks that go meandering off to meet the smudged sky." Yes! That's what I want to look at too.
We used to go to a camp that sounds similar (but not in the mountains). We had a little town and the maple sugar candy too. And a lake with a smudged sky...
I read Last Child in the Woods and it had a big impact on me. I hope more and more people read it!
Post a Comment