Ocean Views, Clear Views, and Big Views

1. Strong winds wave the field grass and their seed heads glitter like the crests of waves on a choppy sea.
2. Tess and I methodically go around and clean the inside and outside of every window in the house. It's great to have a partner in the chore. It's really great to look out of clean windows after we're done.
3. We carried some coolers of fresh fruit and sandwiches up to the trail to leave for Trail Magic. We met two hikers on the way in who partook of our offering. They sat down right where they stopped and ate immediately even though there was a picnic table only a few yards ahead. Later, when I went to retrieve the empty coolers, it appeared everyone did the same thing. They stopped and ate right on the spot, not bothering to walk ahead to the picnic table. I keep thinking about that and wondering if that's what it's like to live in the moment.
3a. I went back to the trail alone at dusk. This section is on a ridge of the Blue Ridge Parkway with breathtaking views. To the west is Purgatory Mountain, as shown here. To the east would be the Peaks of Otter. I sat on a ridge in the center, in solitude.
3b. I can't say enough about how much I love living here. My first view of these mountains is etched in my memory when we drove through in 2000 from New York to Alabama. I remember gazing out the window at these mountains, feeling homesick for New York, and thinking, "This is beautiful. If I ever couldn't go back home then I think I could accept living here." None of us had any idea that we would move here two years later.

Purgatory Mountain photo courtesy outdoorhub.com