Kent Falls

Kent Falls State Park
Kent, CT

No visit is complete to the Connecticut Berkshires without traveling along picturesque Route 7 and visiting the Covered Bridge in Sharon, CT and observing the 250' cascade at Kent Falls State Park in nearby Kent. Like a good tourist I paid homage to both on my journey. Yes, I became a tourist something I never had the opportunity to do while growing up in Connecticut.

Guilty as charged. Who could however resist the charm of this cascade. The opportunity was all mine to enjoy the solitude in front of this natural shrine. It was an opportunity to commune with nature and to enjoy my own morning devotion.

The universe has always spoken clearly to me through nature. I don't feel alone when I absorb what it yields. It shares with me the same timelessness it has revealed to those before me human and animal alike.

This day, I stop and contemplate what flows before me and what will continue to flow. Someday, I will drift in the water and flow on past the brooks, streams, and waters and on into the endless sea. With good fortune, I will have had the opportunity to enjoy it all.

www.photographybyalhernandez.com

This Side of China

Cascade at Winchester Lake
Winchester, CT

Cascade Curios

There's just a few days left before I leave for China.  I wont be digging my way there.   I will be letting the currents of change navigate the way.  This has been a tumultuous year with lots of surprises.  I might as well see where it takes me.

The only promise I've kept to myself is that I simply would go wherever the journey leads me.  Life is more interesting that way.  I've abandoned lots of my old structure and allowed myself the opportunity to just be. Old conventions and rules simply no longer work for me.  Armed with knowledge and curiosity, I've got to press on.  There's simply too much to experience and absorb before the journey ends.  I know there's nothing rational about it but what appeared to me to be sane for all these years now seems dreadfully insane.  

I'm not afraid of what lies on the other side of this cascade.  The water's motion entices me.  It's insane not to live.  It's even more insane not to try.

Autumn Daydream

High School Daydream
Winsted, CT

Some who remember me in high school thought of me as a serious student.  Few knew that I was a daydreamer.  Autumn brought it out most in me.  In fact, I was caught red handed staring at the hillside beneath our school by my English teacher, Elaine Fortuna.  She was merciful in her reproach and smiled the whole way while she brought my attention back to the subject of the day.

I am grateful that she didn't discourage my dreaming.  She knew I was enamored by the fall colors.  They were spectacular then and even more so in the dreams I have had since remembering them.  She caught a glimpse of my real nature.  She knew I was more artistic and creative than even I knew.  Instead of snuffing it, she let me bask in all the colors that I could view through my window perch.

That day the hillside was ablaze with color.  It's hard to write about something like this unless you've actually witnessed it.  She let me witness it.  Today, I write:  "the hillsides were ablaze with color.  It was a natural fire of color that only heavy winds, frost, and the onset of winter could extinguish."

My pilgrimage back to my home town afforded me the opportunity to reminisce and to enjoy what I've missed every year since I left.  Although it was thirty-six years ago, the memories are as real as yesterday.  The hillside remains ablaze in my mind.

Autumn Perspective

Countryside
Riverton, CT 

Heublein Trail

This time of the year, I miss the country hillsides of New England.  As a kid,  I enjoyed slipping into the countryside and hiking.  I found that the autumn countryside afforded a unique solace.  Floating colorful leaves and sweet smells filled these memories.  Things seemed to slow down and I used the added time to put things once again in perspective.


Each day, I remind myself to put it all in perspective.  I try to grasp that I am not the only one going through this journey, that there are other passengers.  Mine is not a unique sojourn only my experiences are uniquely mine.

Pond and Autumn Drizzle

There are so many things I still want to do.  I think back about my New England days and I meditate about the things that made me calm.  Somethings have changed but the person I am has not.  Today, I need to rely on my experiences and draw from the well.  Time to reflect on childhood autumns to refresh and renew.  The journey is long; it's good to take pause.