So earlier today, I was worried that I would end up having nothing to blog about. Aside from my workout, what could I possibly talk about?
Well, the workout I could talk about, sure, but it was driving home from the workout during which I stumbled upon something I instantly knew I could talk about: looking at the absolutely gorgeous scenery on the drive home, and thinking, "You know...I think this works."
Because I think if someone were to ask me what my favorite season is, I can now without a moment's hesitation answer Fall. There's a ton of reasons why, too. It's warm enough to not be freezing, but cool enough to not fry me. It's wet enough that everything has a brilliant sparkle to it, yet dry enough that it's not constantly raining. (Contrary to popular belief, Washington does not, in fact, consist solely of rain.)
But most of all is the absolute stunning imagery that Fall generates. Washington has some of THE most brilliantly beautiful natural scenery in existence (a surprising fact you might not know when visiting, as you may be biased towards the stereotype, but as a native who's lived in a forested section of the state for 14 years, I can tell you it exists), and this is true during all seasons. Yet never is it at its most true other than the vivid pictures that Fall provides.
For instance...the sight of the sun setting creates some truly stunning shades of red, yellow, and orange--even in plain sky, this is a sight to be seen, yet when there's light reflecting off of the clouds, it is truly a thing of pure beauty. What makes it even better is how you can slowly see the purples and blues come into the clouds, in hues that don't exist anywhere else and are rarely captured in any artistic depictions I have ever seen.
It also applies to the beauty of the trees. This is something many people don't seem to see, yet when the sun is setting, it absolutely lights up the trees, painting all of the hues of the sun on the already-large spectrum of colors the trees themselves possess.
This continues into the night. When the moon is at its brightest, it literally serves as a second sun, with everything illuminated in crystal clarity (albeit through a heavy dark-blue/purple overlayed hue, which only adds to it!), and I do mean it: you can see just as well, just as far, just as clearly, as in day, entirely by the moonlight. Trees cast SHADOWS that--while not visible in a car as you drive--can be observed when you pass through them and the moonlight vanishes in an identical manner to how sunlight does during that transition. The glistening light of the moon on water is something artists can capture decently-well, yet it's something that still stuns me every time I see it. Better yet is when there's that low-rolling fog, creating what appears to be lakes on the ground when you climb above it. (This is true for dawn as well.)
And did I mention? With the lightest of light cloud coverings, the clouds (instead of blocking out the moonlight) effectively serve as a lens to amplify the moonlight, making it even brighter! By the way, we get that most nights. Oh, and it's even better when there is almost no moon at all. Yeah, it's basically pitch-black...yet the tradeoff for the lack of clarity on the ground is that the sky lights up with a serene canvas of marvel.
Again...humans have taken pictures and drawings of the stars for countless generations. Yet you really don't get to know the stars unless you've been out there on a new moon, cloudless night, with only the dimmest of lights around you, surrounded instead by the stars and even nebulae visible to the naked eye, of which there are plenty.
The life of the world seems strongest in the fall to me, and I absolutely love it. Yeah, some of this may be true for other places, but few if any have them all be true for basically a whole season. (Which, around here, lasts for a long time, generally.) Heck, even when it rains, there's a ton of beauty, because we get a ton of sun through the clouds, thus, plenty of rainbows and sun-radiated drenched areas, which are illuminated in a way I don't think any camera can capture the essence of.
It's all there, if you know to pay attention to it. It doesn't even have to be in a forest; these things occur on buildings and in cities, too. (I just so happen to have a preference for the hilly forests, since it gives a bit more diversity and ease of visibility.) I love it all. Yeah, it does rain, but even then, the rain is often warm. Even if it isn't, then the rain is just something that I see as a part of the lifestyle around here, so if you don't think of it as depressing...then it's not going to make you depressed. So during those many times it's not raining, or raining in such a way that it's not pure dark-gray cloud coverings, if you're open to viewing things, you can become as happy as I am to live here.
(Yep. I think I proved I am both an artist and a writer with my description above. But it's true. I may be a bit biased, but I do not exaggerate. If you don't see what I see...chances are you're letting your own biases prevent you from seeing them. Just let go of your preconceptions, and try. And try the whole time you stay here. Pay careful, close attention. You'll see it. Trust me.)
Well, the workout I could talk about, sure, but it was driving home from the workout during which I stumbled upon something I instantly knew I could talk about: looking at the absolutely gorgeous scenery on the drive home, and thinking, "You know...I think this works."
Because I think if someone were to ask me what my favorite season is, I can now without a moment's hesitation answer Fall. There's a ton of reasons why, too. It's warm enough to not be freezing, but cool enough to not fry me. It's wet enough that everything has a brilliant sparkle to it, yet dry enough that it's not constantly raining. (Contrary to popular belief, Washington does not, in fact, consist solely of rain.)
But most of all is the absolute stunning imagery that Fall generates. Washington has some of THE most brilliantly beautiful natural scenery in existence (a surprising fact you might not know when visiting, as you may be biased towards the stereotype, but as a native who's lived in a forested section of the state for 14 years, I can tell you it exists), and this is true during all seasons. Yet never is it at its most true other than the vivid pictures that Fall provides.
For instance...the sight of the sun setting creates some truly stunning shades of red, yellow, and orange--even in plain sky, this is a sight to be seen, yet when there's light reflecting off of the clouds, it is truly a thing of pure beauty. What makes it even better is how you can slowly see the purples and blues come into the clouds, in hues that don't exist anywhere else and are rarely captured in any artistic depictions I have ever seen.
It also applies to the beauty of the trees. This is something many people don't seem to see, yet when the sun is setting, it absolutely lights up the trees, painting all of the hues of the sun on the already-large spectrum of colors the trees themselves possess.
This continues into the night. When the moon is at its brightest, it literally serves as a second sun, with everything illuminated in crystal clarity (albeit through a heavy dark-blue/purple overlayed hue, which only adds to it!), and I do mean it: you can see just as well, just as far, just as clearly, as in day, entirely by the moonlight. Trees cast SHADOWS that--while not visible in a car as you drive--can be observed when you pass through them and the moonlight vanishes in an identical manner to how sunlight does during that transition. The glistening light of the moon on water is something artists can capture decently-well, yet it's something that still stuns me every time I see it. Better yet is when there's that low-rolling fog, creating what appears to be lakes on the ground when you climb above it. (This is true for dawn as well.)
And did I mention? With the lightest of light cloud coverings, the clouds (instead of blocking out the moonlight) effectively serve as a lens to amplify the moonlight, making it even brighter! By the way, we get that most nights. Oh, and it's even better when there is almost no moon at all. Yeah, it's basically pitch-black...yet the tradeoff for the lack of clarity on the ground is that the sky lights up with a serene canvas of marvel.
Again...humans have taken pictures and drawings of the stars for countless generations. Yet you really don't get to know the stars unless you've been out there on a new moon, cloudless night, with only the dimmest of lights around you, surrounded instead by the stars and even nebulae visible to the naked eye, of which there are plenty.
The life of the world seems strongest in the fall to me, and I absolutely love it. Yeah, some of this may be true for other places, but few if any have them all be true for basically a whole season. (Which, around here, lasts for a long time, generally.) Heck, even when it rains, there's a ton of beauty, because we get a ton of sun through the clouds, thus, plenty of rainbows and sun-radiated drenched areas, which are illuminated in a way I don't think any camera can capture the essence of.
It's all there, if you know to pay attention to it. It doesn't even have to be in a forest; these things occur on buildings and in cities, too. (I just so happen to have a preference for the hilly forests, since it gives a bit more diversity and ease of visibility.) I love it all. Yeah, it does rain, but even then, the rain is often warm. Even if it isn't, then the rain is just something that I see as a part of the lifestyle around here, so if you don't think of it as depressing...then it's not going to make you depressed. So during those many times it's not raining, or raining in such a way that it's not pure dark-gray cloud coverings, if you're open to viewing things, you can become as happy as I am to live here.
(Yep. I think I proved I am both an artist and a writer with my description above. But it's true. I may be a bit biased, but I do not exaggerate. If you don't see what I see...chances are you're letting your own biases prevent you from seeing them. Just let go of your preconceptions, and try. And try the whole time you stay here. Pay careful, close attention. You'll see it. Trust me.)
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