We are trying our hardest to get some substantial snow here in Beacon, but it's not really happening. About an inch and a half on Saturday followed by some cold temperatures afterward provided a nice white blanket for a few days. I think snow makes the wintertime so much more enjoyable - it adds so much light to the darkness.
There's no big news here, but I wanted to share a photo with you. It's a very special photo to me. On Sunday my friends Terrence and Monika picked me up to take me to the Beacon Farmers Market. Akiko was out of town with the car and Terrence and Monika - passionate farmers market shoppers themselves - offered to give me a lift once before. I asked them for the favor once more this past weekend, and I actually ended up with a couple of trial piano lessons in the morning, so they had to take me later than they would have gone themselves. It was really nice of them.
Monika is an avid photographer. She and Terrence plan their regional hikes around the best sunlight for photography - usually at dusk or dawn. So after we got back from the farmers market, she asked if she could take my photo by the chicken coop. Oh, I forgot to tell you another awesome thing about Terrence and Monika - they feed our chickens! They live in an apartment and don't have a place to compost their kitchen scraps, so they actually bring them over for our chickens about once a week. Man they rule! So anyway, Monika had some black and white film that was going to expire and needed to be used. So I stood there in front of the coop, not thinking too much of it. I had to hold still for this, which I wasn't so used to I guess. But I got out a bag of old grain that I use to get the chickens back into the coop when I need to leave and put them in for the night. I thought there could be some action shots. She took a few photos and I more or less forgot about it.
Anyway, when Monika sent me the photo that night, I was really floored. I'm kind of embarrassed by how much I love this photo of myself and how much time I've spent thinking about it. First of all, I love the depth and clarity and feel of the film. I haven't even seen a hi resolution version of the photo yet. We're ordering a print for the living room wall actually. But even the digital copy looks so great. We've gotten used to looking at photos taken with smartphones - I was really shocked by how much more comes through on film. And I love the composition of the shot - the depth the coop and the garage windows behind it.
Second, I love the photo because I see a smile on my face that I haven't seen for a long time. We've been in Beacon for about a year and a half now. It was a transition - never an easy thing. I sometimes wonder if it was the right decision to leave NYC. I wonder if I'm missing out by not being there. I wonder about where my life is headed, especially the music part of it. BUT, then I saw this photo and saw that smile - a smile through which I see happiness coming through that I haven't felt for a while - and I am reassured that I am in the right place. I love it here. I love having an old house to work on. I love having a backyard garden with so much potential. I love keeping and watching those chickens. I love the community and being so close to great small farms that are growing food in sustainable ways. We live next to a mountain - a modest mountain for sure, but it has it's power.
It's done me a lot of good to get my hands in the dirt and me feet in the water and I see it in this photo.
Thanks Monika and Terrence.
