Having lived in the city for most of my adult life, I’m still pretty fascinated by my relatively new, wooded surroundings.  The house I share with my fiance, his two kids (his in the sense that I did not biologically create them – but I love them like they’re my own!), and our two hilarious cats is in the middle of a 6 acre wooded property, which is in the middle of what seems to be a larger wooded property with some farms and roads thrown in periodically. In the city, the closest I found myself to nature was often a brief interaction with my houseplants – here, it’s inescapable. Nature is everywhere – and aside from the countless trees and plants, we have a very large flock of wild turkeys, deer, squirrels, chipmunks, rabbits, birds, possum, skunks, and at least two large and particularly bold groundhogs, among other things living on our property.  Needless to say, it is both endlessly entertaining and endlessly beautiful here.

For my Artist’s Date this past week, I took a few hours and wandered around our property (yes, it’s large enough that you can wander for hours).  It was early in the morning and one of the sunnier, warmer days we’ve had in the past couple of weeks. The air was fresh, everything was wet and very much alive, and as I snapped photos for later reference in potential art pieces, I couldn’t help but feel very calm, connected, and refreshed. Everything an Artist’s Date is supposed to be.

Here are a few of the pictures I took. Continue reading →