A Segment of the Rainbow

December 31, 2011
New Year's Eve

Little did I realize that the end of my previous blog, "See You in 2012" would almost be true -- the past three weeks have been a whirlwind. The workdays are longer, and the natural days are shorter. Time to get outside, and to journalize, has been at a premium, but tonight, on this last evening of the year, there's a moment to sit and reflect on the past year, and contemplate the future. 
In 2011, I spent many happy hours outdoors -- walking old trails, exploring new places, spending time rambling with kindred souls. Hours spent enjoying the many gifts that Nature bestows on us which such seeming abandon. I am grateful for all these things.
Of course, all I can do is offer some some photgraphic bits and pieces, mere glimpses into the past year.
And as for words -- once again, I leave them to Mr. Thoreau:

If the day and night are such
that you greet them with joy,
and life emits a fragrance like flowers and sweet-scented herbs,
is more elastic, more starry, more immortal, ...
That is your success.
All nature is your congratulation,
and you have cause momentarily to bless yourself.
The greatest gains and values
are farthest from being appreciated.
We easily come to doubt if they exist.
We soon forget them.
They are the highest reality. ...
The true harvest of my daily life
is somewhat as intangible and indescribable
as the tints of morning or evening.
It is a little star-dust caught,
a segment of the rainbow which I have clutched.
   Walden, “Higher Laws”