A New Year Ahead

Another year has come, and new roads and horizons loom in the soft blue horizons ahead. Silver winter skies and a steady cold drizzle bring another New Year to the small town of Saluda, twinkling lights crossing over the railroad bridge toward town's charming old buildings. New Year's Day, I drive along a quiet mountain road, winding my way over to a lake for brunch. There's no traffic at all on my tail, so I don't feel any guilt over driving slow, looking at moss, branches, vines, mistletoe clumps growing up high, an occasional empty hornet's nest dangling... the creek rushing along the roadside over rocks and fallen trees. It's peaceful, and I enjoy the solitude of the drive and time to think about the New Year and life. After a delightful brunch, I take another scenic slow wind home through the Green River cove. This drive is even slower, and the majestic river is devoid of tubes, kayaks, and people today. Wild turkeys stroll through fields and roadside, their dark iridescent feathers quietly shimmering in the haze. I like that, how quiet it is, the crowds of summer gone: the river both fierce and peaceful. I recognize spots from my tubing adventures one summer, and remember the rocks and rapids, the sand bars, the tree roots, the rock walls looming at the roughest parts. On the ascent home, I hit switchbacks, my humble Volkswagen was made for this...she swings hard around those hairpin curves, delighted to climb up, up, up. Through the trees, silent mist hangs low over the sea of mountains, it's a winter day, the first of a whole new year. Like the twists and turns of the winding road, life has swung me hard back and forth along those curves, yet like the old VW, I keep hanging through them, determined to make it up. Metaphors seem to find my thoughts, that twisting drive very much like life indeed...and the view along the way worth it all. * Note cards available from this painting