"I prefer winter and fall when you feel the bone structure of the landscape—the loneliness of it, the dead feeling of winter. Something waits beneath it, the whole story doesn't show." ~ Andrew Wyeth
I chose this quote by the painter Andrew Wyeth, because he wrote something waits beneathit. In my art and writing, I often speak about "unexpected" surprises, gifts that bring delight joy, and spark an idea.
One day, a few years ago, we went for a winter hike around Mauth Lake in the Northern Unit of the Kettle Moraine in Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin. I took my time taking note of subtle shades of gray, from frosty silver to graphite to slate blues. Bright spots of color were dotted on the frozen lake from ice fisherman near their shanties, colorful orange hats, and red tip-up flags.
The trail was lined with spindly stems carrying the weight of dried seed pods filled with snow. Moisture from the fog had settled into water droplets, which froze on bare red twig dogwood and were suspended like crystal beads.
Then, still lagging, I walked into a White Cedar Forest, primeval and uprooted from the bog as if released from their footing. Ancient roots were knitted tighter together as if crocheted with intertwined yarns to hold the trees upright.
But… Something waited for me quite unexpectedly up ahead.
Small Christmas balls were randomly hung from thin branches, and suspended drops of moisture were collected on their strings. I imagined it was as if the droplets had formed the crystallized glass orbs sparsely scattered along the path. It was joyful! Beautiful, almost magical, they fit into the landscape as if meant to be a part of the woods.
Someone had taken the time to place them in surprising places, which could have easily gone unnoticed. I wondered if my companions had noticed they were there as they quickly blazed a trail ahead of me.
I want to thank that person for their creative and careful selection of ornaments frozen into the landscape, which brought joy to my walk that day.
It was an unexpected gift!
Please let me know if you have encountered an unexpected gift that brought you joy.
