Burger Hill

Thanksgiving was lovely.  I spent four days in my studio, peppered with visits from friends.  Lots of good warm feelings, great food,  lively company.  It was a weekend where I could say "I really felt the love".

At this point in my life, friends and tradition are hugely important. After seeing death knock on a few doors, I have learned first hand how precious life is, and that things which I have grumbled about in the past, or thought were a disaster, were not worthy of the importance I had given them.   I've grown to become upset about less, and am more thankful than ever for all that I have. And the love.  I really FEEL the love as it pulses with an ebb and flow.

After one of the gatherings with friends, Larry and I stopped at Burger Hill,  off 9G south of Rhinebeck. The sunset colors were promising to be beautiful, the evening air crisp but not cold.   It was a short, but an uphill hike to the edge of the hill, and I walked it at a good pace, hoping to get some exercise after a dense meal.  At the top I experienced a Julie Andrews moment.

The hills WERE alive, with frolicking dogs, people moving about in the tiny houses below, the ever constantly changing light.  I felt HUGE, and at the same time, very tiny  - huge in my connection to the sky and the earth, but then so very small...a little dot standing amidst rolling hills and distant mountains.

It was exhilarating, it recharged my body and my soul.

Who would have known that one of the sweetest views was 25 minutes from my house all these years? I suspect you will find me there again, perhaps with a picnic and a paintbrush. When it's warmer.

Patti