In the past few months I have made several trips to the lower mountains of our state. I visited a friend who sold his house, bought twenty acres with a half mile long driveway, and gave up the city lifestyle to enjoy the carefree but rugged life miles from city pleasures.
My wife and I recently visited a man who had retired from hospital administration and searched for a simpler life for retirement. He and his wife built a house on the side of a mountain overlooking the New River. Underground streams actually pass though his home and are pumped out to meander down to the river below.
The view from his porch is breathtaking! Flowers abound throughout the property, carefully placed on the complex terrain as if the landscape was a collection of flowerpots dotting the hillside. I can picture a small group of kayakers drifting by or the lone fly fisherman wading as he scouts an unsuspecting trout. The New River is very scenic and historic.
We didn’t want to leave our newfound mountain oasis. As we soaked up the refreshing atmosphere of these out of the way habitats, we were reminded that life can be less complicated and we can relax and enjoy the creation that was provided for us.
Our glimpse of the New River would have been greatly improved by a different time and season. A little photoshop helps us imagine the splendor of a painter’s dream.
Light and shadows dance along the side of this rustic mountain cabin.
A forgotten table becomes a throne for a purple Dalhia!
A spot to sit and enjoy the smooth breeze coming through the slats of the porch.
A ceramic pot awaits some hand-picked berries in the spring.
A rock and a flower. A man and a woman.
And finally, a room with a view.
copyright 2012 Jim Lockman/Click!
The Photographist 