grass from last summer

a favorite teacher once told me, when you get stuck, change the scale.  at the time, this referred to architectural drawings.  now i realize this lesson applies to much more.  

feeling trapped in the perpetual "snowy horizon" blip series, i decided to change the scale.  today i headed up the mountain - an opportunity to get some perspective.  our mountain has great views and beautiful nature details.  shortly after i got on the trail, it started to snow.  luckily, someone had broken trail earlier in the day.  as the snow came down harder, i was glad to have footsteps to follow.  i passed through the last stretch of beech trees before the summit.  and the fog rolled in.  

long views now out of the question, i looked to the details of lichens and bark.  about the third time i left the trail and sank into snow over my knees, i realized the small view wasn't going to work out either.  

so i stood at the top of the mountain, stared off into the fog where my view should have been, and noticed a narrow strip of grass.  grass!  grass from last summer.  in a world of grey and white, this color was so welcome.  i debated in my mind.  could i leave the trail and make it to the edge of the rocks where the grass grew?  the sun was heading down and i could only imagine being stuck up to my waist in a snow drift on top of a deserted mountain, wondering when someone might realize i hadn't shown up for dinner.  okay - that's being a bit dramatic.  but yes - i decided not to break trail over to the edge and instead took the "snowy horizon" shot that we all know i truly love.