magic in the fells

 Whenever I get together with Eva there’s magic.  Something about her awareness, her ability to soak in beauty and express joy makes Eva radiate magic.  I’ve never had a bad time with her.  Maybe it’s that we always plan to be together in our favorite, most beautiful places.  It’s so soul satisfying to be with someone who loves what you do.  Eva loves all that I love with 10 times more passion.  She just radiates light.

Anyway, so yesterday was forecasted to be beautiful.  Whenever I see an unusually beautiful day coming up I try to get together with Eva.  She was game to come down our way so that I could take her to my favorite spot in the Fells (a giant patch of conservation land near us where I often run).

This place was ablaze with autumn light and color.  We, both with our cameras in hand, drunk it all in. 

I’ll let the pictures try to share with you how beautiful the day was.   Too bad they can’t capture the warm fall breeze, the smell of fallen leaves, the crunch of them underfoot.  (of course, since we both love photography….there were a lot of pictures happening) I love her little Skye.  She’s quite a bit younger than Hazel, but they love exploring together.  All of Eva’s kids are full of curiosity and childhood wonder.  She home schools them in the most full of life way you could imagine.  Peter raced around those trails with his tongue hanging out like a happy dog.  Thankfully Eva’s boys were happy to race him…..I couldn’t keep up. There were these florescent ferns, going out toward winter in a blaze of color.    Lots of rock throwing and investigating.  I love how Eva’s shirt matched the ferns.    And then we walked into the magical woods.  It’s like Narnia in there.   

Here’s Hazel’s I feel alive pose.  Maybe my most favorite shot of it ever. Eva and I sat here on the cushiony pine floor and talked about all kinds of ideas and new things as the kids made little lean to shelters.  They wanted to stay all day.  We all did……in a place like that you start to feel like time should just pause for a long time until you have time to inhale it all.   Hazel was up for taking pictures yesterday (which I’m always happy to take advantage of, since it doesn’t happen all the time).  Isn’t she getting so big?  And whenever I get the camera out for Peter he insists on whacking something or making some kind of tough guy face.  We had our little budding photographer Hazel take a picture of us before we headed back into the real world.  After being with Eva I’m always reminded that there’s beauty in slowing down and taking it all in, but there’s also beauty in the real world.  You just have to train your eyes to see it.  Check out her beautiful fine art photography here.