Today is my day off, Saturday. On this rare day off, I usually make a point to take my dog and my camera where ever sparks my interest that day. Today I began my drive hoping to end up at a hidden reservoir in Wolcott that my father had told me about yesterday evening. He used to go fishing there and told me the general location, where I should park, but when I got there I was at a loss. I followed a trail that quickly turned into a wide ATV trail. I loosely followed a small stream, which I thought might lead to the reservoir. After following the trail and attempting to figure out where it was, I ended up near a horse farm, “Private Property”.
I turned back. It wasn’t a major disappointment because hey, I was out in the snowy woods on a nice day with my dog, Brixton. Intrigued by animal tracks and small snow crystals shimmering in the light. Brixton was having a blast too, running around sniffing evidence of wildlife. Our decent down the trail felt inconclusive. I never really go out with expectations, but fit still would have been nice to find this body of water.
I crossed the bridge of the stream where I had left my cup of New England Coffee (from Deb’s Place in Morrisville) cup on a log, deciding to take a few photos of it since it was right there. Brixton walked over and licked the lid and knocking it over, so I ran to grab it and went on. For a brief moment I thought to follow the stream and see where it led, but I felt it was time to move on and keep driving.
We made it back to my Subaru and I drove on with a brook in mind. Going through the town, I turned onto School Street and ascended up the eventual hill. There were a good deal of nice homes up here, with views of the distant hills extending to Belvedere. This road ended up bringing me to a sign with and arrow saying “To Elmore.” I decided to take this direction, with thoughts of lake reflections on this mild winter day.
This ended up leading to a dirt road that I had been on during a previous photo drive one evening. This particular section of the road offered views of Mt. Elmore and its fire tower, as well as a red barn with trees lined ahead of it. The scene was a complete change from the last time I saw it, so I stopped for some photos.
From here I headed back home, east on Route 12. I was getting closer to Mt. Elmore. I could see the detail of the snowy trees and the tower standing tall in the sunlight. The light cast on the barren white deciduous branches in contrast with the dark evergreens drew me to turn onto Elmore Mtn. Road and pull over. I was able to take one photo before the light immediately change and the mountain turned dull. I was patient and waited for more sunlight, as the dispersed clouds were moving along. A truck (Toyota Tundra possibly) drove by as I snapped a photo, which was unfortunate. Once I looked at the result though, I was content with the result. The mountain in the background with the blurred truck taken over the bottom half of the image made for a unique look.
art.of.a.rock 