Silence of Snow and Tenacity of Trees

413
119
34
23
295
712...

....these are numbers of the rooms, cabins, apartments we have occupied in the last six days. So many sights, sounds, tastes have washed over my senses - it will take months to digest. But then that is why one travels - to stock up on inspiring memories for the months of routine, daily living that awaits the traveller at home. While I'm writing this, I can hear a San Francisco streetcar rumbling past down on Powell Street. It is a quiet night. And it is in these small moments that memories are made.

Our road trip is epic. I have experienced what feels like 3 months in only six days. And we have a couple more to go. I have learnt how, silently, softly and persistently, snowflakes can transform their environment into beautiful sculptural shapes that reflect light.

I have seen how giant redwoods become hosts for the growth of new "sky" trees right on their time-worn branches. The old ones providing direct nourishment from these branches so that it isn't necessary for the new ones to take root in the earth.

There is much wisdom to be taken from trees and from snowflakes...
I am silent and deeply grateful.