Oxbow reflections

I spent my early summers in the Adirondack Mountains of upstate New York, where I fell in love with nature. I climbed all the 46 high peaks there in my childhood and teens, enjoying the vast forests where I could camp alone and not see anyone for days. With over 6 million acres it is a true wilderness, and a complex model of wildlife protection since roughly half is privately owned property interspersed with state land.
Since moving to the southeast I don’t have much chance to visit, but will share this photo taken in summer several years ago for Instagram’s Throwback Thursday. This was shot at The Wild Center, an 81-acre museum including both indoor exhibits on Adirondack history and biology, and a variety of trails. This is a view of the oxbow on the Raquette River, formed when part of the river was isolated. Reflections of summer clouds are framed by water lilies and other aquatic plants in the foreground, and undulating tree reflections beyond. Though I haven’t returned to the Adirondacks in a few years, I carry this love of all things wild to the new woods and waters I explore. This photo gives me a chance to reflect, literally and figuratively, on the importance of nature in my life.