"Visiting Mountains" by Ted Kooser

The Tetons and the Snake River, Ansel Adams, 1942

The plains ignore us,

but these mountains listen,

an audience of thousands

holding its breath

in each rock. Climbing,

we pick our way

over the skulls of small talk.

On the prairies below us,

the grass leans this way and that

in discussion;

words fly away like corn shucks

over the fields.

Here, lost in a mountain’s

attention, there’s nothing to say.

"Visiting Mountains" by Ted Kooser from Flying at Night. © University of Pittsburgh Press, 1985.

Happy Birthday, Ansel

It's the birthday of photographer Ansel Adams, born 1920, died 1984.

He said, "I hesitate to define just what the qualities of a true wilderness experience are. Like music and art, wilderness can be defined only on its own terms. The less talk, the better."

Yes. Just look. And see.

 The Tetons and the Snake River, 1942

Clearing Winter Storm, Yosemite National Park, 1937 

Evening, McDonald Lake, Glacier National Park, 1942

Moon and Half Dome, Yosemite National Park, 1963 

Aspens, Dawn, Dolores River Canyon, Colorado, 1937

Treat

Bull Elk Crossing Snake River at Oxbow in Tetons from Mike C. on Vimeo.