In response to The Daily Post’s writing prompt: “Lookin’ Out My Back Door.”

If if you were standing beside me looking out my back door right now, this is what you would see. A vibrant blue sky, clear except for a few wispy white clouds. Just below that, well above the horizon a few miles away, a tall mountain topped with a rounded peak. Not jagged but worn with time, browned and weathered by sun and wind. Crumbled by snow and rain. Barren it seems. Coming down the mountain you would see clusters of green. My binoculars held to your eyes would show trees. Of uncertain height. Below that, like layers of a cake, a forest of rich greens, dark and light. Pine trees, poplar and birch. Each adding to the shades of green. Then, the lake. Breathtaking in its blue reflection of the sky. Flat and still, like mercury on a plate. Deep over there, deep blue. Shallow over there, greener. Ripples skip across the water, seemingly dancing with the trees in the breeze.

If you were standing beside me looking out my back door, you would take a deep breath of clear, fresh air and sigh. A sigh of wonder. A sigh filled with sun, sparkles on the water, dancing clouds, high mountains and life.

If you were standing beside me at my back door, your eyes would move across the lake slowly. Look! A heron swooping past, still wings like a blue glider. Closer now, a kayaker paddles along the shore, cutting through the water leaving a sharp rippling wake. The wake blurs back into nothingness as we watch.

In front of you there is a tall pine tree. Very tall. With a wide, red bark trunk. Needles blanket the ground at its base. It towers over us. Green grass struggles in its shadow to be green. Look closer and you will see the soil, powdery with the heat we are experiencing. Everything is dry. Closer still, at your feet are the three rock steps. Laid decades ago, covered with moss, brown right now. But come rain it will swell with the moisture into a deep green carpet.

If you were standing beside me looking out my back door, you would smile. A soft, contented smile. If you were standing beside me at my back door.

Categories: Photography