Well, it’s almost Christmas and Winter Solstice is only a few days away. Kind of reminds me of a Dar Williams song, “Christians and the Pagans”. (Give it a listen) There’s a line in that song, “And you find magic from your God, and we find magic everywhere, ”
I’m a pagan at heart, it’s nearly Winter Solstice, and I do find magic everywhere, especially in the natural world. So here are a few of the places and things I find magical.
Mountains
I’ve always been a mountain girl, and it’s not only the big peaks that are magical. I’m in love with the alpine, the land above treeline. Not just the big views, either, but every little detail. Especially the little details. There’s another Lilliputian world there if you look closely, and it’s a magical place.
.I used to play a game with my visitors when I did Discovery Hikes as a ranger in Denali. I would give them circles of string, about six inches in diameter, and have them enclose a patch of alpine tundra. I would ask them to count all the living species they could find in their circle. Then I would hand out magnifying glasses and have them count again. They always found more the second time around, with that closer look!
Water
Water is life. Literally. Without water, there is no life. It’s a magical substance. And there’s this weird thing that happens occasionally when I photograph waterfalls. Although I don’t see it when I’m making the shot, I will sometimes find a face in the photo (the spirit of the waterfall?) when I open it up to process. That’s what happened in this image. Can you see the face? It’s magical.
Trees
There are a lot of magical trees out there. Have you ever meditated with a redwood? Or wandered through the fairyland of a temperate rainforest, like you might find in the Pacific Northwest?
One of the most magical kinds of forests I’ve ever seen are the Madrone/Manzanita woodlands of Oregon’s Siskiyou Mountains, with trees that look like women, decorated with delicate lichens and moss. Magical.
Tidepools
Tide pools are magical places. Especially to me. I’ve been on a mission to find good tide pools, and I’m not always successful. Timing is everything. If you don’t have a real low tide, forget it. But I got lucky last spring, twice; once at Bandon, my favorite spot on the whole Oregon Coast, and then at Cape Perpetua. I scored an awesome campsite with great wildflowers at Cape Perpetua, too.
One of the most miraculous discoveries in my successful tidepooling this spring was that sea stars are coming back! Decimated by sea star wasting disease, it’s been years since there was a healthy starfish population anywhere on the Pacific Coast, but there were a lot of them in Oregon this spring. Brings joy to my heart
Desert
Arches and natural bridges are pretty magical, too. I listed them under desert to go with my photo, but you can also find them on the coast, products of erosion, sculpted by the waves. In the desert it’s the wind doing the carving for an arch, and water for the natural bridges.
These nature sculptures are ephemeral. beings. You never know how long they will last. The arch in this photo, Shakespeare Arch, is already gone, collapsing a couple of years ago. I’m glad I saw it when I did because it was a beauty, now gone forever.
Another magical product of erosion are slot canyons. All canyons are magical, never knowing but eagerly anticipating what’s around the next bend as you hike up one. Slots just bring the excitement up a notch, with the beauty of their polished walls and the way they have of drawing you in, deeper and deeper.
A good wildflower season in the desert is definitely magical. To see a landscape that is pretty bleak most of the time, nothing but dirt and rocks, transform into a veritable garden of delight, completely drenched with flowers – well, it’s got to be seen to be believed. Maybe we’ll get lucky this year. Fingers crossed.
Home
Last, but not least, I live in a magical place. When I first came to McCarthy, I felt like I’d discovered Never Never Land. It was a place where you never had to grow up, unique, like nowhere else in the world. That was before social media, before McCarthy was discovered by the rest of the world.
Perhaps it’s not quite so magical now, now that it is on the map. With Instagram, there are no longer any best kept secret magical places. But I’ll bet it’s still pretty magic to people who have never been there before, who are freshly discovering it. And after all, it’s the people who play the largest part in making any place magical, and McCarthy is still filled with amazing, kind, beautiful people, people who keep the magic alive.
Thanks to Ann-Christine of Leya for this week’s Lens-Artist’s Photography Challenge, Magical.
I’m a Pagan at heart too Rambling Ranger. Nature is my deity. Love the blogs. Keep up the good work.
Thanks, Jimmy! Appreciate the support.
Nature truly is the most magical of places Dianne. Your images this week have proven it beyond a doubt. The news (and your image) of the revival of the starfish is wonderful. Especially loved the slot canyon images.
Thanks, Tina!
Always magical images from you, Dianne – always look forward to your treasures. This post is no exception – and now you name it the way I would do – Magical. You made me smile with the news of the starfish, and my heart leapt. This is the kind of news that brings some hope for our planet. Tiny progress, but hope! Loved your wildflowers and the canyons – and I can see the face by the waterfall. My favourite is the Sea stars still – they look like the most precious jewellery. Thank you for participating – much appreciated.
Thanks, Ann-Christine! Great topic! Interesting you calling the sea stars precious jewelry – I liked the rich tones I was able to bring out out in processing so much I saved it as a preset, naming it “Sea Star Jewel Tones”!
What a wonderful affirmative post! I can relate to all your magical places, they all lift the spirits and warm the heart 🙂 Your comment about seeing faces in your waterfall photos reminded me of my Icelandic friend who firmly believes in the small people that inhabit the land and who often shares photos of waterfalls with faces and even whole bodies in the rocks around them.
Thanks, Sarah! I first noticed them when I spent a winter in Hawaii and the spirits kept popping out in my photos. It was uncanny. I firmly believe they are there. There is far more to God than our Western belief system will admit.
Each scene is such an invitation! What a beautiful series of special places!
Thank you, Carol! I’m so glad you liked them!
Was Talking with Friends yesterday about the magic of Bandon Oregon. Where are you now?
I’m still in Tijeras, New Mexico. I’ll be here until January 1. Then I have 3 housesits lined up; a long weekend housesit in Socorro (close to Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, sandhill cranes and thousands of snow geese), then 2 weeks in Madrid, New Mexico. Madrid is a former ghost town turned artist’s colony, cool little town, a little like McCarthy, dirt back streets and all, very cool bar with live music that I will be able to walk to. It was the first ghost town I ever visited, back when I was 6 or 7, and made an indelible impression on me. Then 5 days in Carlsbad. I’ve never been in that part of New Mexico before, want to see the caverns and hopefully connect with John and Maya at Guadalupe Mountains NP. After that, wandering west for the wildflowers.