The Quiet Side is that moment when nature offers the best of her day. It can occur most anytime, but tends to spring to life during that transition from daytime to night., when the bigness of the day begins to slow down toward a refreshing calmness. That calmness of spirit moment can be felt, should you allow yourself to do so. It is like no other, and one of the best ways to discover and experience it is to canoe camp.
I am blessed to have a wonderful location nearby where I can partake of such moments. Yes, it is a public area, but large enough to offer room enough to slip away from the public locations and find a secluded spot that offers a great isolated view of the lake. Not only do I enjoy the adventure of paddling my canoe deep into the back areas of the lake, I mostly do so just to experience the quiet side of nature.
So much noise infiltrates our lives we often lose touch with the benefits of getting away so we can fade into the aura. Canoeing provides one of the best opportunities to slip away from all the clutter of life. It is a throwback of sorts where you can truly become one with your craft and one with nature. After a while on the water, stiff muscles loosen and the distance begins to slip away behind you. It becomes easy again to view the world with a more discerning eye, like a Sycamore tree growing out of the sheer rock face of a bluff, or an Osprey hovering then diving for a meal, or maybe the cool spring water leaking from high up the ridge to run across the face of a bluff. A favorite of mine as a photographer is watching summer clouds change their shape as they drift across a sky so blue it looks more like a painting. These are but a few of the kinds of things that you may find while seeking out the quiet side of nature.
Sometimes I'll stop paddling and just drift allowing the day to infiltrate into my soul. I'll lean back to stretch stiff back muscles and allow the sun to warm my spirit. Eventually, I'll find my secluded spot and pull off the lake. In short order I'll setup camp, gather firewood, sort through my gear, take a few photographs, and cook a meal. Oh my...those meals! What could be more rewarding that watching, hearing, and absorbing the aroma of a steak or bacon and eggs cooked on an open fire...I suppose eating them might be.
But mostly, I just relax and wait for the climax of the days quiet side. As always, the sun follows its path toward the horizon and settles deep behind a distant hill. The sky turns reddish orange, glows into a brilliant moment of light, and slowly fades.
Then the stars begin to show themselves. At first just one, then another, and a few more twink their light across the darkening blueness of a evening sky. Before you know it, the sky is filled with diamonds of light.
You toss another log or two onto the campfire, lean back and enjoy the show. The quiet side of nature arrives with a subtle flavor, then...it simply fades into the night.
By morning another flavor of the quiet side presents itself. Sometimes fog greets the morning and that often provides for some fantastic photographs. More importantly, it provides for another example of what the quiet side can offer. In the halflight of morning before the sun fully exposes itself, these foggy events whispers subtle greetings to your day.
It's hard sometimes to decide between capturing photographs before the fog lifts or savoring those sizzling strips of bacon cooking in your skillet. Just another quiet side dilemma I suppose, but...I will enjoy both...eventually.
The Quiet Side. It's a point in time when nature offers the best of herself, and a place in time where we can release ourselves from the clutter and noise of life.
