The Path ahea to the New Year, Assabet River Wildlife Reserve. (c) DE Wolf 2014.

At the very end of December my son and I went for a short hike at the Assabet River Wildlife Reserve. These are the shortest days of the year in the Northeast. Still there is beautiful light to December afternoons, just not a lot of it. And, of course, you’ve got to look for it early, 3:30 to 4:30 pm.  Still the calendar promises that the coming year is on the ascendent. Slowly the days will become longer and eventually warmer, ‘though before the we must pay our dues for mild New England summers.

We came around a bend in the path and saw a golden glow in front of us.  It was a dazzling light that made the pine forest ahead not quite clear. And it demanded to be photographed, with Figure 1* the result. I was immediately reminded of Marco Secchi image that I discussed yesterday, and my discussion of the tabula rasa.  It is the pastel light that summons us forward into the future.

*Canon T2I with EF100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM at 180 mm, ISO 1600, Aperture Priority AE Mode, 1/80th sec at F/7.1 with no exposure compensation. Image taken with IS 1 on a monopod.