I heard a talk last night about “the muse.” One of the recommendations suggested the importance of changing scenery to evoke the creative spirit. While I love the implication simply because I love change in general, I believe the urge to create can be inspired by viewing the same familiar scene in a new way. I remember living in the Eagle River Valley and gazing across to snow covered peaks. I never tired of the view. The shifting shadows with the movement of the sun across the sky, the colors changing with the seasons, the melting snow revealing different patterns, clouds: all combined to make it a new and different scene every day. Now in Western Washington, my view includes distant snow covered mountains, islands, farmland, tides, trees, wildlife and, of course, clouds. I stare out my window and perceive small changes, or things I never noticed before. It’s always new. How can I ever plumb the depths of one particular scene?

contrail