The Clearing

This is a photo of the cabin I mentioned when we were talking about places that leave you with strong, strong memory images.

It was on the grounds of Jens Jensen's estate, called The Clearing. He was a famous landscape architect whose ideas were organic, avant guard for the day, and very nature oriented. 

The cabin is built into a cliff somewhere out along a path on the grounds. You can see the cliff wall on the right of the photograph. The windows an the left have a view that falls away down the cliff into a fairly distant valley. 

It would be romantic if there was a body of water in the distance also but I do not remember that detail. 

On the day we were there with our friends Chuck and John, it was cold and began to snow. We had brought some wine and cheese, ended up at the cabin, built a fire and just "disappeared into the experience.

Based on the image, I wrote a poem about the experience:

The Clearing: A Poem in Four Acts and an Epilogue - 2008

Act One:

The log cabin.

Down a steep, narrow, forested path - snuggled into the side of a cliff.

Act Two: 

The stone fireplace

By the hearth - a used candle, a box of matches, a few partially burned logs.

Act Three:

The picnic lunch

On the hand-hewn table with tree branch legs - wine, cheese, a baguette, some fruit.

Act Four:

The winter view

Out the window - the beginning of a snowstorm, the view falling away to a distant valley. 

Epilogue:

The cabin. 

The fireplace. 

The lunch. 

The view. 

We disappear into the experience.