It's been so long since I've posted to this poor neglected blog. Last year the plan was to revamp and change the focus beyond photography to something more comprehensive and more representative of my interests. So let's do it! It's never to late to be what you want to become, somebody once said.

So now in addition to photography, this blog will also be concerned with:
A. Landscape Architecture, (I'm starting my Master's Program at Temple Ambler this fall)
B. Hiking, of course!
C. Not to be cliched and band wagoney, but sustainable practices (i.e. my wife and I want to go into part time organic farming, and raise chickens and bees and goats and rabbits!)
D. Whatever else comes to mind!

As I embark upon Landscape Architecture, (I started taking classes this Spring - one online about the history of landscape architecture, a directed studies in horticulture about woody plant propagation, and one seminar last January about trees in the urban landscape, which totally turned me onto tree identification, so much so, that now I carry not one but three identification books with me when I hike: Peterson's Guide to Eastern Trees, Peterson's Guide to Eastern Forests, and The Urban Tree Book by Arthur Plotnik, all great guide books to have around.) I'm becoming more and more aware of the disconnect between us and the land around us. It's what I noticed when I hiked the Appalachian Trail in 2005-6. It was so refreshing to feel that connection, that I've been seeking a way to do so in everyday life ever since. I believe that landscape architecture will let me do that. I'll be able to design landscapes that reconnect us to the land and allow us to feel that sense of place that has been lost in our technological world. Maybe some of the sense of community and spirituality that I see missing too.

The funny thing is, a lot of people have realized this and written great books about it. I suggest Barbara Kingsolver's Animal, Vegetable, Miracle which I just started reading and my wife's been telling me to read for at least the last year; also Theory in Landscape Architecture has some great pieces by leaders in the field from the last 50 years for those whole really want an in depth perspective; and Everything I Want to Do Is Illegal by Joel Salatin which I also just started leafing through yesterday, about the challenges of small farming.

On my hike yesterday, I took my two year old black Lab, Lily, up to the AT at the PA 325 crossing and hiked 2.8 miles up to the junction with the western terminus of the Horseshoe Trail. Along the way I broke out the field guides and identified Chestnut Oak and Striped Maple and I think some Elm, although I'm not sure because the leaves are still coming in. I took pictures and collected specimens to use in the plant propagation program at Temple. It was a great day and a great feeling combining so many of my passions into one 5 hour hike.