|
StillWater Woods
|
|
Raised as a young man in Vermont attracted my interest to the views of the rolling hills, country back roads and flowing streams. Around eight or nine years of age, I started exploring the geography within a 2 or 3 mile radius of my home in the countryside. I would collect stones, odd pieces of wood, or whatever I thought was interesting. I always wondered what was over the next hill, usually climbing a tree for a better vision if I dared not to venture any further. As I grew older, I lost this fear and traveled as far as I could in one day, of course, coming home exhausted. Once I turned sixteen and obtained a driver’s license, I was allowed to explore vast areas via back country roads. I would stop at interesting streams, apple orchards gone wild and maple tree stands of forest for a new exploration, all of the time watching for deer, woodchucks, partridge, hawks, squirrels and whatever else I would happen upon or would cross my path.
I have many nature experiences and adventures to share although, I will keep this portion of my life brief to not bore the reader.
After a stint in the Army and then onto a place a tad bit warmer than Vermont; I moved to Florida, where my time was spent raising a family. With less time to spend with nature, I decided with Florida being a wonderland of water, I would purchase a boat and the family could share in the exploration of this new world. From the coral reefs of the keys, the shell beaches of Sanibel Island to the St. Johns River and its many tributaries leading to crystal clear waters of the extraordinary natural springs churning out pre-historic fossils bones and shark’s teeth. Often, although not often enough, I would venture out alone in a smaller boat to view the bountiful wildlife and scenery. I, especially, remember a scene of a lone Cypress tree in the background of small water channels with pockets of cattails, at pre-dawn and the hundreds of birds flying through this scene. This is a bird watcher’s paradise and the birdwatchers do come; focusing in on eagles, hawks, ospreys, ducks, herons, kingfishers, and of course, the awesome alligator lurking in the water’s shallows.
With the children now gone and experiencing their own adventures of life, I ventured to California, where it seemed as though there were many types of geography to explore. And I did explore! From the highest mountain in the contiguous U.S. to the lowest elevation in the U.S. in Death Valley within fifty or so miles of each other, to the coastal cliffs and mountains of Big Sur to the high and low desserts. Interestingly, the Mojave Desert extends into the Southern British Colombia of Canada and the lower Colorado Desert south into Mexico. My wife and I hiked hundreds of miles in the Sierra Nevada mountains and the mountains of Southern California enjoying some of the best scenery the eyes can behold.
All in all, one can not choose a “most beautiful place” as they are all beautiful in their own way and cannot be compared to each other.
I do have my favorite trees, however, the Sugar Maple of New England, the massive old Magnolias of Florida and the Manzanita tree of California.
This brings me to a time in my life where aging bones and tired muscles restrict my adventures into the wild, so I started working with my collections of stones and woods, crafting necklaces with my polished stones, wooden lamps, and other items from my Manzanita stock pile, knives, wood bowls and deer antler pieces.
I, just, cannot stop my pursuit of being one with nature and probably never will. After a few years of giving my crafts away to friends and family, I decided to try and offset some of my expenses with this web site. I hope you enjoy my work as much as I have enjoyed creating my expressions of nature.
“True art is from the mind, the eye and the hand.”
Gary Bolduc
Website Note: This User has Basic Membership Account. So you wont be able to purchase or view details of any items below. Furthermore the images will also not be 100% visible for Basic membership accounts.
|
| No Product Found! |
|
|
|
|
|
|
){kind=small}
){kind=small}