“Art is the window to man’s soul. Without it, he would never be able to see beyond his immediate world; nor could the world see the man within.”  ~ Lady Bird Johnson

A consistent theme of “times gone by” pervades my thinking when visiting the Smokies.  This is partially because the area reminds me so much of my childhood growing up in hilly middle Tennessee.  The rolling hillsides and natural forests were, and are, beautiful.  They remind me of my early years when life moved slowly and was more contemplative.  Sounds of streams relax the mind.  Birds tweeting (the old fashion type of “tweeting”) and the wind blowing through the majestic oak trees yield to nothing or no one.  These trigger feelings that clearly represent “home” to me.

Another reminder of times past are the old structures throughout Cades Cove.  This cabin window not only had an artistic, ethereal look that attracted me to photograph it, but it was also reminiscent of dad’s old wood shop behind our house.  And his good friend Roger Bouldin’s hand built rustic cabin where he kept what seemed like an unimaginable number of antiques and relics.  And his friend Luther Anderson’s old barn.  And dad’s building down the hill in the hollow which housed his dog pens for his beloved hunting beagles.  And our neighbor Freddie Roth’s barn, flanked by a couple of pine trees and adjacent to his garden.  It always had a couple of old rustic tractors that either did not run or, at a minimum, needed a good bit of work.

I didn’t recognize or fully appreciate the fabric and textures of my environs while growing up, but now memories of them run incredibly rich and deep.

Cabin Window - Cades Cove, Great Smoky Mountains National Park

5D MkII, 50mm f/1.4, 1/5sec @ f/11, ISO 100

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