So Long, Ashburnham

Before my mother and step-father moved away from Ashburnham a couple of years ago, I asked Erik and Craig to take a walk with me in the woods behind the house.

I took several photos of the guys carrying the basket of moss they collected for Mom.

I realized while I was snapping away that these photos would only flatten the experience of walking in these woods. I wasn't going to capture the feelings that I get from this place.

I used to wander around back there when I wanted to be alone. When I'd get to the road in the field beyond the woods, I would feel this peace and quiet that I couldn't get anywhere else. I wasn't just a few hundred yards away from home; I was on the other side of the world.

Video could record sounds and maybe give a better sense of the space and distance. But, later, it would still only provide a memory, not the sensation that only being in a place can give you. For me, that sensation was being as far away from the rest of the world as I could be.

See all the photos in the Ashburnham :: March 2006 album.

Comments

[Erik]

Very nice post. Thanks for taking me to your special place! Too bad Pinnacle mountain is tougher to get to and has all that graffiti and broken glass, otherwise I'm sure it'd be a place like your big Ashburnham backyard. ;)