Longing for Winter

I love winter.

I am befuddled by the tendency to wish for spring. What would spring be without these long, cold, dark, wistful months? It is easy to overlook the beauty of this season:

Bare bony trees running the edges of the rolling hills and dales.

Cold creeks under stone bridges, their black banks contrasted with patches of white snow.

Even the frigid winds are beautiful, as are the warm, cozy houses when you stomp in out of the cold. It is a time for introspection and creativity. It is full of mystery and death, but its stark beauty warms my heart.

All photos © Chace + Smith Photography

I wrote a song about it today, called Caribou. It is a song about the season, but also about the fear of someday possibly losing winter, either from global warming or my own passing. It is about a longing for winter and normalcy.

Oh, winter, have you left me?

Oh, winter, have you left me?

In the ash black dirt beside this creek

Next to the body of this Caribou

I will lay this body down to sleep

Oh, winter, will you promise me?

Oh, winter, will you promise me?

Will you visit me in my next life?

Will you offer me some good advice?

I can see it in your pale skies

Oh, cold wind

Will I never see your darkest days again?

Will I never hear you silent nights again?

In your gloom I watch my life unfold

I see my courage in your quiet streams

And all the beauty in your deepest snows

(Come again snow, come again snow)

© Larissa Chace Smith, 2/19/09

Someday, maybe I'll share this song with you. Or should I say, The Hello Strangers will.....

Introducing, "Playing Work"

I'd like to introduce you to Chace + Smith Photography's new blog:

"Playing Work"

Here's a snipet about the blog:

Since starting their photography business in 2006, Ryan Smith and Larissa Chace Smith have often described their vocation as "playing work." Particularly when they first started out, and had little money to their name, it truly felt like a pretend job. Now, with surer footing, they can more aptly enjoy "playing work" out of their home in rural Pennsylvania. This blog follows their adventures, projects, processes, stories, and insights as they traverse the precarious world of entrepreneurialism and photography.

Visit their website: www.csphotographs.com

My husband and I are very excited to document our work life and share it with you. I hope you will check it out!