I have been invited by Terry of Through the Lens of My Life to participate in a Five Day Challenge. Each day, I will post a photo and write a story to go along with it. (I probably will interpret the term ‘story’ quite loosely. I do that.) I will also invite one person each day to take up this challenge on his/her blog.
Today’s story is called “Behind the Pine Curtain”:
Far to the North, deep in the taiga, things are different. The anthropocentric domination disappears; the caribou and the gray wolf roam freely. Seasons, not schedules, set the pace of life: snowfall creates quiet, thaw invites growth and activity. The wind whispers and howls, carrying the voices of ravens, golden eagles and coyotes over wireless stretches connected only by a network of fresh air. Pathways through the boreal forest are deeply rutted by cloven hoofs and claws; these are the tread marks of travel. Trade and currency are exchanged in life and death, who eats, and who goes hungry through the night. There are no agencies or systems to correct these interactions between inhabitants; none are needed. Let no revolution disturb this country, no liberation infiltrate its borders. Let it be wild and perpetuate its own freedom.
— Next, I invite you to visit Kaye at Rebooting. She’s one of my newer blog friends, and I think she’d be up for a Challenge. She’s a hoot, in my opinion: British and cheeky and very entertaining. Cheers!
© 2015, essay and photographs, Priscilla Galasso, All rights reserved
scillagrace 
This is a very intriguing photo. The light seeping through makes you wonder what’s beyond. Then the story satisfies the curiosity that’s been stirred. I love the exchange between your photo and words!
Thank you, Terry. I revisited this tree this morning; it’s actually in the Univ. of Wisc. Madison Arboretum. The photo was taken in July, but the story is actually a winter image. I’m finding it very interesting to observe my brain making connections between actual photos I took and ideas that populate my gray matter!
You’re welcome! It is interesting to let the mind wander and let a photo take on a life of its own beyond the narrative that’s created by the actual taking of the shot.
Exactly!