Shadows

Posted on by Rebecca Wallick

There are two types of shadows.

There are the figurative shadows that are meant to control people by casting fear, disharmony, and darkness: war; disinformation; control; violence.

Then there are the literal shadows of nature that mix with sunlight to tickle the eye and elevate one’s mood.

Nature’s shadows remind us that defiance can take the form of being resilient, finding beauty and grace in nature while refusing to succumb to the dark evil of the figurative shadows.

I wish the literal shadows could cover, absorb, erase the figurative ones.

But they can’t. So, to calm my anger toward and frustration with world events over which I have no control but make my heart ache, I spend time with my dogs in nature. How incredibly lucky am I, to have that ability?

These photos were taken this afternoon, as the sun was slowly dropping toward the horizon, casting long, intriguing shadows across the pristine, newly-fallen snow. When my own shadow kept intruding in the frame, I started focusing on all the shadows on the landscape. I share them here with the feeble hope they provide a small respite from the long, dark, man-made shadows being cast these troubling, horrifying days.

I want peace. I want angry, old men to stop waging war to feed their egos, then disappear.

dog in snow-covered field
Letting Conall choose our path.
shadows of tree and photographer against the snow
Tree shadows… and my own. No tracks, yet.
shadows of dog and photographer against snow
Finn’s shadow beside mine.
dogs crossing snow-covered field with photographer's shadow in foreground
Following our leader, Conall, across the field.
stone bench with snow on top casting shadow against snow
Stone bench, half-covered in snow, still casting a shadow.
tracks across snow-covered field, trees casting shadows, dog in shadows
Conall, a shadow in the shadows as he clears ice from his paws, leading us back the way we came.
shadows of photographer and two dogs against snow
Three long shadows – Finn, me, and Conall.
shadow of two dogs and photographer against a grass-covered hillside in 2008
A similar photo, taken in December 2008
with my Alaskan Malamutes Maia and Meadow.
tree shadows on snow-covered field with dog and snowshoe tracks
Later, retracing out steps, our meandering path through the field obvious, the tree shadows have lengthened.
tree shadows across a snow-covered path through the woods
Through a wooded section, the trees are thick and cast fat shadows.
dog on track through snow, trees and clouds in shadow
The clouds are shadowed while the trees cast their own long shadows against the snow-covered field as Conall leads me and Finn home along the track we set on the way out.
trees casting shadows on windblown snow
Shadows through the trees highlight the windblown shapes in the snow.
tree branch shadows against snow
“Stick season” – when the deciduous trees have no leaves – offers its own beauty as the sun filters through tree and shrub branches, casting longs shadows against the glittering white snow. I love winter.

Published by Rebecca Wallick

I delight in exploring the national forest near my Idaho home on foot, whether trail running, hiking, or xc skiing, with my two dogs by my side, taking photos of nature and wildlife. An author and freelance writer, I love observing and writing about the natural world, and dogs, and am a long-time contributing editor at Bark magazine. I used to practice law for a living. I much prefer the writing life.

16 thoughts on “Shadows”

  1. Bear, Teddy and I are doing the same for the same reason. Yesterday Bear and I met some lovely crane tourists who were here doing exactly the same thing and in a quiet, rather cryptic way we shared about it. ❤

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  6. Thanks for sharing those lovely photos, and for the reminder of how lucky we are that we can enjoy a peaceful walk in nature when so many in the world are suffering. My heart feels like it’s been stomped on lately, and I’ve had the same thoughts as you about angry old men making war…it’s horrific.

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