A Shack in the Woods

  Found this at a yard sale recently.It is titled A Shack in the Woods and is a print of a painting by Frank (Franz) Johnston who was a Canadian painter associated with the Group of Seven in the last century.
    Since art is a truly emotional experience whether it is a painting or music I was suddenly overcome by a sense of peace and a sense of nostalgia upon looking at this work.
     I said to myself 'you came upon this exact view many years ago while out on a snowmobile trail miles from here.'
   It was the mid-afternoon of a day in late February I recall. I had broke a trail off the main one to do a bit of exploring and stumbled on to what seemed to be an old logging road.I must have gone about a quarter mile when I saw it.
   I shut my machine off and walked closer. The shack which I imagined to have once seen furs drying on a line in such sunlight that filtered through the tall evergreens was snow covered and near collapse.The old road had no human or machine tracks on its snow just deer and partridge ones.
  Standing in the snow taking all this in and hearing the breeze  rustling in the pines I was overcome with the same feeling that I was not to experience again till I came upon this painting.
      I stood there for an eternity it seemed though it was probably ten minutes. Feeling the cold starting to penetrate my coveralls I turned back to where I had parked.
  It seemed to be almost breaking a covenant to have to start the machine. I manhandled it around to point back the way I had come then fired it up and as quietly as I could manage I rode back to reality.