It is about nine thirty at night, very dark and zero degrees outside. The dog has cajoled me into coming outside to play his game, which is kind of a one-sided Pickle in the Middle–where he runs around with his ratty stuffed gorilla in his teeth and we both pretend that I am chasing him to get it. As if! my two-legged human “agility” could have anything on a four-legged Australian Shepherd–a clever breed whose leaps and swerves are genetically programmed to contend with the unpredictable maneuvers of wandering sheep.

Anyway. He’s convinced me to come out and have a round of Gorilla in the Middle, and I’m giving it my best, stumbling in the frozen-crust snow, in the dark. I can’t say that it is “pitch black” out, because above the charcoal gray of the snowbanks, I can see the pitch black silhouettes of the pine trees, against the backdrop of a babillion glowing stars.

Well, I am well-bundled-up against the cold, and really the occasional tumble and fall in the dark isn’t a big deal, but after fifteen minutes or so, I’ve done enough chasing. I plunk myself onto a snowbank on the incline of the hillside, and indulge in those pine tree silhouettes, and the stars above them.

It is all very nice.

And then. And then I start composing in my head, like I can sum this up for Twitter or Facebook. My mind gets all mental, and I am no longer just experiencing the crisp temperatures and the glory of the night sky. I am (dammit) thinking about it.

Great.

So much for that perfect place and time.

These trees are a representative sample of what remains in an area which was clear-cut about five years ago. A man named Mark McBroom bought this property, logged it, and then left.

Turn 180° from looking at this clear-cut stand and this is what you will see:

These acres were selectively harvested, using practices for maintaining a healthy stand of timber. This logging was done a few years before the clear-cutting. Trees were harvested with an eye toward opening the forest to help protect the remaining trees from disease, insects, and forest fire. The logging also left a varied stand of trees, with variety in age, size, and species. This, too, helps the vitality of the trees, and provides for the natural regeneration of the forest.

This logging was conducted by a family that had been in the area for more than thirty years. This was their third cycle of harvesting.

Logging, per se, is not inherently evil. Please make a note of it. Thank you.