Welcome! I am a contemplative thinker and photographer from Colorado. In this blog, you'll discover photographs that I've taken on my hiking and backpacking trips, mostly in the American West. I've paired these with my favorite inspirational and philosophical quotes - literary passages that emphasize the innate spirituality of the natural world. I hope you enjoy them!

If you'd like to purchase photo-quote greeting cards, please go to www.NaturePhoto-QuoteCards.com .


In the Spirit of Wildness,

Stephen Hatch
Fort Collins, Colorado

P.S. There's a label index at the bottom of the blog.

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Fir Cone Synaesthesia: Vision Transformed into Taste


Whenever I come across fir cones laden with sap, I have a profound experience of synaesthesia.  In this case, the visual form of each cone stimulates my palate, eliciting a sense of taste.  It is as though the cones are a nutritious candy, topped with an evergreen-flavored glaze of sugar.  This sense is amplified if I unintentionally get some of the sticky sap on my fingers (and camera!).  For me, this transferral of vision to taste offers a sense that the landscape (like food) is within me, and not just outside.  In other words, it elicits a sense of UNION.

Photo: Subalpine Fir cones; Emmaline Lake Trail, Comanche Peak Wilderness, CO; September 9, 2013







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