a feeling in my soul i never felt before...

The first in time and the first in importance of the influences upon the mind is that of nature. Every day, the sun; and, after sunset, night and her stars. Ever the winds blow; ever the grass grows. Every day, men and women, conversing, beholding and beholden. The scholar is he of all men whom this spectacle most engages. He must settle its value in his mind. What is nature to him? There is never a beginning, there is never an end, to the inexplicable continuity of this web of God, but always circular power returning into itself. Therein it resembles his own spirit, whose beginning, whose ending, he never can find, — so entire, so boundless. Emerson

Morning,

It was a beautiful day yesterday up top. We had some clouds in the morning, then it cleared in the afternoon. The high was 45 degrees. It got plenty cold over night, with a low of 11 degrees. It looks like it'll be a beautiful, cold weekend up top. I hiked up Alum last night and there was plenty of ice, so be prepared.