After the departure of pageantry, the woods that are part of the Sacred Grove in the Summer of 2023 seemed to be a well-prepared place to sit on a stump, take a rest from walking and catch a photograph of something that filled the frame and at the same time filled my mind.
Some may say it is an audacious claim that priesthood authority was restored on the Banks of the Susquehanna River after more than 1800 years of not being on the earth. For me, it seems no more audacious than the geologist’s claim that the Susquehanna River is between 320–340 million years old, older than the mountain ridges through which it flows.
Pioneer homes always remind me it was about survival. Most pioneer cabins were around 16 square feet. I recognize my ignorance on the topic, but personally I do not see how a pioneer family could endure a complete winter indoors in such small quarters.
Michael Shoemaker is a poet, photographer and writer from Magna, Utah. He is the author of Grasshoppers in the Field and a poetry/photography collection Rocky Mountain Reflections. His photography has appeared in Writers on the Range, Sea to Sky Review, the Denver Post, the Salt Lake Tribune, Yahoo.com, and elsewhere. He lives in Magna, Utah with his wife and son where he enjoys looking out on the Great Salt Lake every day. His online photography portfolio is at michaelshoemaker.
