Growing up in Brewster, (Western Stark County, Ohio) my love of the outdoors and nature grew as a child when my brother and I would go on exploring expeditions thru the “big woods” which adjoined our wooded property. A beautiful memory was walking through the woods after a heavy snow which weighted down the young saplings creating a tunnel over one of the pathways.

My father, a skilled carpenter/builder, son of a gentle and jovial Amish bishop, built our home in the middle of a wooded plot of land, and always had a variety of tools for me to borrow to build treehouses, forts, wood projects, art projects, and to learn wood carving. I loved to take my pocket knife and find secluded places deep in the woods and whittle on a fallen small branch as I watched and waited for the scurrying chipmunks, squirrels and birds. Those secluded places developed in me a love for quietness, solitude, contemplation, beauty, and I continually searched for ways to describe what I was experiencing, through writing, art, music and photography.

My father always encouraged me to create and I don’t ever remember hearing him complain about missing tools or wondering where his wood was vanishing to as I was always building or creating something! My mother, as a young Amish girl, grew up loving the smell of leather because my grandfather was a harness maker in Holmes County. She loved to sing, learned to play accordion and piano, and taught me how to harmonize when singing with others which instilled in me a love for music and singing.

In junior high choir, a cute blond left me momentarily speechlees, and after graduation said “I do!” In 1999, we moved to Marion County to pursue training in music ministry and fell in love with the Marion County and Caledonia area. For years, one of my favorite places to drive after a a big blanket of snow or frozen frost covers the countryside is the winding and scenic Whetstone River Road which passes by Terradise Nature Center . I was unaware of this gem, almost in my back yard, until my children mentioned to me that they [and their future spouses] met there to explore the trails and have meaningful time together. I have begun to appreciate this oasis in our neighborhood, and have had walks, in different seasons, on both sides of the river, still searching for creative ways to capture , describe, and share the discovered beauty around me.

In my early childhood, we lived near the Wilderness Center in Wilmot, Ohio, where a tributary of the Sugarcreek wound it’s way around through the woods behind our house. My younger brother and I loved to explore, fish, and even got baptized in that creek on a very cold day [a vivid memory for sure!].

When I was in Junior high, my father bought a wooded plot of land near Brewster which had a larger portion of the Sugarcreek nearby. We spent many hours exploring , fishing, swimming [sometimes skinny dipping…but don’t tell anyone!], and tubing in that wonderful stretch of water that was literally connected to our earlier “homecreek” full of unknown critters and many fond memories!

So many of my poems have sprung from inspirational “aha moments” that came to me as I was observing a facet of nature’s beauty or meditating on the cycles of life in nature. In a busy season of my life as a regional supervisor, I found myself out on the road at the crack of dawn and at at sunsets occurring far from home.

I marvelled how so many people would be oblivious to the fleeting beauty in disguise, (in the skies), while I was trying to enjoy it out of the corner of my eye, and not go off the road.

I think these moments of not being able to stop for a photograph to capture the beauty, caused me to try to capture the thundering beauty somehow by trying to paint a picture with words. That season of texting (writing) and driving helped me to redeem those many hours on the road away from home. The small, whispers regarding an observation about something seen in nature come at random, unplanned moments but more often when I take time to look and pray with my eyes wide open.

In this loving family, and beyond, I have learned how to find my voice and develope excellence in craftsmanship but also developed skills in furniture design, woodworking , woodcarving, photography, lyrical writing, song writing and poetry. In 1999, my wife and I picked up our roots, our 3 children , and got planted in the Marion area to pursue training in music ministry. My writing has been included in various publications and have had a photo included in the 2015 annual Ohio Electric Co-op calendar. I worked as a construction  supervisor for 20 years and 7 years ago, started Yoder Traditions to specialize in trim carpentry, custom designed/built cabinets and built-ins. I have a passion to capture the beauty and inspiration for my writing from day to day moments and from nature’s neverending supply of life lessons and beauty all around in noticeable and obscure places in the different seasons.