Today I took the road less traveled.

I am at the cabin in the Catskills once again. So today, I went to town (with a cooler all set to go) to get some groceries, and then head out on "Butterfly Lane" to get more photos.

I got some wonderful shots.

Then, as if compelled to do so, I decided to take a road that intersects this very remote, back road through the mountains. My GPS told me it would lead me back to the highway, and back to the cabin, less than 3 miles away.

So I took the road. I made the turn.

I have never been down this road before.

In the 50 years I have been coming to this place, this was the first time I ever laid eyes on it.

As I made it about a mile up that road, I noticed this gorgeous barn sitting on a hillside to my left. I stopped my car, took out my camera, and started snapping shots of it.

Unbeknown to me, the owner of that barn and property was just to my right, off the road, picking vegetables from a plot of plants that he put down near a stream.

I finally saw him, and since I had my windows rolled down, I hear him say...

"Hi there!...do you like Zucchini?"

And with that I said, "Yes I do, very much"

"Here ya go...have this one" he said.

And he came over to my car and handed me this gorgeous squash.

We started talking.

He explained to me that he plants among the wild plants and weeds by the stream. That it's all natural. No rows. No big fields. Just plants producing gloriously fresh food, in the middle of God's country.

He went on to tell me that he plants enough to feed his family, and enough for his friends, neighbors and kids from town to come by and take what they want.

He told me that anytime I come by, to just stop here and grab a cucumber, or a zucchini, and enjoy.

Nobody steals his produce. Nobody hordes. They just come by and take a couple and then move on.

His property is beyond beautiful. Set against a hillside, his home and his huge barn are old but beautiful in their rustic splendor. They fit in with these ancient mountains.

A sweeter man I have not met. He smiles and just loves his life.

He told me how that hillside and the barn look in Winter after a freshly fallen snow. How gorgeous it is.

He is thankful for the life he has. For the property. For the incredible views.

He is not a rich man. Just a man living a life in a beautiful country, surrounded by the things and people he loves.

I left there today with 3 cucumbers, one zucchini, and a new friend.

Because I took the road less traveled.

Because I took the chance to do something different.

The blessings of this life come in messages and experiences that we never anticipate.

Today, I expected to pick up groceries and get photographs of butterflies.

What I got was a boost to my soul.

I was given gifts by a generous man who loves life and spreads his good will to his fellow man.

Precious.

Beyond words.