Fall 2023 27 My dad replied with a smile, “No, son, that’s a dead tree. We’re cutting that up for firewood tomorrow.” Twenty years ago, I took my wife-to-be on a walk through a piece of land that was for sale. With every step she took, I could see her smile get bigger and bigger. I knew we had found our own forest. I proposed to her on the tailgate of my pick-up truck. A glass of champagne, some strawberries, some chocolate, and a few tears, and I was engaged. My wife even cried, too. A couple of years later, her father and I built a heart-shaped patio made out of old chimney stone on that same spot where we were to be married. My best man, my father, walked out of the woods with me to meet my bride, with Hank Williams, Sr. singing “Setting the Woods on Fire.” This was my favorite forest moment of all time. CALL FOR ENTRIES Virginia Forests PHOTO CONTEST Submit your photos by December 31, 2023 Winners will be featured in VFA’s 2024 Winter magazine. Guidelines & Entry Forms are available online. ENTER TODAY AT WWW.VAFORESTRY.ORG VIRGINIA FLORA VIRGINIA FAUNA VIRGINIA LANDSCAPES FOREST RECREATION WORKING FORESTS & INDUSTRY NEW FORESTS Photos may be entered in the following categories: Photo by Joshua Housman, second place winner, Virginia Fauna (2022)
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