Stephen Von Worley

Beyond City Limits

The country, the vast rural expanse beyond the edges of exurbia, evokes feelings as varied as the populace itself. City dwellers consider it a destination, a place to abandon creature comforts and unwind. Farmers, loggers, and ranchers operate there, and draw sustenance from it. And, to some, it’s an anachronism, an unpleasant reminder of less-sophisticated times.

To me, the country speaks to the mental vestiges of my primitive ancestors. The stinging fragrance of campfire, the fading sunset’s steel blue, the unseen snap of a twig in the bushes – each trigger faint instinctual responses, a thousand generations removed.

Beyond City Limits is an ongoing series that explores subjects in non-urban settings.