There and Back Again

Edwin Teale wrote, in A Naturalist Buys and Old Farm, "Sitting under apple trees, walking down the lane, following the wood trails, circling the pond at sunset, our life here as seemed all kernel and no husk. It embraces one of the rarest things in modern life-moments of solitude." At Trail Wood, I found that same solitude, as well the deep companionship of the land and those that live on and in it. It was a place that, I realized after I had been there a little while, I had known for a long time, much like when you meet a person with whom you feel an instant connection. I felt enfolded there, welcomed and freed to not only search out the physical space of Edwin's lands, house and even his personal study, but to explore my own interior spaces, as well.

My days were a rhythm of walking and writing, with some sitting in outdoor spaces thrown in. They were days of observation and contemplation, no two the same, but each one similar. I awoke at dawn, to the voices of catbirds, goldfinches and at least one family of house wrens who foraged in the shrubby growth around the house. I went to sleep to the sound of robust cone-head (yes, that is a katydid species) and true katydids.  I spent a good bit of time at the beaver pond, one morning arriving before dawn to watch the day come into being, chronicling the changes, moment by moment.

I walked the woodlands, making lists of tree, shrub and herbaceous species found there, something I was fairly certain no one had done recently, maybe ever, since Edwin's time. 

When I came back to the house after hours of botanizing, my brain took refuge in writing. When, after a few hours of writing, my brain was ready to go back out into the wilds, again, sometimes in the far off reaches of the property, sometimes in the meadows near the house.

I am still processing much of last week, and its connection to and implications for life in the here and now, and I will, no doubt, muse about both in this writing space, in the future. And when I am ready, I'll add some of my new writings from last week, new in content, but also new in form and voice.

I am exceedingly grateful for the opportunity I had to be in such a sacred space, grateful to God who took me there, grateful to the people who welcomed me so warmly to Trail Wood, and grateful for those of you who thought of me, prayed for me and have encouraged me to be who I am, over time. Thank you, all.