Back in the wildness of amber Autumn hues...

...And crazy beasts + wildflower skeletons...

True Medicine

This may be my new favorite place. The road is not far- I can hear the roar of motors in the distance, but I don't care. I imagine it is the sound of wind dancing through the trees...

It is half dead here, but gives way to life. Still, but eddying. Just past sun-up, when it topples over naked treetops, casting golden light across high places and grass tips.

Frost glitters.

Water, black as midnight moves steadily through the skeletal remains of what was, at one time, a forest. Tree corpses + cattails.

It is pure bliss here. Peaceful to the core. (Contrary to what one may think of a swamp. Likewise of the desert) And it always seems like I have this space to myself.

I move through the low places, where the not-fully-risen-sun barely touches through the branches. It is colder here. Frozen ground cold. I am happiest being alone here (aside from my canine companions). The world seems different when it is still semi-sleeping.

We are unintentionally following a trail of blood. I assume either an animal killed or wounded by some creature. The trail leads on for a while (the dogs are fascinated) and the blood is so thick and bright from the cold temperature that it looks like paint. Surreal. Some areas are pooled and thicker- it makes me curious as to what really happened here. There is no fur. No remnants. No traces other than some scat and the once alive red liquid.

The light is so fresh here. I know it isn't new, but I love how early morning is the first time the light, right at this moment, is caressing the land on this new day.

Like they've never touched each other before.

I tend to be a homebody. Ideally living in an area where I can walk out my front door or travel a short distance to a wild place that I love beyond words. Love to wanter and get lost in. (However, I will admit that there is also a new and romantic wanderlust growing inside me. I am dreaming of new and exotic places to travel to and explore.) I love to go out for hours in the morning with the dogs, to return home and work the rest of the afternoon. It sets the mood and balances my mind + heart.

True medicine.

Sunny After The Storm

We had our first snow last week!

It was wild and although I had heard in passing something about snow, I didn't think much of it because, well, let's be honest, I don't think those meteorologists really know what they are talking about. Also, this is New England and the saying goes: "If you don't like the weather, wait 15 minutes...". So, needless to say, I didn't think anything would come to fruition or stick.

But it did and although it wasn't a ton of snow, everything was covered! And then the next day, the sun was shining and the white washed away.

It was a perfectly handsome day to head out into the woods for some fresh air with the dogs. The sun was high and bright and I took to heading into the forest from a different entrance. It was sublime! I went in right off the road, by Busywell's Pond (below a massive estate that has apparently just been purchased after sitting idle for quite some time).  It is a resplendent area that connects to one of the Greenbelt properties, but it is not as popularly traveled, which makes me giddy. Plus there is a little brook that leads down into the pond, grown over with moss and ferns and with pools and little waterfalls which were bubbling and gurgling happily since having all the rain and melting snow!

I have to point out, if you have never been to New England in the fall, that the colors this time of year are exactly perfect. It is a rainbow of warmth and the woods seem as though they have been lit ablaze! Even the fallen leaves are flashy and kaleidoscopic!

Bessie Mu and Margaret found a turkey that I assume was fairly young, since it didn't flush and just stayed hushed in the brush as they circled around. Can you find it in the plethora of photos above? It is the photo of the seemingly dead pile of piney branches- you can just barely make out an eye and beak...

For days after this find, I continued to enter the woods via this route. There is something about the pools and little waterfalls that just sooth my senses and render me calm and encourage stillness in my soul. And every day should consist of visiting places that encourage these feelings. In fact, it is a similarly beautiful day out today and I am feeling inspired to take a trip out there in between working.