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Cairn has a few friends who are close to her size and age and they’ve been spending lots of time together lately. Here they are grazing in the upper hay field as Autumn wind gently sways tall pines.

Two swans feed in the winter bay. Diving in tandem, moving so gracefully, then comically sending their tails to the sky. So easily paired and so at ease  with the task of feeding. 

Soft waves reveal a treasured glimpse of the bay floor. Shallow waters magnify the colorful display of pebbles and shells – making them appear magnificent for a moment, then back to pebble size with the next passing wave. 

An empty conch shell precariously upended at bay’s edge, tipped over with each wave like a chalice offering communion back to the sea. 

A graceful act, but it’s the upending of the thing that captures my attention today. Exposed, momentarily unstable, yet playful in it’s willingness to be pushed and pulled by the pulse of tide. 

Much like the feeding swans, so relaxed in their search for food, with no concern for the bobbing, vulnerable nature of their airborne tails. 

It’s a bit like us – diving for nourishment, coming up for air, then taking comfort for a few spare moments in the presence of another.

So many leaves, so much color! The Red Trail has many mini ecosystems, and each has its own coloring.

Gems from local gardeners (save the plum). I hope to make a painting based on this photo someday soon.

I hope you’re enjoying your local harvest. I’ve been thrilled to eat fresh, organic, lovingly grown veggies from Evan’s Food For Beings CSA. Wow!

Gorgeous ceramic bowl made by Matt Hyleck.

I’ve never been a fan of the somber days of Autumn, but golden light filtered through yellow leaves sways me in the direction of love. 

I’ll do my best to capture it’s full glory over the next few weeks. For now, here’s a view from my favorite quiet space on the Red Trail.

Hello (she whispered across the open ocean)

Hi to you (he said from under the pines)

(and how are you?)

Fine (she replied amidst Eastend seagrass)

(and you?)

  Another poem from the storehouse. This from a set of micropoetry that I was working on a few years back (this is even a bit long for a micro poem;). Enjoy!

words drift and linger

jet trails dusting azure sky 

out in the open

for all to see

your heartfelt gesture 

however momentary 

and fleeting

I need your help in choosing one of two paragraphs that I’ve written for the “Rescuing Cairn” short story. 

Which one works for you? Please choose one and check one of the boxes below.

Option 1:

Taking the long way around, I chose crossing a thicket of brambles over risking a meeting with the porcupine’s mother. Another cry, more insistent this time, begged me to follow. Moving as quickly as possible over craggy rocks, rushing past sticker bushes intent on grabbing my legs, I managed to skirt past large patches of poison ivy and avoid eye-poking branches as I followed the cry to the boggy valley below. 

Option 2:

More cries pulled me into the thicket. Blackberry thorns scratched my ankles, poison ivy brushed my arms as I pushed back eye-poking branches to clear the view only to find more brambles and branches. Still unable to see much in this mess of forest, the cries directed each step as I stumbled over a jumble of jagged stones.

I’ve been working with the idea of “leaning in” recently. Leaning as a way to support and be supported by another. This stone is a part of that exploration as it’s leaning against a craggy stick that will disintegrate over time. 

I stop by occasionally to check on it and to leave a small gift of wrapped leaves on the stone’s ledge. I hope that a passerby will someday accept the gift and leave another for someone else to find.

For those of you who’ve been following the Cairn story, I thought to give you a glimpse of the fawn (filmed last week). She’s a happy deer who loves to run and play for an audience, and especially when she thinks no one is looking. Much to my surprise, she ran toward me with an air of glee as I opened the garden gate when we first met so many weeks ago. She brought me great joy in that moment and continues to make me smile each time I see her.