“I wouldn't persuade you from whatever you believe
or whatever you don't. That's your business.
But I thought, of the wren's singing, what could this be
if it isn't a prayer?” - Mary Oliver (Devotions)



Yesterday morn I awoke in time to watch the moon set. I was asked to volunteer at Blandy Experimental Farm / Virginia State Arboretum for their Eco Art program. I was delighted that they remembered me and my nature mandala from last year so it was an immediate “yes!”


There was a music therapist from Richmond attending who remembered our family from last year and I sadly informed her that my husband died. I enjoyed seeing her again. She is a joyful, empathetic soul. I enjoyed seeing Leah, the environmental educator. She is a kindred spirit. I enjoyed seeing Sandie Beny & family at the program. And I was grateful to Silvia for allowing S to hang out with the boys while I was at Blandy.

I have a soft spot for farms and arboretums. When I was a wee girl my dad a/o uncle would take me to Bayard Cutting Arboretum. I loved it there so much that I pretended I lived there and was the caretaker. My dad would open the door to the stately house there and exclaim, “honey, I’m home!”, issuing laughter from visitors and employees alike. My favorite tree was a ginormous weeping Beech. I would part the curtain of branches and it was an enchanting hideout from the rest of the world. The last time we were in NY, I took S and Robert there. The tree was still there! We slipped beneath the canopy and my son deemed it magical. I hugged the tree for old time sake as I did when I was a child.

All this to say, for those 2 hours at Blandy I felt the more like myself than I have in months. Like sap slowly rising from my deep roots, I am beginning to feel something shift within the xylem.