Crow Hill Almanac

Another golden summer has almost passed. The boy, the dog and I went on a walk on Labor Day, the unofficial end to summer.

The field is sunbaked, the grasses toasted golden brown. Seed pods rattle in a dry wind and grasshoppers bound away from every step we take. They whisper This way, this way. Hidden here are wonders delicate and strong.

We've been hearing owls at night lately. Sure enough, feathers and fur were tangled in the grass, wispy ghosts of a hunt.

This feather was pointing southwest, so we went that way.

And there was another one! It pointed to...

feathery grass

and squawbush sumac.

We walked to the petrified log. It's my favorite place in the woods, a good spot to Sit and Think or play tea party. Sam and I rested in the shade and marked our way.

Snoot all a-twitch, Gretel followed an invisible trail and led us down a ravine.

I don't remember ever going this way before. We found a fascinating tree!

Oh, can't you imagine Arthur Rackham goblins living under there! A little path went right through the roots.

We saw one more owl feather. It was pointing west, but we headed north for home.

This has been a summer of following and blazing new trails, seeing where this road goes, where the wind blows us. In July, Cat and Sam visited my parents (flying by themselves!) for a couple of weeks in Georgia and North Carolina. Gil and I ran off on our own. :) For the past month, Gil has been off on quite an adventure, working in Kolkata, India! He sends pictures, we email all the time and talk on the phone some, but the kids and I miss him so much. I can't wait to hear his stories from the other side of the world. I've kept myself busy by painting the living room, downstairs and upstairs hallways, and the guest/computer room. Golden yellow~ my very favorite color! Naturally, I then had to refeather the nest, rearranging and sprucing up my old things. I've done two little paintings, too!

Afoot and light-hearted I take to the open road,
Healthy, free, the world before me,
The long brown path before me leading wherever I choose.
~Walt Whitman