Life has been blurring by – no time for or even thought of blogging. But finally a day to breathe…

These past few weeks have been so emotionally full for me. Beyond the crazy turmoil of the world, within one week of turning 17, my son has been flapping his wings faster than my heart can let him fly… We have reached a place of acceptance and compassionate understanding, but it has taken all of our collective communication skills to get here.

We have, but in riding the emotional waves, I have rediscovered my overwhelming need to fill my spirit with nature. I work with amazing animal souls every day, I have created an imaginary, virtual camping experience in my backyard – but still, when the winds of change knock me over, getting my body and spirit into the outdoors is the one campfire way that I know of to get myself back up on my boots.

Today Beth and I were blessed to discover a terrific hiking area not far from home – The Ward Reservation in Andover – maintained by the Trustees of the Reservation. It is full of woodsy magic – two sunny meadow hills with views of Boston (one that shares Beth’s Holt family name), birdsong everywhere, an Elephant Rock to ride upon, a magnificent bog full of nesting heron, quiet shady trails and a wonderful Solstice Calendar stone ring. We took a 4 mile loop hike up and over all of this, and it is no exaggeration to say that my heart opened to the beauty and filled with renewed appreciation for this life filled with adventure.

The other great discovery today was learning about the Bay Circuit Trail which is a 200 mile arc trail through 50 towns surrounding Boston. So much preserved nature to explore – so close to home. We are ready and eager to plant our boots on the trail!