Well, I'm back. These golden woods are home, and it is good to be among them once again. I wonder if sometimes the greatest adventure is the return from a journey, the homecoming. And what a perfect season to return to! The world is aglow with golden browns and oranges and greens, the familiar carpet of bermuda grass and clover is soft underfoot on these dwindling Indian summer days, and crisp with frost in these chilly autumn mornings. Every traveler has a home of his own, and he learns to appreciate it the more from his wandering. - Charles Dickens
constant and ever-present, the other touched by changing seasons, relishing the life-giving constancy for a while, then flying from the branches. Someday I, too, hope to root myself into the bark of some old tree and trade my golden deciduous adventures for the evergreeness of home.
I've rediscovered this year how exciting wild harvesting can be. The persimmons are ripe and falling from the tree by the basketfull, sweeter now after a few frosts. It's an incredible thing to gather these odd and uninspiring little fruits from the ground, and know that they will add their peculiar spice and citrus flavor and host of healthful benefits to a multitude of breads and pies and scones. A smattering of very early frost flowers have appeared over the last few mornings, the surest herald of winter. |
But best of all, this homely Thoughtful Spot is filled with chatter, laughter, and the family who, far more than my beloved woods, make this little corner of Middle Tennessee my home. And though I know they have heard over and again all my stories of how exciting and different these wandering thoughtful spots have been over the past months, they listen to me generously. I marvel at how far away and wonderful those places now seem, and at how real and vibrant is this present moment. |
I know not all that may be coming, but be it what it will, I'll go to it laughing.
It's a dangerous business, going out one's door, you never know where you might be swept off to... this year I've been swept off to many a thoughtful spot, and seen many a wonder, and walked Providential paths that I wouldn't trade for anything. But on this sunny day of a fleeting September I know for sure that it's this thoughtful spot at home, and those who share it with me, that will always hold my heart.
Do You Have a
Thoughtful Spot?
Many current trends in natural health focus on ecotherapy and shinrin-yoku, or forest bathing, reiterating with scientific studies and medical terminology something that Winnie the Pooh taught us many years ago: we all need
a "Thotful Spot".
We need a little corner surrounded by nature where we can sit and be still, ponder and pray, and observe closely the beauty around us.
These posts are musings and meanderings from my Thoughtful Spots, interspersed with occasional ramblings about herbal happenings at the Greenhouse and monographs of my favorite medicinal herbs.
I hope you'll join me in finding a Thoughtful Spot, visit it often, record the things that make you marvel, and remember,
"the world will never starve for want of wonders..."
- G.K. Chesterton
Archives
December 2024
October 2024
September 2024
July 2024
June 2024
May 2024
February 2024
January 2024
August 2023
September 2022
August 2022
July 2022
June 2022
May 2022
April 2022
March 2022
February 2022
January 2022
December 2021
November 2021
October 2021
September 2021
August 2021
July 2021
June 2021
May 2021
April 2021
March 2021
February 2021
January 2021
December 2020
November 2020
October 2020
September 2020
August 2020
July 2020
June 2020
March 2020