Into the Woods

“I went into the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.”

~Henry David Thoreau

This favorite quote came to mind this morning as I prepared to walk into the woods to check on the maple trees.  It will soon be time for the sap to start flowing, as spring begins to press in.  Temps are finally above freezing for a couple of days, and the forecast for the week is promising.  As I write, big, full, round drops of melted snow make a rhythm of their own falling from the roof. Soft, staccato plays on crystalline snow crusts that form all around the homestead.  The rhythm matches that of my heart and plays for spring.

Mapling takes us out of the comfort of wood-fired homes and into the woods.  The daily walks chatting with chickadees who are happy to feel the sunshine in fluffed feathers mirrors my own happiness in feeling the sun on glistening halos of hair, and warming rosy cheeks as we trek on the maple trail, checking for signs of spring.

The sun rises swiftly as I open my heart to learn what nature has to teach this season.  Living close to Creation’s circular seasons, feeling her rhythms allows for a deeper understanding of grace birthed through creative life, through living with intention, as I walk in moccasin clad feet feeling the weight sinking into crusty snow, hopeful heart filling, swelling with burgeoning possibility, the maple trail heading into the woods.