Category: Uncategorized
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Peonies and Me: Planted, Blooming, Pruned, Transplanted
Planted I ran wild, along with my siblings, on the two acres that felt like an estate. I always loved the visits we’d take to our grandparents a few hours up north, nestled among tall trees in Pennsylvania. Those were formative years, when you have no sense of the wider world or troubles out there,…
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A Field Path Through Burtigny
Glass doors open to a pebblestone terrace, and a path below that disappears into the horizon through fields and pasture. One of August’s last suns has long set, darkening the sky, like indigo ink spilling across a nighttime canvas. Humble prayers float away to the brightening stars; hopeful yellow splashes of color, flung into the…
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Letting Light Lead
I walk the shoreline with osprey chattering and a heron stealthily searching for dinner up ahead, hoping Hunter doesn’t disturb her. The late August sunshine wraps me in warmth, sparking an incandescent joy. Tonight we’re traipsing through high-tide and scrambling over downed trees, but the previous evening, I was far from the shore, in the…
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The Bluebells, My Body, and Healing
Nodding to the early morning fisherman, I cross the bridge over Deer Creek to find the well-trod path along the Susquehanna River. Pastels have started to fill the sky, as first light has arrived and I check my phone to count the minutes to sunrise. I mentally run through the years I’ve done this (way…
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Into the Unknown
2024. A new year is ahead. Twelve months — and 366 days (it’s a leap year!). With the calendar turning to January, it can be a little like stepping into the fog of the unknown… For all of my nature travels and beauty seeking in 2023, I think this moment in the fog on the…
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Wildflowers and Grace in the Wilderness
Absolutely gorgeous fall day to celebrate the gift of life! And oh I am today, as I turn 38 🙌🏻. God gave me an amazing sunset last night—a perfect reflection (in more ways than one) moment to bask in beauty and soak up gratitude for His sweet love for me. 37 was a good year—newness…
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Hugged by Gilded Hands: The Death of a Tree
Only youtruly know the heaviness you’ve carried,of something decayingthe weight of burdens on your being,every part of you,just waitingto break. Then the crashing,falling,of the limbs that were never yours to carry,a force that can destroy.And when this tree was struck,by bolts of lightning, surely,where were the witnesses?Or perhaps, it was the wind.Not the sweet gentle breeze…
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Surviving the Strenuous Times
I tied my laces, adjusted the straps of my backpack, and breathed in and out, as deep as I could. The Appalachian Trail through the Great Smoky Mountains lay ahead – and as my sister and I started our hike, those little electric bolts of fear darted through me. My body was not feeling as…
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God Knows What We Need
My Hunter dog is 8 today. Dogs are just the best. They are goofy and happy and just glad to always be with you. I am grateful every single day for Hunter – and miss his brother, my dear Scout, just about every single day too. It’s important to me to celebrate Hunter’s birthday –…