After rain after many days without rain, it stays cool, private and cleansed, under the trees and the dampness there, married now to gravity, falls branch to branch, leaf to leaf, down to the ground

where it will disappear-but not, of course, vanish except to our eyes. The roots of the oaks will have their share, and the white threads of the grasses, and the cushion of moss; a few drops, round as pearls, will enter the moles’s tunnel;

and soon so many small stones, buried for a thousand years, will feel themselves being touched. Lingering in Happiness by Mary Oliver from the book Why I Wake Early

I have long been an admirer of Mary Oliver. Her and I have a lot in common. I sense that when I read her poems about nature. She gets it. I get it. More often than not when a photo that I take out in nature speaks to me I know just where to go to get help with putting my feelings on the page. Mary never disappoints.

I have new woods to investigate now. I get to roam the hills and flatlands of my son’s land. Him and his wife are building a house that honors the land and the critters that live there, only taking from the land what needs to be moved for the placement of the house. So many beautiful trees, the ones that really look ancient will continue to soak up the rain and sun and hopefully thrive for many more years to come. Those trees provide housing to birds and owls, a playground to chipmunks and squirrels. Shelter for the deer that roam the property and shade for my son and his family. For me, they provide deep beauty and artistic forms. They reach their arms out and say, “welcome, sit awhile in the pine tree forest, restore yourself.” And so I often do. I’m just starting to discover this new to me space in nature but I love being there and look forward to seeing what it offers up every season of the year. This summer, so far, it has handled the deluge of rain that we have had here in New England very well. No worries though, my boots were made for walking…especially in the rain.

As we move through time and seasons I look forward to sharing more of Mother Nature with you, right from my sons back door. Happy Summer.