well.
yesterday.
i live about an hour's drive from tupper lake.
to visit the park (adirondack forest preserve)
i drive through vast stretches of forest,
known as the five ponds wilderness area
when i moved to the north country
35 years ago, i landed in star lake
down the road from tupper lake.
where, yesterday, i journeyed
to wind up at the WILD CENTER.
the meander path
is human made and
tinted with the iron of our geology
(there were iron ore mines closeby)
and textured with the trees.
i left the camera in the car
so when i returned later to photograph, the bright light had
turned to
rain, so photos were challenging.
the attention to detail everywhere
shake you up.
these hold my hand nicely,
which surprised me.
this!
it's simple really
but so beautiful
this architecture...
so like outside
in the small theater
i sat in a fine seat
ready for a talk
given by robin wall kimmerer.
she spoke in story and science words
and read from braiding sweetgrass.
she held a braid of sweetgrass as she spoke to us,
showed us pictures,
asked us for our questions,
prompted some answers...
i introduced myself after
(i'd brought my book)
but i'm afraid my copy is full of book marks and notes
and from her talk i made more notes
i did ask her to sign it for me
she graciously did.
i thought about her words
all the way home
through cranberry lake
and to my new home near the blue line.
when you get to meet someone you
respect so much,
well it can be a watershed moment:
it was.
it became evident to me that this woman
is a teacher, and it would be such a fine thing
to be her student
at ESF in syracuse.
but for me, i will read her words
try to
remember her words,
and talk to the plants with the respect that they,
our first teachers
must have.
