61° 59′ N 152° 04′ W

 61° 59′ N 152° 04′ W

Today, this is where you can find me. Mid July. teaching yoga, greeting guests, serving meals. A month and a half ago I packed up life in Oregon; packed it into a storage unit and closed the door for four months. I found my way back up to the place where my adventures began almost four years ago. Back into a little island of wilderness that is separated from the hustle and bustle of everyday life… no roads, no sirens, no cement. The loudest noise that meets my ear is the landing of a float plane, or a helicopter, or the howl of 19 sled dogs at 4am. The days are long, this I cannot sugar coat but life all the same has but one singular focus… this place and these people. The newspaper arrives in a brown mail bag three days late and news travels by word of mouth. Don’t get me wrong, I could be more in tune. I choose not to. For this short time I am on vacation from the world of news and have adapted my thought process to include what is happening with my family, my friends, and about my island wilderness. I think sometimes it takes that step back… that is what these months have begun to shape into for me. My eyes are noticing things that get lost when life moves at a quicker pace. I've slowed it down and in doing so I’ve observed what plants are coming into bloom; I find myself waiting in anticipation as the fireweed blossoms develop…. they are almost there. When they burst the hillsides around us will light up with purples and pinks. For almost a month now I've watched a mama bear with her babies. I’ve noticed how her babies have gained dexterity over these last few weeks. They don’t trip over their own paws quite as much. I've sat in one place and the world has walked through my front door. Literally. Where life will go after this summer I am not so sure but for now I'm in a holding pattern. Content.

Color me Carrot

too lovely not to share

definition

consider what defines you.

beaten paths and conk discoveries

A conk mushroom T found while walking in the backyard

October finished itself out with a week of rain. The Oregon that I was anticipating has finally showed face. The days over this last month busy, long, unstructured- with always something more that could be done. I'd had forgotten how learning new things can consume you, what it felt like to spend hours studying, that reading takes on a whole new meaning when it comes to textbooks. I'm amazed at what it feels like to be around so many people again. I found my way out of town this afternoon, to a mountain that overlooks the entire area. Expecting to find a spectacular view, instead I found the peak shrouded in a heavy mist, damp enough that I felt in on my skin. Instead of a view i found exactly what I was looking for. Nothing and no one. I wandered my way around a mountainside that my feet had never walked before. Leaving the path as quick as I could, I had forgotten the joy that I find in straying the beaten ground. For about an hour I wandered and watched.  On the ground,  up toward the the sky, the mist that obscured the forest. I watched the clouds move about the trees. I still find myself alert to the crunching of steps, to sounds that may indicate there is a bear standing with me. Only here it's not the bears I need to listen for, no I suppose I should be listening for the hunters instead. My heart still wants my ears to listen for the bears. Eventually finding my way back to my solo car in the parking lot, the mist had deepened into a heavier condensation but still sat content as a cloud moving with the wind  rather than falling from the sky. I made my way slowly back to my civilization, another month of this year comes to a close.