ONE

One woman
One dog
One solitary place
One singular path
One song of the wood thrush
One nose sniffing all manner of ick
One and only bloom of columbine flower
One green heron scared up at the pond
One “thinking of you” card in the mailbox
One sessile trillium where none had been before
One song of the ovenbird
One vernal creek barely flowing
One repetitive drill of a sapsucker
One phoebe nest on the shutter
One happy thought of a friend visiting
One bright and streaked prairie warbler
One tick waiting for our breath
One deer carcass
One red-winged blackbird stopping by
One gobble from the hills
One honeysuckle seed, germinated and grown
One tree yanked and strangled by the vine
One patch of planted ephemerals flourishing
One hope that joy and sacrifice meet, and the world is saved.

April 2014

APRIL FOOL

Yesterday afternoon I drove down to Prairie Pond Woods to resume the "businistry" of  Heart by Nature Retreats. Upon arrival, I heard several phoebes calling and before I went to bed a barred owl hooted from the woods.  In between, I took a walk and a friend from down the road invited me to dinner at their cabin.  It was a lovely way to begin this next season of writing and hosting retreats for women.

Walking the paths in the afternoon sunlight with Cyon, the beginning of a blog post I wrote in 2005 came to mind: 



"As I approached the wooded trail-head at Spring Valley Wildlife Area, I noticed something about myself. For whatever reason, I was not focused outwardly at that moment, but inwardly, and sensed a slight physical change, a minor elevation of heart rate perhaps, the tiniest release of adrenaline maybe...the kind of change you might experience seeing a good friend approaching unexpectedly. The moment I stepped over the chain separating woods from parking lot and on to the path, I was aware of the great expectation of discovery and a settling calm inside."

This is how I feel being here again; looking forward to whatever the days bring forth.  Like a trail head I have never been down before, I am unaware of what is before me.  Is it a straight path? A winding trail? Is it steep or wet, and are there interesting things to see?  Each time someone ventures down any trail, old or new, mysteries await. 



The trails in my life have always been a little rocky, winding and less traveled.  They were built by the pain of inner wounds, friendship, beauty, God, more pain, nature and healing.  They have been maintained by solitude in the wild, wrestling prayer and love.





So every April I open my heart, the retreat house, and our nature trails so that other women can come to find their hearts in nature.  It isn't the most popular activity to do in our culture. I know that. It may be scary for some and others may find it a foolish waste of time.  But I am an April fool...so when the creatures begin to stir and the earth magically greens-up in small bursts...I just want to share it with all the other fools out there!  

BIRD WATCHING AS MEDITATION

MAY 2-4, 201

REGISTRATION DEADLINE: APRIL 18

SPACES ARE LIMITED

TO REGISTER ONLINE OR FOR MORE INFORMATION

CLICK HERE

YES, WE WE DO!

Sometimes people ask me why I don't offer different types of group retreats.  I assume they mean the latest "trending" kinds of women's retreats...crafting, health-focused, beauty-focused, fun-focused, etc.  I say it's because others are already doing those retreats, but few are offering what Heart by Nature has to share.  



Heart by Nature's goal is to give women the opportunity to create a ritual, a tradition, a way to annually check-in with themselves and evaluate their spiritual, personal or creative growth.  Whether it's learning about and understanding the natural world better (several women return each year to the annual Bird Watching as Meditation retreat), or broadening creative skills, or planning a more Spirit-centered year, that is the calling I try to fulfill for others.

Do we engage in creativity?  YES we do!  And all our creative activities reinforce the theme of each retreat.  We've painted bluebird houses, made bird nesting balls, prayer cards, collages from the soul, and more!  This year for the ECOntemplation retreat in June, we'll be making HYPERTUFAS...earthy, messy, and oh, so cool!



Are we health-focused?  YES we are!  Taking a walk in the country air for over an hour several times during the weekend is good for the body & brain.  And the sacred act of eating healthy, organic food in community is good for the soul. 



Are the retreats fun?  Well, what do you think...a bunch of women away from their

responsibilities, talking, finding common ground, laughing, resting and reveling?  Will you be entertained or amused?  No...probably not...except maybe by butterflies, dragonflies, deer, skunks...or Cyon (our prairie dog).   



Are we beauty-focused?  YES, we are!  But these retreats focus on the beauty of the wildflowers, the metallic gold dots on a Monarch chrysalis, the clouds passing over the hills. This kind of deep appreciation becomes part of the true beauty of each woman as it is cultivated from within. 



You can find a list of all the upcoming 2014 retreats HERE.  I hope you'll join us.  Start a Ritual this year.

THE YEAR OF LIVING DARINGLY: Week Two

When I started this adventure of living for nine months at Prairie Pond Woods...feeling a little like Thoreau (and a little guilty)...I said I was ready to be "inconvenienced by the things I love."  As mentioned in the Week One post, sometimes we can put parts of ourselves on hold or let them die altogether because we allow other things in life take over. 



For me, this meant finally putting all my loves in one basket and seeing where they take me...FOCUSING on the "businistry" of Heart by Nature, spending time outdoors, raising my own food (chickens!), getting a dog (after being dogless for 7 years), writing, reading and helping women connect with their own heart's desires through nature.  


Could I have done this in my life up North?  Maybe, if I was a different person.  But the advantage of years is that we learn who we truly are and accept it. I am not a highly disciplined person...and I am definitely not a multi-tasker.  I am motivated by passion, not productivity...and I do well focusing on a few things at a time with lots of time for reflection. It is who I am. In a book I read recently, The Artist's Rule, I recognized myself in the author's description of an "artist-monk," a person who is drawn to and more fruitful within a contemplative and creative lifestyle.  So when I finally realized I was being inconvenienced more by things I didn't love...it was time to make a change.



So, the change has begun...sort of.  Week Two was less about contemplation and nature immersion and more about business marketing.  For the upcoming retreat, Birdwatching as Meditation, I learned (was inconvenienced by, actually) a new Email Marketing program through Vertical Response.  Hopefully, you received a copy of my labors in your email Inbox or through Facebook.  And when I wasn't staring down cross-eyed at my computer...I watched snow flurries and resident birds out the window.



The other task...as boring to me as it is to you...was the sorting of paperwork into piles, then purging, then putting those piles somewhere that makes sense.  Piles for retreat ideas and hand-outs, piles of natural history resources, piles for writing piles of journals, piles of my life...all sorted and condensed.  And a pile of books, brought to finally read...  

I'll share my non-exhaustive Book List, which might be a bit less boring to you.  These are books I've read since I've been here, books I'm reading (or listening to) now, books I plan to re-read and new books waiting on the shelf.  Do they all look a bit similar?  They are...I call it focused.



The Mermaid Chair by Sue Monk Kidd

One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp

The Secret Message of Jesus by Brian McLaren (and others not yet purchased)

Writing Down your Soul by Janet Conner

Listening to the Heartbeat of God: A Celtic Spirituality by J. Phillip Newell

Prayers from Iona by J. Phillip Newell

Nature as Spiritual Practice by Steven Chase

A Field Guide to Nature as Spiritual Practice by Steven Chase

The Artist's Rule by Christine Valter-Paintner

Anne of Green Gables by J.M. Montgomery (never read it as a child)

An Obsession with Butterflies by Sharman Apt Russell

On the Unseriousness of Human Affairs by James A. Schall

Spiritual Ecology by Rudolf Steiner

Holy Silence by J. Brent Bill

Newcomb's Wildflower Guide

Peterson Field Guide of Eastern Birds

Peterson Field Guide to Eastern Birds' Nests

Moth Field Guides, Insect Field Guides, Butterfly Field Guides, Etc.

AND...if I can get my hands on it anywhere:

Phytogeography of Unglaciated Eastern US and its Interpretation by E. Lucy Braun.

RE-PURPOSING

 There's been a lot of good buzz over the last few years around the concept of Re-Purposing. 
Women's decorating magazines, homesteading websites and craft blogs
have been showing us how to take one thing and turn it into something
completely different...a colander becomes a hanging lamp...canning jars
become chandeliers...thrown out pieces of whatever become collage art pieces.  You can find lots of ideas at this blog list if you are prone to reusing, recycling and re-purposing the things around you.

At Prairie Pond Woods,
mostly out of logistical necessity, my husband
and I started naming areas of the property right after we took
possession of it. We have the "fallen oak" area, the "larkspur slope"
and the "landing strip," to name a few.  The landing strip is a long,
narrow patch of
land that separates two wooded areas and, if you needed to, you could
land a small plane there in a pinch. At the end of the strip sits an old
aluminum-sided lean-to. I never thought much about it, in fact there
was some talk about dismantling it, but lately I've been thinking about
turning it into a place of meditation and prayer.  Yes, an old cow
shed...becomes a place to connect with God. Hey, it's happened before, if
you recall.

  

This
week, I will be feverishly working on the shed (alongside a wise, young
woman, who is bartering work at Prairie Pond Woods for a personal
retreat), in hopes of finishing it before the Bird Watching as a Meditation retreat this coming weekend.  There is much to do for sure...poor girl has her work cut out for her!

Dead Sumac trees need cleared out and the wood cut small for the fire pit going inside

The Entrance obviously needs re-worked

The weeds on the floor have been killed and now a layer of mulch needs to go down.

The Honeysuckle and Crown Vetch have
been eradicated on one side.  Now new native landscaping must be
designed and planted so that it facilitates a feeling of peace,
seclusion and joy upon arrival.  My hope is that as women spend time there, the simple act of being quiet and listening might bring about New Purposes in their lives.

NAMING CONTEST!!

 

So, here's the deal.
By Thursday, April 26 at 12:00 AM, I would also like to have the shed
named, so that we can make a barn siding sign to hang at its entrance. 
So...calling all creative types to think of a great name for it (I
started calling it the Med Shed...but it lacks a certain flair). If we
pick your Name, I'll send you a copy of one of my favorite books by Ken
Gire called, Windows of the Soul..Experiencing God in New Ways.

To submit a name, go to
https://www.facebook.com/heartbynatureretreats
Message me

See you outside!

Cindy

FALL SABBATICAL-TUESDAY

I'm a day behind, due to technically slow difficulties using dial-up, but it gives me the time to reflect on the whole day before I post. Tuesday was a day of both relaxation and work.  Sunday, I decided on a schedule to keep each day, so that there is some time "scheduled" for quiet contemplation, some for productivity and some for creativity.  Tuesday's work revealed my age and lack of any real physical work in my life.  I cleared the trail for the upcoming retreat of hanging branches and fallen logs, stacking brush piles up along the way for wildlife refuges (refugia).  All that reaching and lopping and bending and hauling...left me a bit sore by evening.  But it is good work, and does a body good.

What I noticed while up on the prairie ridge section was a wonderful population of black, shingle and white oak saplings coming up.  Many of the saplings were so short, while their leaves were huge, often longer than the trunk, which I found amusing.  I'll be dead before any of them reach the size of the neighbor's mother trees that tossed their acorns over the fence for squirrels to unwittingly plant. But it does my heart good to know they will be there long after I am gone for someone else, and the wildlife, to enjoy.

After work, I wrote a poem from my morning meditation on the porch, as I listened to the birds and drank Lemon Zinger tea.  It's a poem I will probably continue to work on...but that may take a while...so I'll share it with you in this form.  Let me know what you think.  Enjoy your day. 

October Morning

The Eastern Towhee sings his 2-syllable chirp

in the blue spruce next to me on the deck,

the sleepy, gray dawn slowly brightens, then

suddenly sparks, igniting quiet into cacophonies

I hear each bird’s rhythm – 4 caws from the crow

5 quick buzzes from the titmouse, never ending

screeches from a blue jay, 2 electric songs from

bluebirds perched on a wire, 1 toy-squeak

from a flicker – calling to the world, each other,

to God, that their life matters

Would that we should wake up each morning and

scream for hours from our porches - who we are,

our intentions, the names of our loved ones and

ours, if God re-named us, like the Sons of Thunder

At almost 8:30 the measured calls start to wane

Sounds of the human day begin–a chained dog barks,

cars chase each down their appointed routes,

in the distance there is the growl of machinery

I’ll come back at 4:30 when the day’s chores

Are behind me to listen  again to their

chattering in the trees, as they store up seeds

at the feeder for the long, chilly night ahead

Their voice, my voice, your voice fills the world

SECRET BIRD MIGRATION

Today is International Migratory Bird Day, held annually on the second Saturday in May.  Not very well known, or even important, to most people...but a miracle none the less!  Each spring, billions of birds (neo-tropicals) who have spent our winter in Central or South America, begin a very long, and sometimes treacherous, trek to familiar breeding grounds in the U.S. and Canada.  Generally, they migrate at night, stopping for periods of time along the way to feed, rest and brush up on their mating songs.  If you are not looking for them or paying attention to the change in bird songs filling the air, you will miss this Great Migration!  And these are of some of the most beautiful birds in North America!

My birdwatching perch on the ridge

The Audubon Society has designated several Ohio Important Bird Areas (IBA's).  These are specific habitats able to provide premium food and nesting resources for land and water birds.  Prairie Pond Woods is located smack-dab in the middle of two of them, Shawnee State Forest and The Edge of Appalachia Preserve. While taking a retreat at Prairie Pond Woods in late April and early May, I was able to spot over 25 of these migrating species.  Some will be staying at the retreat to raise a brood or two, some will move on to more northern states and provinces and some will head to the Boreal Forest Region in Canada.  This is an extremely long journey and I am humbled each year when they return, and honored to be able to provide what they need in the prairie, on the pond or in the woods!

Below are a few stock photos of some of the warblers and other birds that grace the property each year.  Most are not mine, as I don't possess the camera or inclination to get these great close-ups.  Enjoy the beauty and wonder!

 Black & White Warbler...hard to spot as it tends to crawl along trunks and branches...but easy to hear.

 Black-throated Green Warbler...heard (and barely seen high in the canopy) on the day before I left the retreat.

 Blue-winged warbler...we play a game of hide and seek in the cedars...I usually lose.

 Hooded Warbler...just a lovely bird that hangs low down by the spring making him easy to see.

 Yellow-rumped Warbler...acutally had one of these stick around this winter...acting like he owned the maple tree where the feeder hangs

 Pine Warbler...not all that flashy...but one of the first to show up and now nesting in a pine tree by the deck!

 The ubiquitous Prairie Warbler...King and Queen of the Prairie. 

One is nesting in this small cedar tree.

 Wilsons Warbler

The Scarlet Tanager...kept hearing his Robin-like song up in the canopy...then after 3 days I finally spotted it 

near the retreat house!

Bluebird Babies!

 Song Sparrow nest in Cedar next to garage

Phoebe nest above garage on the motion detector light

I TOOK A WALK TODAY...

...and as I approached the wooded trail-head at Spring Valley Wildlife Area, I noticed something about myself. For whatever reason, I was not focused outwardly at that moment, but inwardly, and sensed a slight physical change, a minor elevation of heart rate perhaps, the tiniest release of adrenaline maybe...the kind of change you might experience seeing a good friend approaching unexpectedly. The moment I stepped over the chain separating woods from parking lot and on to the path, I was aware of the great expectation of discovery and a settling calm inside.

I love both the paths you can look straight down to see what's ahead, and the ones that curve immediately, so you are invited, by necessity, to go slowly and quietly around the bends. Whether linear or winding...other creatures on the trail can hear, feel, see or smell you a mile away, which is why encounters of any kind are such small miracles.

Today I made a new friend on the trail. A retired salesman, getting out of his car at the same time, with a field guide tucked in the front of his pants and binoculars hanging from his neck...an object I strongly believe should become the next international symbol of peace. I'd seen him before at the wildlife area but this time we spoke, walked together for a while and talked about a number of random but related topics. I told him I had just returned from a writing conference. He told me he was good friends with a man who had written an historical novel, which had been turned into a TV mini-series. I was partly encouraged and partly discouraged about that bit of information, having come so late to the craft of writing. But then we mostly chatted about the strange spring it has been...the 80 degree hot snap and how the tree foliage is now way ahead of the migrating birds. The birds are fine...it's just us birders have to work a little harder now to spot them!

Always tentative about my birding knowledge, especially around someone I assumed had been watching birds much longer than me, I asked, "Does it seem to you that there just aren't as many birds around as there used to be?" Last fall and winter yellow flags were going off in my head that the number of birds at my feeders...I'm talking the usual suspects - chickadees, cardinals, titmice, etc. - the ones that overwinter here...were about half what they normally were. He emphatically agreed, and told me a story about the number of warblers that migrated through Maggee Marsh in northern Ohio...so many that they would land on the cars in the parking lot.

Though they seem like carefree little creatures, birds really do have a tough time furthering their species. My new friend and I lamented about all the obstacles, both literally and figuratively, these diminutive, yet hardy, animals must overcome. And many times they don't. Between the millions of songbirds that are killed each year by outdoor cats or the estimated billion migrants that run into buildings or other objects en route to northern breeding grounds, not to mention the pesticides on lawns and crops, as well as loss of habitats to create said lawns and monoculture fields...these poor little buggers are just trying to hang on.

Finally we went our separate ways. He was headed up to Englewood Reserve and I back home. I was impressed with his dedication...to drive 45 minutes north in hopes to spot some "firsts of the year." But that's what retirement affords you, or should, at least. A young person once asked me why all birdwatchers are "old." I told him I wasn't sure. Maybe it is because it is such a slow, patient pursuit and young people today want things when they want them, which is usually immediately. Maybe it seems to them a waste of time...so you see the birds and identify them...then what? As if the end result has to have a purpose that benefits them. Or maybe they grew up with what Richard Louv calls a "nature deficit disorder" so nature is a thing "out there" and not even on their radar screens. ..or computer screens

What I am sure about is that when I connect nature to kids (and adults which is often even more exciting)...a transformation occurs. But this transformation takes hold only when the pace is slow (not destination oriented), when we look at things up close with binoculars backwards (not just trounce down the path talking), when we quietly engage all the senses (not be the noise-makers) and when we create a forum where the questions can begin to flow.

Several weeks ago, I took four 6th graders on a night hike. I asked them how they felt before we headed out with home-made luminaries in hand. They each said, "Scared." But after listening to the unfamiliar sounds, calling in owls (unsuccessfully, but they thought the barred owl recordings were a hoot!), and learning why we can't see very well in the dark while other animals can...they changed their minds about nature-in-the-night. Afterward, it was "cool" and they wanted to do it again. So we will. I hope these experiences help them become young nature-lovers, maybe even activist, or inventors, or architects, or scientists that will make a difference in the life of migrating birds or other ecological problems they will soon face. I hope they will not grow up to see nature as only thier gateway to fast-paced recreation or the "extreme rush" (the kind you might experience seeing an axe murderer approaching) of driving as fast as they can through the woods, over the snow or on the water. Which seems to be an adventure in missing the point...and the path of discovery and settling calm.

And don't we need more of that today anyway?