Beaver walk

is what we call the trail behind the golf course in Northfield. We used to see beaver there and hear their warning tail slap when we approached their pond. I haven't seen beaver there for a while, but the name is the name. I just discovered these overgrown stairs in the middle of the woods and it felt like some mythical and ancient ruins. The stairs are flanked by dead cedars and thick grape vines.

I just borrowed Clarissa Pinkola Estes' 6 CD class called The Dangerous Old Woman from the library and Holy Crap! It was amazing. I felt transported to another world and I feel like I learned so much. I want to listen to it again and again, especially the stories! Here's a blurb about it from Amazon:

Old While Young, and Young While Old: We are born with two forces that give us every lens we need to see who we really are: the wild and ever-young force of imagination, which contains intuition and instinct, and the wise elder force of knowledge, which holds boundaries and carries the heart of the visionary. Through captivating stories and insights, Dr. Estés illustrates why this twofold way of being "old while young, and young while old" is the secret to holding and replenishing the center, thus living wildly and wisely ensouled amidst life's travails and triumphs. Your Legacy: Wild and Wise, Both "If you are not free to be who you are, you are not free," says Dr. Estés. Begin and deepen the work of bringing your one-of-a-kind legacy into the world following the trail blazed by the Dangerous Old Woman. She who stops at nothing to nourish, protect, and guide us in the offering of all our creative gifts.

http://www.amazon.com/Dangerous-Old-Woman-Stories-Archetype/dp/1591799716

I listened to her every time I got in the car over the past 2 weeks and it made the mythic world, the world behind the veil, seem more real that the mundane every day world.





















On the walk I found this Barred Owl feather. A few weeks ago Cookie and I had spotted a Barred Owl on the logging road walk. I had gone off the trail to see who the crows were mobbing in a big old pine tree in a ravine. The crows scattered as Cookie and I approached and then the big owl swooped down on her broad wings. Then last week Lily and I heard her hooting outisde at night. "Who cooks for you Who cooks for you all" is the cadence. Rob had come in saying he thought he heard and owl and Lily and I ran outside and waited in the chilly dark.
Nothing. Silence. The the call from the dark woods. Lily called back. It responded.

The feather looked so fresh and bright. Cookie came upon it, sniffed it and then jumped back, barking loudly. I took it home. Part of me wanted to leave it for the forest or for someone else to find. But I felt like it was there for me.