To the hills.

To the hills. [Clean.]

To the hills. [Clean.]

To the hills. [Clean.]

Above photo by Lupine.

To the hills. [Clean.]

To the hills. [Clean.]

To the hills. [Clean.]

The kids and I, for obvious reasons, spent much of yesterday cleaning our house.

And while we never did get to the kitchen, we cleaned up enough dirt that I had to change out the vacuum bag and I managed to excavate my dresser top right down to the wood. (Who knew. My dresser wasn't actually made of piles of socks, stray necklaces, and knitting needes!)

What a difference some focused cleaning up can make.

But then to be honest I got a little lost in your comments on yesterday's post (I'm a bit of a comments junkie if you must know) and found myself checking in more than I meant to.

Because your. Comments. Are. Awesome. And I really love it when what I have to say resonates so much for you.

(Thank you. For encouraging me along this path. For inspiring my words and giving feedback to what I say.)

So I kept checking on-line. All darn day.

And the day that started so strong began running through my fingers.

It was cool, foggy, and drizzly (as in: perfect) so I told the kids to drop their feather dusters and get their muck boots.

Clean-up time was over.

We headed into the hills.

Lyme Disease has been funny (or maybe sad is a better word) in that I lost much of my physical energy for most of the summer. The creek just seemed so very far away that we didn't often go.

We still went, but not daily like we had been before, that is for sure.

If I dig deeper I'd admit to being a little tick-shy/terrified as well. Since my diagnosis Pete and Lupine also began treatment for Lyme. Good times. We're like an antibiotics warehouse over here.

Mercy it's been a rough year in that department.

But I digress. The point is, yesterday it was too misty magical to worry about ticks so we threw caution to the wind and headed into the woods.

And over me and in me and through me and around me washed the most profound presence and peace.

There was nowhere else to be. There was nothing else to do. There was only this.

Only here. With them. Now.

Oh, to buid each day on such presence.


To the hills. [Clean.]

The kids found a newly exposed vein of green clay in the hillside and
brought home great hand-fulls of it and made pots and vases at our table
before dinner.

The pottery was charming.

The mess was breathtaking.

The dinner was late.

But no bother. We were all so grounded in our experience that we hardly noticed the time as it slipped through our fingers.

But now in a very different, very lovely way.

 

 

10 thoughts on “To the hills.”

  1. Samantha says:
    Reply

    Oh sweetie. I feel the same hesitation going into nature. It will never be what it was before Lyme for me I don’t think. But one has to venture. Namaste

  2. Angie says:
    Reply

    <3 I would love if I could find natural and such beautiful clay! What a beautiful experience. I also love cold, drizzly days. They're just perfect. If my wife and I ever have kids, I'd love for us to introduce them to cozy days in, with rain outside, or snow; sipping a warm drink and coloring, or journaling, working on crafts or learning about the weather (especially it's beautiful mystical projects.) Or even better, going for a dance in the rain, or splashing in mud, building a snowman or hiding out in an igloo. So dreamy!

  3. Marieke says:
    Reply

    Hi Rachel,
    Thanks for another lovely post (I also loved your previous one!).
    For me going out into nature has also changed since there are now so many ticks & we know about Lyme disease. I remember picknicks in the forest from my youth, laying in grassy fields and leaving paths to ramble through the wood. We just don’t do things like that much anymore. Last weekend we went blueberry picking in the forest and (since they’re not quite ripe yet over here) I got two jars of blueberry jam and found four ticks which had become quite attached to me…
    So its to the blueberry farm and longing for winter for forest rambles!

  5. Jai says:
    Reply

    Thanks for the reminder of time and how it can be treasured. So often it is seen as a nemesis. It’s as if getting caught up in the to do’s makes time speed up. Yet when we stay present in the doing without a specific agenda time stands still. Funny. Time is only what we think it to be.

  6. Christy Austin says:
    Reply

    I was thinking again about your “cropping” post this morning on my walk. I usually “pre-crop” before I take photos…clear off the table (putting all the crap on the couch, of course). This made me want to try it a different way…go around our house and take what I would consider “undesirable” photos. Then I could go on the computer and do the cropping, creating a desirable photo, focusing on the beauty of the room. I could then just look at those photos and feel great! 🙂

  7. Franziska says:
    Reply

    I know how we should handle our online world. Check maybe once or twice a day. There is nothing too urgent… but sometimes it doesn’t matter and I find myself checking in even though I know I shouldn’t 😉
    Thanks for sharing!

  9. Beth says:
    Reply

    I love both of these posts. Just perfect for me today. Thank you. WIll you post more on keeping the clutter down while saying YES and creating LOTS of messes? We’re about to go wild apple collecting instead of cleaning…again. I have no doubt they will grow up to clean when they need to, but we all would also enjoy a little more order tomorrow. Yet, if I just crop our days a tiny bit, they are often close to perfect–even the drama to let off steam.

    I am standing here typing w/my hair in a towel and the last beads of water from the shower w/sugar scrub still dripping on the towel. I love that stuff. It makes me feel like I was just treated like a queen. Two extra minutes in the shower w/the kids whispering in secret play! Thanks again.

  10. KC says:
    Reply

    The French adore green clay over here. It’s in all the natural foods stores. You could make a pretty penny selling it for facial masks!

    I’m sorry Lyme has had such a disastrous effect on your health and energy but you still seem to be making the best of summer. Canning, bubbles, walks now and then. Love is still surrounding you and guiding you. 🙂

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