We finally have snow! This is what winter is suppose to look like. Not enough yet for snowshoeing, but plenty for a winter hike through the woods. Today I visited my pine tree forest. It wasn't my initial plan, but I could hear them calling, inviting me to join them and I just couldn't resist. My brother calls me a hippie, a friend of mine calls me a tree hugger...you can call me what you want, but there is something about those trees that makes me feel at home. Like they are my family and it's where I belong. I feel like they hear the feelings and thoughts of my heart and they speak to me. Not in the outer spoken word that we humans have come to rely on so heavily, but in a deep inner way.
There is something amazing about connecting to a certain piece of the earth. I don't feel this way everywhere. I love being in the woods or out in nature anywhere, but there are certain spots that feel more sacred for me. There are 3 spots here. One of them is this pine tree forest. It's actually my most favorite. It's quite a hike to get there...into the woods, by a stream, over the bridge, through a marsh, up a hill, down a hill, around a corner and...oh my god it's amazing. I can feel their excitement to see me, to experience my presence, as soon is I enter the woods. When I come around that corner, it's like I hear their joyous singing, mixed with mine, in my heart. Hundreds of those solid, slim trees rise from the ground, reaching up and up into the sky. Today the ground is covered in snow, but most of the rest of the year it's a blanket of gold. It's almost like they are rising to great me, standing tall to welcome me into their arms.
Snow glitters in the sun as it cascades from branches and swirls through the air. There's an ecstasy of solitude, a certain quality peacefulness that only exists in the snowy woods. I've known it since I was a child. These are my woods. This is my pine tree forest. Not because I own it, but because I belong to it. If you must know, yes, I hugged a couple trees. I do every time I go. It feels good.
