Walking Towards Heaven

Here in Northern California it has been raining with very little sunshine for over 2 weeks. It makes for very little walking and dubious photo taking. However I took a few very magical photos during one of the rain breaks. Deer Island. My home away from home. The mist and the sunlight were just right. Can't you just imagine a unicorn appearing on the path ahead, or some great big full horned stag shaking its head at you? When I walk these paths, separate from any emotional turmoil I feel, my resolve is reinforced by the beauty, the quiet, the birds, the trees. I am aware that I am headed in the absolutely perfect direction.

Feeling My Mane in the Wind

Intro Spread from Deer Island Altered Book

How I love my walk/runs on Deer Island -- a small little island of property owned by our local watershed company. Once it was surrounded by San Fransisco Bay waters, now there is a paved road access, and surrounded on three sides by wetlands. Waterfowl, hawks, foxes, coyotes, deer, long-eared Western jackrabbits, songbirds galore. And trees, hundreds of bay laurels and a myriad of oak tree species.

Everytime I walk or run on Deer Island, I feel nourished, uplifted, in the flow, and just plain happy. My hair flows behind me as I run through the woods, as I run by the big Bay Laurel I call "The Mother", as I pass the old Miwok middens, as I pass the reservoir with all of the waterbirds, as I am greeted and answer the hawks that fly overhead and seem to know my name. I have always loved being with nature outdoors. And this place is sacred to me. I see and greet shadows of past lovers, departed horse companions, long lost grandparents and great-grandmothers. I see the future I am moving into. And it has been for a long time, and will continue to be a source of my creativity.