Fall

LM lives a few short miles from me in an adjoining town, and we are so blessed that both our towns have many, many large areas of precious land that has been saved through generous private donation and also purchase by our respective towns. These areas are marked well with signs and each time we pass them, we say we must walk the trails sometime.....you know how that goes....we have not even scratched the surface.
Last Saturday, I insisted we do at least two of these areas which are within a mile or so of his house. There was a bit of kicking and screaming (well, maybe only an "I have so much to do in the yard,") but I insisted and we set a time. All yard work came to a halt and off we went. First stop was "Coy's Brook" - about 30+ acres. We pulled way in off the road to a nice parking area and within 30 seconds we had this beautiful view out over a salt marsh. Our walk was through uplands with views from every point and just so quiet. Only some crows, the crunching of leaves under our feet, and a soft breeze in the treetops accompanied us.
Life goes on, with a strong will!
Us, it seems at times..Valiant and brilliant color.....a place for a fairy nap.
Next stop was the Lee Baldwin Walk - less than 1/2 mile from the first walk. Lee was a lover of the land and great preservationist. I remember in my early years here on the Cape that she lead nature walks. Sadly, I never partook. This area is just a short walk but has a lovely wheelchair accessible boardwalk leading into the beautiful woods from the parking area. We walked off that boardwalk/observation area to another wide path leading us to this gravestone all by itself. I've written to the Conservation Foundation to find the history. There appeared to be two stones, one very damaged, the other with the name Wilson and dated 1839. As we walked further it did seem that there may have been houses or buildings on the land in past centuries.
We came across a large area of "tea berries" and I dared to eat some, loving the deep wintergreen flavor and transporting me straight back to my childhood on the farm where we had beautiful woods to explore at anytime. LM was afraid to try them.....
Here's my scout....he went ahead at one point to see if we could cross a stream. Alas, we turned around, as the sides were too steep for us.
As we came back toward the beginning of the walk, we paused and sat on the bench at the observation area, soaking in the stillness of the late afternoon. My soul was craving that peace. I felt such deep gratitude to the Conservation Trust for providing this beautiful place to visit.
It was a lovely time out in nature, and after a stop at the market on the way home, we came back to our Ms G....she loves to avert all eye contact when we first come home. It is so funny. I took this photo from the kitchen as I began to prepare dinner. She has to watch what we are both doing but will not engage until she is ready! We call this back-of-the-chair spot the sentinel position. Whenever we are bustling about getting ready for a meal, a departure or just arriving, she is on full alert. Next she hopped from the chair to the dining table, right in my line of vision. My darling little one, you are a "cute" spirit.
It wasn't long before she was cuddled up with me on the sofa for the evening.

Meanwhile, almost a week has passed. I have been sewing every night and making lots of progress. The quilting bug has me in its clutches but I am loving it.

Yesterday morning another attack of TN hit me so hard that I had to leave work. This is the second one. Not sure what to do, I took one of the original anti-seizure meds and it helped somewhat. I am back at work today but the left side of my head is numb, very little vision in the eye, and a general heavy head prevails. This is the second attack in a 2 month period. The hardest struggle in it all is to keep my thinking in the moment and not far ahead, as I see that this chronic condition could interfere with my job; a prospect scarier than chronic pain. When it hit me yesterday, I had no choice but to go home as my mouth did not want to work, slurring my words and making it difficult on the phone.
Well, I am going forward as if I am fine....planning a nice weekend with LM. We are taking Kristi to shop for Thanksgiving veggies and have lunch tomorrow, and Jason and baby Teddy may join us for lunch and a walk.
Hope everyone will have a great weekend....I'd love to hear about your Thanksgiving plans. It sure is a lovely holiday.