Going Away to Come Home

Like many people,  this past weekend I found myself more acutely aware of the many sorts of bounty that surround me, the many things for which abiding gratitude is necessary.I spent a 'working weekend' surrounded by great company and sparsely beautiful countryside ... and did a serious recharge in the process. (the amazing food shared by everyone out there this past weekend contributed to health, contentment, and gratefulness, to be sure)I was sad to be away from home for Thanksgiving, but was very grateful for a final opportunity to work on my more local site-specific projects one last time before winter sets in, in earnest.I had three goals in mind  for my time out at 'The Farm': to take stock of  what the last year has brought me & where things are going creatively, get on the far side of a nasty cold that threatened to eat my sinuses and brain, and at least get close to finishing a new sculptural work - Dervish Reach - I had started on site last month (more on that work soon) ... .As it turns out, I got an added bonus: I was finally able to see Make:Believe in snow! (A bit early for my liking, but at least the weather wasn't very cold, and it was rather lovely)Make:Believe has always had a stillness about it -  walking through the work, one becomes conscious of the way any activity in the surrounding landscape seems to fall away. I had wanted it to be a place that invited visitors of all species to pause - rest, play, wander - as they chose. As the work has grown over the years, this stillness has become more and more established, but the snow seemed to set it apart entirely.I became deeply aware of this work as a space for quiet to be held and nurtured - a living reminder of how necessary it is to stop and be still now and again in order to appreciate more fully the gifts this life offers.A productive weekend, in many ways.