Snow falling on cedars… hemlock and doug firs, too. It snowed all over Crutcher’s Bench yesterday on the next to last day of April. I was not there. Everyone must have thought I was at Buckingham Palace attending the royal wedding. But no, I had to eschew that invitation because of a more pressing engagement: the ADAPT demonstrations in our nation’s capitol calling for home and community based services for people with disabilities as opposed to forcing folks to live in nursing homes and other institutions.
The weather and flora and fauna are gorgeous in Washington: 70 degrees, sunny, a light wind. Apple, pear, peach, varied colored dogwood trees, and azalea all with bursting blooms. Here, they squeeze in the flora and fauna between buildings and concrete.
I’m enjoying this time in the city where every convenience is at one’s fingertips. Groceries, drug stores, and yummy restaurants are within walking distance. And culture? The Capitol Mall with Smithsonian museums lining either side is just 2 blocks away.
I get why people live in great cities with all that we think we need just minutes away. Where I live, it is a 30-minute drive to a drugstore. The nearest art museum is over an hour’s drive and pales when compared to the National Gallery or the Met.
Still, I wouldn’t trade life on Crutcher’s Bench for a return to my old Georgetown condo. Something comes from living with trees, rocks, and rivers that is lost with urban dwelling.
A few short steps out my back door and I am among giants. Tall trees, boulders, moss, owls, and other creatures share this land. It is a path that leads not only to forest but unswervingly to the core of me. Oh this land that holds me, cries me, smiles, shakes, and dances me clear to the very ground of being.
This week will be full of having conveniences at one’s fingertips and visiting the National Gallery and National Museum of the American Indian. It’s a time to move along streets packed with people and inhale the plethora of spring blossoms.
Then, with profound joy, I’ll return to forest and family…home to Crutcher’s Bench where shopping is at a distance but soul and center are accessible.
Beautiful!
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