Walk in the Woods with a Child

I recently came across the following poem that my Grandmother wrote many years ago, after walking with me in the woods behind our home one day.  I think I was probably about eleven, when Gramummy asked me to take her for a walk in our woods and show her some of my favorite places. (At that time I spent most of my free time exploring our woods and the 750 acre sanctuary beyond our stone wall.) I remember the joy I felt at the opportunity to share my wonderful world and point out the little signs of the wildlife I loved. I didn't know Gramummy had written about our walk until years later, after she had died, so it was a special gift to receive this poem.

Walk in the woods with your children

And learn the wonders of God.

I walked in the woods with Melissa

And heard the song of a bird,

I saw the print of a field mouse

And smelled the scent of the wood.

I felt the presence of creatures

That gave perspective to man

And yearned for the power of childhood

To know God's miraculous plan.

                         Edith D. Beach

  
This Barred Owl reminds me of one early morning years ago, when Jonathan, Arielle and I got up before dawn and went out into the woods to observe and sketch. We were thrilled to find a Barred Owl posing beautifully in a tree, and we stood for a long time admiring and sketching him.





Riga Falls, where I sat on the damp woods floor and sketched with my nephew Felix last summer