A pause at the end of March

We didn't expect to go back to breaking ice and spits of flurry.
We were ready to let the protection fall. We were ready for sleeping with the window open.

Clouds fell in the forest today. Cold killed the smell of the earth pushed up by sprouts and
the smell the skunk left trailing through the tree line.

Stillness holds the sound to my ear.
We're closed in together - the animals are aware. I can hear the leaves roll and crunch as feet move
self consciously, purposefully.

I pause here.
Knees locked like the horse in the mud.

Breath in -
chill air behind my eyes
Breath out -
warm vapor
resting on my lip and cooling

I'm the blanket on the mountain. I'm the crow in the tree.

"Clump of Trees in Winter" by Joichi Hoshi (1913-1979)

a walk in the rain

It's not that cold; just a low grey sky and steady rain. Eighteen hours of swinging between a chilly misting and window slapping sprays. If I can keep my head dry, I'm out the door.

snowdrops in the pine needles

raindrops on the maple

holes the dog dug

green hellebore being beautiful

tea for cold fingers and cold nose

a visit to the rising (collecting water at the "holy well")

Yesterday we took a drive across the crest of the mountain and into the hollow along a vertical outcropping of Oriskany sandstone, unloaded our bottles and filled them at the spring house.

We live equal distance to two springs where we go to collect water. It's a bit of a drive, but worth it. Both springs have bath houses and modest resorts attached to them, Berkeley Springs rests in a small town with local artist studios and restaurants; people visit for hot baths year round. We usually go here in the summer because the kids love the outdoor swimming. Capon Spring has an enormous old hotel and spa built in 1850, but is usually more of a ghost town this time of year - this is where we went yesterday.

A "holy well" can be any spring that holds significance in the folklore of the area. Both of these springs are believed to have healing properties and were sacred places to the native Americans tribes that resided there. For me the collection of the water at its source is holy enough. After walking down the aisles of the grocery store lined with bottles that ensure my safety it feels magical to have water rise up from the ground ready for consumption.

Put visiting a spring on your summer to do list, it offers perspective and the road trip almost always takes you somewhere you wouldn't have discovered otherwise.

View from inside a steaming private bath at Berkeley Springs.