Here. Greetings from Alma’s Way, our new home and the stolen land of the Tutuni people. Pause, breathe, grieve, bow. May we remember, may we make right, may we re-establish symbiosis via our presence here.
Alma’s Way is 1.4 acres 3 miles South of the westernmost point in N. America. Tucked under the arm of Cape Blanco, this slice of wildness is one of the sunniest places in the Pacific Northwest, 73 inches of rain a year—I guess when it comes it comes…but I don’t know yet as mostly I’ve seen sunny days and gentle winds…the sweetest trail to the beach—4 minutes slowly ambling and then BOOM, Paradise Point State Park opens up and miles of walking in both directions…yes, I am a bride married to amazement*, is this for reals? Seems so.
In this newness there is so much to take in; so many relatives to meet: learning the hummingbird’s favorite perch, the young and bold deer who definitely know this is their place not ours, orange bellied salamanders, the shiny agate, the most extensive offering of perfectly flat skipping stones I’ve ever met, and the smooth, long lingham stones–again, so many. All the wild things, the dead things, the tangles of kelp and driftwood…the song of the wind and sea, relentlessly calling me to feel, to be, to remember my place in the family of things*. Alma’s Way is our next movement and an extension of PrayerFarm, it is becoming a safe away place for you, for all of us, during smoke season, and all the times when being battered by wind and weather, when the noisy silence of the relentless ocean is your needed medicine. We will hold group times, private retreat times, celebrations, and grief ceremonies here…so much is dying, and Alma’s Way is being born…and this is how it is; until our final flash of amazement, death and birth ride the parallel path of Life.
We need lots of help both at PrayerFarm and at Alma’s Way—if you or anyone you know wants to come and work and play, be fed and known in a collaborative community setting, reach out—and check out upcoming events to see what else is being offered in the coming weeks—we love to worktrade. Big love to your tenderest places, from me and all the wild things. XX
*Thank you Mary Oliver x2 for your perfect phrases.