Heritage Trail 4: Last Leg: Lincoln, MA to The Lake

Considering the limited time I had in Lincoln, I am amazed and grateful for being able to have good visits with Carrie, Tim, Katie, David, and Callie Girl. In the process Barb and I did some gardening and discovered a monarch larva in her forest of milkweed. There is much concern about the dwindling monarch population, so we felt like we had hit the jackpot!

Searching the milkweed for signs of monarchs

Monarch Larva

In the afternoon we picked up some fresh produce for dinner, and I found some kale to tuck into the garden for winter shakes. We also took some up to Martha and planted it in her front yard on the way to the lake.

Fertilizing the newly planted kale.

After a two day visit in Lincoln, we packed up food and gear and headed north to "Canada" (as we called it in our youth).... to the destination of all my childhood summers: The Hemlocks on Lake Memphremagog. But on our way, we stopped and had visits with cousin Martha in Barton, Vermont and cousin Brenda and her wonderful family in Derby, Vermont. It was great to catch up and see how well they looked. Although I thought Brenda and Mar looked beautiful with their short chemo hairdos, we were too busy talking and laughing to even think about pictures. I'm happy to report they are both doing well!

A warm gentle sun filters through the hemlocks,
promising a "perfect dock day"!
I saw Randy Newman perform this summer and he sang his song
"Feels like Home to Me". I found myself singing that song off and on for the four days we were at the lake.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXP4UqgNg70

   While there, we had long leasurely visits with the Ann and Tom, Tiger and Judy, and various newcomers who now live along the lake. And we swam and read and told story upon story about the days when we were all there as kids for two months every summer. Now the cabin has electricity, but that's actually the only change after all these 50 + years. Thanks to the Montgomeries, this camp is just as it always was, and Barb and I were filled with gratefulness....for the way things have been preserved and revered, and for Tom and Ann's generosity in sharing The Hemlocks with us.

Tom Looking at Barb's Gift to the Hemlocks: Book of Mom's Paintings

Feels like Home to Me!

Barb, Ann, and Tom

Dining Porch (For those who have been away too long)

Daybreak. 7:00AM.  Completely Silent. Heaven.

"Mountains are giant, restful and absorbent. You can heave your spirit into a mountain and a mountain will keep it,
folded, and not throw it back the way some creeks will."  Pilgrim at Tinker Creek

Barb in Ann's Kayak

On this dock
I learned to thread worms on hooks
Leaving the wriggling end
To attract perch and bass.

At The Lake I noticed the sky and air, the formation of clouds and shadows, the sky at night, the lightening and rain in the storm, and I noticed old familiar smells and sounds I hadn't experienced in years....the "you who-ing" down the path, the falling hemlock needles on the roof, the lake lapping at the beach stones, and the owl calling my name! It was just as I hoped it would be...just like it was the last time...and hopefully just like it will be next time.

 I am filled with gratitude for the places I've been and the people I've been with. Each of you have amazing stories behind your faces. Thank you for your incredible gifts and for opening your hearts to me. I have been blessed by you, and I wish we didn't live so darn far apart!

Until we meet again, I will hold you in my heart.

The Way It Is

There’s a thread you follow. It goes among

things that change. But it doesn’t change.

People wonder about what you are pursuing.

You have to explain about the thread.

But it is hard for others to see.

While you hold it you can’t get lost.

Tragedies happen; people get hurt

or die; and you suffer and get old.

Nothing you do can stop time’s unfolding.

You don’t ever let go of the thread.

By William Stafford, from The Way It Is, 1998