DAY 1_ON THE ROAD FROM PEACHAM TO PORTLAND

"On the road again.

”I just can’t wait to get on the road again…”

-Willy Nelson

Ready to Go-9am in Peacham Vt

Dearest Readers,

This is Etta James and I about to begin our driving journey to Portland Oregon. (picture taken by Cynther Greene, my landlady and friend.) There was frost on the roof of the car as we set out this morning, and warnings from the weather people at The Fairbanks Museum and Planetarium in St. Johnsbury of a possible first snowfall in shaded Vermont hollows on Saturday. I sold my studded snowtires…time to get going!

Yesterday I cleaned, packed and stuffed the Scion XB (aka “The Toaster”) with my life for the last year and 4 months.

View from my upstairs window facing east toward NH on Wednesday

I stared out my favorite window at home in Peacham where I can get the best cell signal, and copped a glance east beyond a glorious wall of trees and color. I will miss this place and my friends. It’s a bittersweet goodbye.

I travelled south out of NEK (Northeast Kingdom of VT), then crossed the Green Mountains around central Vermont, and continued to the NY State border. The fall foliage was raucous, brilliant, and simply gorgeous on this sunny day.

I continued south on the NY side until Saratoga Springs where I headed west, caught the NY Thruway toward Buffalo around the town of Mohawk. This is Erie Canal and Mohawk River Valley territory, and the ancient home of the Six Indian Nations–The Mohawks, Oneidas, Onondagas, Cayugas, Senecas and the Tuscaroras. I saw wide vistas, modest color on the trees, some crumbly industrial towns like Gloversville and Johnstown, but I didn’t stop to investigate. Downtown Saratoga Springs felt like old money with beautiful municipal buildings and stately homes from the 19^th century. It resembled some New England college towns I know–like Hanover NH, Northampton, and Holyoke Mass.

So, tonight Etta and I made it to Verona NY…a pleasant smallish city with a sign pointing away from the highway to the original downtown, now a place avoided by most travelers in favor of Seneca Street where all the ugly fast food, and chain drug store/supermarkets line up like shiny teeth. I went there too for bananas at Price Chopper, a new Brita water jug at Rite-Aid, a salad at McDonalds and a coffee on the agenda at Dunkin Donuts.  

Some people at my Microtel Inn had the over-tanned, lean and hungry appearance of gamblers, and indeed I discovered Verona is home to Turning Stone Resort and Casino. I found a picture online. I’m not sure where it is, but it looks alluring.

My goal is 300 miles per day, and we did it. That’s about all I can handle. Traffic was light–the views thrilling. I stuck to the speed limit and let others pass me willy-nilly. It relaxed me. Bring on the trucks!

Struggling to get a selfie in the motel room with Etta James, my arm, and green creature "Wei" in upper left, a temporary traveling gift from The Peacham Library

LEARNING FROM THE WOODS

“I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.” -Henry David Thoreau

On top of Devil's Hill_Peacham Vermont_9.2015

Dearest Readers,

A year and 4 months ago I came to the woodland mountain village of Peacham Vermont to learn something about myself. I had a hunch that living simply within nature could pull back a curtain to a deeper understanding of the universe and my place in it. 

Here’s what I learned that I must do to be alive:

1.     Walk

2.     Paint

3.     Help others

4.     Hug my kids and grandkids

Here’s how I learned I could achieve these four goals:

 

My thinking place overlooking the mountain forest

1.     Deep silence was a necessary ingredient for my thinking and listening.

2.     Walking and noticing opened me to the wildness.

Two white-tailed deer leaping away along my walk-route_Peacham Vt_10.2015

3.     Trees played a big part in this search for what’s behind what I see.  They seem to be guardians at the visible edge of an invisible, intelligent network that I can sense now, and almost touch. Perhaps this network is God.

The Hall of the Mtn.Maples_Hapenny Rd.Peacham Vt

Becoming a Tree No.1_8.5"x14"_oil on canvas_2014

4.     Painting the idea of “Becoming a Tree” and “Falling Leaves” opened me wider as I created a body of artwork to understand the vastness beyond little me.

Falling Leaves No.3_41"x44"_acrylic and pastel on canvas_2015

5.     Visiting my grown kids and grandkids as much as possible keeps me vital and expands my love.

My daughter Semra and newest granddaughter Charlotte_Brooklyn NY_10.4.2015

Half this year I “hermeted”. By March I was ready to explore my self within my community, and to nurture my third tenet-How Can I Help?

I was asked to volunteer as a rare book researcher at the Historical Society, and to become the third Friday hostess at the Peacham Library Coffee Hour, baking treats and preparing coffee for a gathering of elders and a smattering of young adults who keep the local culture alive just by informal sharing of what’s happening, and what has occurred in this cosmic microcosm.

The Friday Coffee Group at the Peacham Vt Library_April 2015

I picked up highway trash and painted the big swing set at the elementary school. I showed my artwork at the Gilmore Gallery in the library last Fall and  I have a second show of self-portraits on vintage family hankies that opens there tonight.

"Day 41:Feeling Old"_laser print on beaded, quilted and embroidered vintage family hankie

On a practical level I learned from my landlady, Cynther Greene, about what winter clothes to buy, and the need for studded tires for my little urban-designed Scion.

My beautiful  life-saving studded snow tires

Even my dog, Etta James got a bright orange “hunter-visible” pet parka, and naturally sprouted a mat of fur along her underside and between her toes.

Etta James last winter in her hunter-special parka_2014

Conclusions:

I am a biological creature…I do not last, but I’ve surprisingly discovered a buried cache of self-confidence. I feel less evaluated in life, and hence my discovery of a risky, creative and kinder me. The walking makes me strong. Art draws me deep. The trees enhance spirituality.  Noticing makes me appreciative. Simplicity un-complicates everything. Wild animals share this earth. My neighbors and new friends expand my cultural awareness. It’s been such a gift to live here.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep. 

But I have promises to keep,

And miles to go before I sleep,

And miles to go before I sleep.

-Robert Frost

This Thursday, October 15, I begin my drive out West to my new home in Portland Oregon.

See you next time on the road!

LETTING GO

Haypenny Rd. Peacham Vt

Fallen apples on Mack's Mtn. Rd. Peacham Vt

Dearest Readers,

T’is the season for winding down and packing up. Apples and leaves are releasing their hold on the trees. Vermont hummingbirds are feverishly fattening up for their two thousand mile journey to Central America, 

and I’m letting go of this rural life–simultaneously filling up on favorite Vermont-y things before my 3,100-mile trip to Portland Oregon next month. I’ve been hiking local trails,

Cecelia Kane and Etta James atop Devil's Hill overlooking the North East Kingdom of Vermont

About to walk my favorite snowmobile trail (in the summer) up towards Cow Hill_Peacham Vt

 eating regional treats,

Maybe my last maple creamee (Vermont lingo for soft-serve ice cream)

re-visiting museums,

Michael Beale and I at Keith Sonnier installation_Hall Art Foundation_Reading Vermont

seeing cousins,

In Rutland Vt visiting my cousins Moira, left and her daughter Elaine center.

and art friends.

Left to Right_Ginger Birdsey_Sarah Ashe_Kathy Clarke and me in Ripton Vt

I’m compiling a picture file of my new Peacham friends and acquaintances ,

Barbara Hegenbart_fellow walker and librarian

Tom Galinat, Peacham Town Clerk

Lorna Quimby_Peacham historian

Rachel_H.S. student at St. Johnsbury Academy and regular coffee hour attendee at Peacham library

and inserting my selfie-self in the historical landscape.

Me standing at the intersection of Main and Church Streets in the heart of "downtown" Peacham Vt

I’m targeting the end of September to finish two new paintings in my studio. Here's one–

Me with Falling Leaves No. 4 in progress

Maybe I’ll walk the Vermont corn maze near here with Cynther, my friend and landlady, if I have the time.  

Aerial view of Vermont corn maze in Danville, Vt

Cynther Greene atop Devil's hill overlook

One regret: I’m sorry I did not finish my woven-stick hut in the field, but I leave it in Cynther's good hands for re-purposing.

The unfinished hut_needs trimming, and more sticks especially at the top_sigh!