Rooted Wanderings

Julia has found this blog post to be more creatively challenging to begin writing than most, and her being the word master and Colby the editor we decided for a somewhat different style for this post. This two week chunk has not had a central theme or activity but rather was three general parts: five nights camping on the Welsh coastline, four nights at an intentional community in Wales called Brithdir Mawr, and five nights at a Quaker community in central England. Although we experienced lots of wonderful and impactful moments in these two weeks, they haven’t been epic sagas eager to be put in writing. So below you will find a window into the psyche of Julia as she shares some of the trials and triumphs of our time in Wales and beyond. Back on the Ocean You will find me wherever there are blackberries. Here I am, soaking up the bright morning sunlight as I reach to pluck berries from the tangle of bushes that border the Wales Coastal Path. This morning marks the third day s

Photo credit: Howard Davies Our first welcome to England came from the trees. Soaring tall and spreading grandly, they reflected the hospitality of the climate we had entered. The landscape here felt like a jungle, with all of Scotland's wetness but none of its chill in the air. As we walked toward Redfield Community, we relished the tangle of berry-speckled bushes, trees, and vines that bordered the road. Even more than we realized, we had been missing this lushness, which now spilled into us like water, soothing and nurturing. This feeling of homecoming only increased as we were welcomed into Redfield, an intentional community of 16 adults and 7 children. We had chosen to WWOOF here in order to experience the ins and outs of community living and see if we might like to make this lifestyle part of our own future. For the next two weeks, we would live with the Redfield Community in their big, beautiful red brick estate house from the 19th century, set among 17 acres of tre