Walking Around Keene

CRICKET CONCERTO
and TURNING of the LEAVES

My route from the airport to Keene on Friday (August 29) took me across one of the famed covered bridges of the region. It was dark when the taxi pulled up to my house on Fowler Street, and the crickets were kicking up a ruckus (just as they are this evening, outside my bedroom window). From the airplane window, the forests still resemble dark green broccoli, however the tippy-tops of the maples in Keene are crossing over to orange and red, and the first maple leaves are swirling on the lawns and sidewalks.

Today was the fourth of five free days for me, before my classes begin on Thursday. My goal for these days is to teach myself to feel at home in this tidy furnished bedroom, in this sprawling, older home with my new house mates Jan, Gary, Caitlin, Hannah, four dogs and a ball python that eats live rats, and in this charming New England city, with its colonial architecture and its hot, humid weather. I've been walking, walking, walking every day, returning to the house with groceries in my backpack (much heavier than the kind of groceries I carry in the trunk of my car in Edmonton!), and changing my shirt each day in the middle of the afternoon. I visited my new university today and yesterday, to familiarize myself with the route. Unfortunately, Main Street happens to be an unavoidable part of my daily path, and I was distracted both days by the enticements of the intriguing shops along my way.

If you click on 'tidy furnished bedroom,' you will see photos of my room, as well as the house, and shots taken at an Art in the Park show that I visited on Sunday. I fell in love with the art of Don Reed, at the show--it would be wonderful if he would teach his technique in a class, and if I could attend that class! The painting I've included in this post is his work, and you can view more, and read about his technique, on Don's web site.

Jan, my landlady, is a collector, and she has a couple/few bikes in her yard. She offered me the use of one of them, and I walked it down to Andy's Bike Shop today for a tune-up and some extras--bell, basket, fenders and light. I've been reading about derailleurs and how to shift gears, and I'm excited about learning to ride a multi-speed bike, and having one to use during my year in Keene.

It was more difficult than I anticipated, to wrench myself away from The Good Life in Edmonton. I am reluctant to admit to how much fun I'm having here, because I know I am greatly missed by people that I love in Edmonton. On the other hand, they (you!) support my adventure, and hope that I will enjoy it thoroughly. I understand that this is Something Big that I am doing just for me, and my being away demands a real sacrifice from those who love me and who are close to me. I am grateful indeed.

Steiner, from The Calendar of the Soul:

The light from world-wide spaces
Works on within with living power;
Transformed to light of soul
It shines into the spirit depths
To bring to birth the fruits
Whereby out of the self of worlds
The human self in course of time shall ripen.

What fruits from this time in our lives will ripen in due course?