After a disturbed night of sleep with tooth pain, followed by a long morning recovery in bed waiting for the antibiotics to heal the infection, I am finally able to go into the woods for #mydailywalk in the early afternoon. My energy is low, it's a very gentle process. When I kneel next to the dried maple wings in the grass (below), how the healing of my spirit begins. The wind rippled river under grey clouds is encircled by lush foliage. The milkweed by the railroad tracks is coming into bloom for the bees. A half-petaled flower of the field is a work of art. The wild rose petals have flung themselves onto the swamp like heart-shaped flakes of snow.

I am so grateful to be feeling well, to have these quiet, rejuvenating moments, these friends of the natural world urging me back to health. 

All photos and text copyright Kelly DuMar 2017