The Graze V.164: A Tapestry of Rock and Root

Friends:

As summer (finally) arrives in Vermont, I have returned to my favorite morning ritual on the porch - coffee and a notebook. It is apparent in the early mornings that this valley holds stories carried through time in rock and root. The morning fog lifts to reveal this tapestry lit from within. I understand why the original stewards of this land, the Abenaki, were called the People of the Dawn. This is when the earth reveals itself.

I can read and I can imagine the lives of ancestors who stood on this land. The fullness of their stories is still hidden.

In her profound essay, Ancestral Structures on the Trailing Edge,  Lauret E. Savoy writes, “Every place, every landscape, is a site of memory and a site of oblivion or erasure. “ You can read this essay or listen to it here.  

This month begins the creation of a new structure made of rock and root - the installation of ‘the Odeon’ on the land at Mission Farm. This space will carry the tradition of storytelling into our future. The Odeon, created by stone artist Dan Snow, will be a space for stories and poetry to be told, sung, and enacted.  Please follow the progress of this historic creation on our website (we will try to keep a running slideshow).

May you listen and be moved by the stories told in the landscape - stories of loss, possibility, transformation, celebration and joy.

Peace,

🌱 Lisa+