Ａｎ Ｅｓｃａｐｅ Ｐｌａｎ

Days River, Upper Peninsula, Michigan - November 6 2024

-notes-

 

I am always in the woods, even when I'm not there. Somewhere along the trail or off the trail, I find a center, a gravity that pulls everything in and holds steady. My camera bag and water bottle were packed, shoes on, hair in a messy ponytail before I even really recognized this is where I was headed. It was just an unconscious response to an innate need. I had to leave.

 

Not too far into the trail is the river, and once I found it, clarity found me:

 

The river was still running. The birds were still singing. The sun still shining. The season is still moving forward.

 

And I had this overwhelming feeling: I would do anything to keep these woods. To keep these trees standing.

 

It's also accepting the fact that waters dry up. Birds move on. Trees grow old and storms come along and take them down. And that's okay. What matters is keeping enough of the forest standing for new trees to grow. For more birds to come. For the waters to keep moving.

Done