Resilience

“I will not say: do not weep; for not all tears are an evil.” —J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King Friday night, I sat with a friend in her driveway, many feet apart from one another, as dusk gave way to night. Around us, her once beautifully wooded neighborhood looked like it had suffered…

Not Our Trees

Thank you to everyone in Prairiewoods’ mycelial network for the outpouring of love and support and shared sadness in the aftermath of the Aug. 10 derecho, which decimated the tree canopy in Cedar Rapids. This poem was composed for love of our fallen arbor-elders in the wake of a devastating loss for this bio-region and beyond.…

Praying the Labyrinth

You’re always welcome to pray the outdoor labyrinth at Prairiewoods. Walking the labyrinth is a powerful, embodied prayer experience. I love this particular prayer form and have had a unique experience each time I do it. I remember years ago, the first time I walked the labyrinth at Prairiewoods, I actually felt some discomfort. Am…

Beans, Butterflies and Cosmos

This probably sounds like an odd combination, but I’ve been pondering beans, butterflies and cosmos these days. All are abundant in my garden and yard. The vegetable garden is in full harvest mode—beans, peppers, tomatoes, kale, dill, basil. And then there are all the herbs just outside my back door—sage, oregano, thyme, garlic chives, mint…

“Wild Thing! You Make My Heart Sing!” 

Relating with Our Creature-Kin, Part 2 On last Sunday’s blog, we began exploring the wild world of our creature-kin. (https://prairiewoods.org/wild-thing-you-make-my-heart-sing/) We looked at our perception of other-than-human kin in their own integrity, rather than who they are solely in relationship to us humans. Now we shift our attention to our ethics, our practical ways of relating…

What Do You See at Prairiewoods?

During this time of pandemic and PanDeepening, the land at Prairiewoods remains open to visitors. Whether you’re a first-time visitor or a many-time visitor, we’d love to see what you’re seeing at Prairiewoods and hear about your experiences. Here is our map of the beautiful 70 acres, as well as our photo scavenger hunt: Trail…

A Path to Peace

Compelling energy—the thousands of activists who over fifty years ago in 1963 committed themselves to nonviolence and marched courageously in Birmingham for all. Spawning several grassroots movements, Dr. Martin Luther King’s candid “Letter from Birmingham City Jail” called people to pledge not only to march for justice, but also to make active nonviolence a way…

Welcome to This Circle

Twelve years ago, my husband and I had a somewhat untraditional wedding. We rented a large inn for the weekend and invited our close friends and family to come celebrate and help us create the perfect weekend. One friend helped me buy all the food, and my aunt cooked it. My mom made the flower…