Whose Home?
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Map
Story & Experience
We walked the tree line, avoided some dense poison ivy growth, and selected a somewhat barren area near the base of a tree. We took some time to silently reflect on what this space has meant for us these past five years, what it may have meant been for previous tenants, how it was before it was cleared to build the house, and how it might have been for those flora, fauna, and humans who lived on or passed through it in previous centuries.
We also contemplated the many visible branches and trees that have fallen beyond the tree line in our short time here due to storms.
We walked the tree line, avoided some dense poison ivy growth, and selected a somewhat barren area near the base of a tree. We took some time to silently reflect on what this space has meant for us these past five years, what it may have meant been for previous tenants, how it was before it was cleared to build the house, and how it might have been for those flora, fauna, and humans who lived on or passed through it in previous centuries.
We also contemplated the many visible branches and trees that have fallen beyond the tree line in our short time here due to storms.
Why this Place?
Northfield, Connecticut
We have lived here for the past five years and are aware of the work our landlord did to clear this land in order to build the house we currently live in. We performed our ceremony at the intersection of the cleared land (our backyard) and the tree line that initiates acres of woodland. We are also aware that this land was originally occupied by the Schaghticoke Peoples into the early 1700s when it was ceded to European settlers –before there was a United States of America.
Act of Beauty
We gathered twigs and small stones and created a RadJoy Bird at the tree line using intact rooted grasses as its tail. Once it looked remotely bird-like, we took turns speaking out loud our personal gratitudes for the land, its history, and the life it both is and sustains for us – as we are regularly visited by bear, fox, deer, rabbit, raccoon, opossum, squirrel, chipmunk, mice, and a variety of birds. We returned the unused stones to where we had found them.
Our primary awareness remains the appreciation of the intersection of how we benefit from what was done to the land so we might occupy it as we do for as long as we have.
Additional Photos
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