Roaming Free
Over a month ago I caught a flight to Arizona to assist in caring for my ailing (non COVID-19 related), eighty-four-year-old mother. It’s been a roller coaster ride of a variety of sorts, which there is no preparation for. Although she is doing better, assistance for elderly care during this pandemic is - well… hard to come by. But, we (my sisters and I) are handling it and it certainly has not been without humor. And, like most of the country/world, we are staying in place, with added necessary precautions.
I am very grateful that I have the ability to be where I am, but I long to roam free. Since I was a teenager when the world seemed to be closing in on me, I would lace up my sneakers and run, letting the wind, rain, snow or sun take me away in the wide open spaces. The great outdoors has always been my refuge and even though the setting where I currently reside is beautiful - complete with trees, Bougainvillea and a plethora of birds - I long to roam.
When things start to feel too heavy, I do what I have always done, only now at a slower pace. I roam the streets until I come to the canal that is fed by the Salt, Verde and Colorado Rivers. It is a place for runners, walkers, bicycle riders and wild things. The canal runs for miles and miles and is protected between two concrete walls that are draped with flowering bushes. Ducks, geese and turtles are often found and I stop to talk to them all along the way. It is good conversation. When the weight starts to lift, I turn and head back, with the knowingness that I have been replenished and can face whatever lies ahead.
This however does not cure my homesickness - so I roam through photographs of the buffalo, which transports me back home to the prairie. In them I see brighter days ahead. I’ve put a collection of images together to share with you and I hope they brighten your day too. Wherever your “stay in place” environment is, stay strong and roam on. It's good medicine.
Thanks Jill. We have lovely snow in Maine, but no buffalo. For years they were just a little road trip away. Your photography captured that feeling of freedom beautifully and eased my homesick heart.
The healing solace of solitude is most noticeable when absent. Best in your journey through these moments and thanks for your lovely writing about that experience. Here in northern NM I can walk out my door and walk the mesa and the arroyos and appreciate that experience and notice the changes with the small flow from far upstream and the return of swallows after a two year hiatus. What a treat for me as your loved bison will be again, hopefully sooner than later with your mother’s, and the nation’s, return to health.
Thank you Jill for the beautiful photos. They gave me a smile and a sigh for better days. Hope your mother does well.
Love and prayers to you and your family. Thank you for sharing your beautiful message and pics!!
Jill, I can relate to your need to roam. I get out once or twice a week to roam the Valles Caldera or Bandelier. Communing with nature soothes my soul.
Sorry your going through a tough time with your mom. Be strong, be safe.
Hugs.