The Long Path

The morning was so beautiful when our Knight walked outside and looked at our garden his first words were "Let's walk to the playhouse." We'd done it a thousand times...walked to the back of the garden where the little house sits amidst trees and vines of ivy. (Directly behind our stone wall which defines the backyard stands the Grotto.....a stone structure built by the Monks of Stanislaus in the early 20th Century. I knew Howard's goal in walking that far would be to look over the wall, beyond the rusty gate, to the structure...always a favorite place for us to hike on beautiful days. The Grotto, built of native field stone from the area, is the last remaining remnant of the Monastic Retreat. It was always the Knight's dream to buy the property and preserve the area....historic trees of magnificent proportion fill the gorge....the meditative path used by the monks winds through the acres of woodlands.....a perfect retreat also for us on many days throughout the years. We welcome the time when we return there....in days to come.)

As we approached the stone pathway the Knight had laid of river stone in former years the walk looked much, much longer...and the decision came soon to simply sit on a bench and enjoy the view...saving the playhouse walk and the Grotto viewing for another day.
He believes that day will come soon....his strength grows day by day...with renewing rest and better nutrition. As we sat he remarked that our garden appeared to have been "a lot of work." The back garden is a tribute to a determined, creative, lover of nature. Our two white felines, Snowboy and DeBleu played around his feet....the happiest they had seemed for days...they too loving his presence in the garden. We gave thanks for such an incredible day in the midst of winter... it seemed a day designed for another celebration of life.
We felt blessed simply to be alive.....to be feeling improved. Things are truly very relative...more so than we had ever realized.