Wanna know what it's like on the land by yourself?  Read on!

 I arrived mid-day Thursday on a glorious "AuTomnal" day and found myself the only one at Destiny.  After setting up the old tent, I heard the call of the Spider Shower Pavillion.  It was now 6 pm or so and the sun was beginning it's decent in the sky highlighting the beautiful neighboring hills and beginning its change from turmeric to saffron.

A hot shower and the glowing sunset aroused me into a lather.  All soapy, I climbed the big rock outcropping behind the Spider and communed with myself and the gorgeous view.  After a suitable time and a bit of calisthenics, I made my way down to the lonely, dark kitchen and lit a couple of candles which made the light dance along the wooden beems.  Pan looked down from his perch on the rafter egging me on.  I made a simple mediterranean pasta from the fruits of the garden.  A few tomatoes, some basil, and liberal amounts of garlic (hey I was alone on the land, right?) and I had a lovely meal under the stars.  I cleaned up my mess since the kitchen was left in immaculate condition and Pan kind of was doing his "devil's advocate" thing.  Damn him!

I pulled out the old Uke and strummed some chords while I watched the Milky Way come into it's full potential.  It really is like the filling in a big universal whoopie pie.  Yum!  No sooner had I started to plunk out a song (C, G6, Am, F) when I heard THEM!  Ugh!  See, the gates of hell, apparently, are down near the stream below the Septic Meadow (Audrey Meadows) because that's where the noise came from.  Those cackling, howling, yipping, crazed Coy Dogs were at it again.  Ruffians all of them!  Well, Hank (my dog), was quite intrigued and wanted to investigate but I new that this wasn't any PBS membership appeal and they weren't looking for "just the right Pit Bull" to fill an open position in stalking small prey and terrorizing RadFae in the middle of the night with cackling.  I made a beeline for the kitchen with Hank in tow and shut the door.  I tried strumming thru the cackling but to no avail.  I was spooked!  There was a lull in their chorus and I made my move in a very Blair Witch scene thru the new Gayborhood toward my tent.  I made it of course and only turned my ankle once which I consider a major triumph considering the fact that I was in a pair of red Candies, size 10.  A quick brush of the teeth, the orange earplugs (not completely coy dog proof fyi) and off to dreamland.   

I awoke on a picture perfect day.  Still alone on the land, I had some oatmeal and took Hank on a deathmark to the State Police Repeater on the ridge on our mountain.  I started up a dear path on Joan's property and quickly found the old Crab Apple trees.  I contemplated picking them and making a tart pie but the ridge called me.  I walked the spine and passed several groves of Maples with old sugaring tubes and the remnants of an old foundation nearby.  I passed into an area that clearly was more mature in terms of trees which told me that I was in the Town Forest area.  There were Maples, Oaks, Hemlocks and my fave, the Cherry.  I reached the repeater by accident (or not if you're into kismet and such things) which affords one with a lovely view of the valley below.  Just behind it is a very old stand of hemlock and a flat bit of bedrock.  There was evidence of deer yards everywhere.  At this point, I made a beeline straight down the ridge toward our land and passed some lovely boulder gardens as well as mature stands of trees.  Hank clearly understands how to descend a mountain better than ascending.  It's a combination of barreling, jumping, falling, sliding, and such that gives one the impression that four legs is truly an advantage.  The Candies had given way to my Scarpas and the ankle support was money well spent.  Thank you end of season sale at Sam's in Brattleboro!

I finally reached our land just above where Orange camps and made my way back to the upper meadow.  I took some time in the Hammock to cool down and played the Uke while the breeze lulled me to snooze in the shadow of the Old Crone.  I awoke to the breeze vibrating the string of my Uke in a ghostly, otherworldly soundtrack to some new-age Elysian Institute spa scene.  The wind was speaking to me but what was it saying?  Damn, I should've paid attention in language class after all!  Alas, the spell was broken when I heard the tell-tale sounds of a car coming up the drive.  Footsteps on the gravel were fast moving and purposeful, far from my state-of-mind.  Oh well, it was lovely while it lasted and now it was time to start the Virgo Gatherette.  Yippee!