Our newly one-year-old granddaughter, Sloane, came for a visit last weekend. We tucked her into the front baby carrier, bundled up against the autumn chill, and off we went. Mimi and Sloane, out for a little adventure at Tahilla Farm. My family has a no-photograph policy for grandchildren on public accounts, so I have to be a little creative in how I share these moments. If you look closely, you’ll spot a little leg in a starry outfit peeking into the photograph. That’s Sloane, along for the adventure.
We visited the birdfeeders, watched leaves drifting from the trees, and startled a few birds from the meadow grasses. I even tried my hand at shadow play, although I suspect my larger-than-life silhouette was more alarming than entertaining! The chickadees and dark-eyed juncos flitting about seemed much more to her liking. And so, when I look at this maple tree, dressed in its October finery, I think of our walk together. Sloane, just beginning her second year, discovering the world one bird, one leaf, one little adventure at a time.
I also think of her mother, Claire, who once wandered through the woods with me, bundled up in her woolly hat and mittens, walking stick in hand. Different woods, different years, but that same wonderful curiosity about the world. And here I am, all these years later, still wandering through the woods with a little one, watching the seasons change and finding new memories among the old.
