The Evergreen Journal, #1
Walking by Inner Vision
with Lynda McKinney Lambert
Presents
The Evergreen Journal, #1
Photo: “Hemlock,” ©Lynda McKinney Lambert, 2022.
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I’ve adopted the word, “evergreen” for the year.
During 2022, I’ll explore and search for deep meaning of my ONE WORD through creative non-fiction stories, thoughtful personal essays, and spare poems.
The Evergreen Journal, #1
I’m sharing something that is an important first step for me. I like the idea of wiping the slate clean – a new year, new beginning. I’ll be doing what all evergreen plants do this year – shedding and growing.
Evergreen. The Hemlock Trees.
Photo of Hemlock branch, ©Lynda McKinney Lambert, 2022.
I’ve always loved the Hemlock trees that grow along the creek by my home.
I live with my husband Bob on a ridge overlooking the Connoquenessing Creek, in western Pennsylvania.
We have two dogs, Miss Mitchell and Miss Dixie Tulip.
Our house is home to six cats
who are also rescued friends.
Miss Opal and Miss Bessie are grey sisters.
Then, there is Mama Miranda (all black) and her children, Miss Ivy, Mr. Inca, and Mr. Vivian. They are a family that appeared on our patio one morning.
They were wild and hungry and sick. It took a period of about a year to get them into our home, get them vetted, and tamed down. Miss Ivy and her brother, Mr. Vivian, are still afraid of people, but they are curious and want to see everything that is going on in the house. Mama Miranda finally learned how to use a litter box, and Mr. Inca is the Lord of the House. He is friendly and loving and likes to sleep with Bob at night. Miss Ivy is a calico beauty, and her two brothers are all black, just like their mother, Miranda!
I walk our dogs on a pathway through the woods at various times of the day, in all seasons. Miss Mitchell is a white and brindle, 13-year-old. terrier and Miss Dixie Tulip is a little brown Doxi-mix. She will be 18 years old in the spring. Both were rescued from families who did not appreciate them We love them dearly.
I write about the trees, wild flowers, the winding creek, and our life here in the small village where we live.
As I begin writing, I think of what an evergreen tree is and how it is different from other trees in the woods.
The evergreen plant has foliage that remains green and
functional through more than one growing season.
The evergreen tree is constantly dropping off older parts of the plant. Simultaneously, it is growing new pieces. . The evergreen is growing new needles and
dropping off older ones all year long. My favorite type of
evergreen tree is the Hemlock because I
live in a rural wooded area where the Hemlock trees grow abundantly. They often overhang the creek banks and cast deep shadows on the rippling waters. I’ve always considered these trees
beautiful and elegant in all seasons. I
especially love the delicate symmetrical
arrangement of the thin boughs that hang down over the creeks in our area.
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blue-green symmetry
shadows ripple on water
recycling needles
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©Lynda McKinney Lambert, 2022.
What’s on my mind this morning, I begin the first page of The Evergreen Journal?
That is an excellent question for a crisp, cold winter morning, isn’t it?
Ideas for projects and plans for this year are on my mind. I can feel them moving in my spirit. My flesh (the body) is still trying to take me down since I became very sick on December 30. Despite this, I am already moving on to new places. I will no longer participate in the protest movements of my body. After two weeks of fighting off covid and sickness, I am ready to do battle to regain my life.
Like my favorite Hemlock tree, I will focus on shedding and growing simultaneously.
I have my sights focused on three areas right now.
To wipe my slate clean and begin fresh this year, I’ll concentrate on the areas in my life and environment. Like the evergreen trees, I need to learn how to shed the useless or no-longer-needed things in my life and simultaneously, add the new ideas and inspirations that are waiting for me in 2022.
How about you?
Do you have One word for 2022?
I’d love to hear about your first month of this year, and what you have in mind as we go along this pathway together on The Evergreen Journal.
This is where my journey will begin – shedding and growing.
Let’s grow like a mighty evergreen tree.