Today is to be the 4th Full Moon of the year, April 7, 2020. In a small preparatory ritual, I intended on going to the Woods, not too far of a walk in and standing in unison with the Trees, the Wind, the Earth and all that is, in an intentional grounding and connecting type of event.
I arrived at the Woods near here and found that with no cars in the parking lot, I had the lot to myself (people wise, at least). As I entered the Woods, a couple pulled into the parking lot.
After the usual greeting of the Trees and respectfully entering the Forest, I felt that I would most likely head into an area I had walked in just last week. Along the early part of the trail, I happened upon a small chorus of flowers just begging for me to stop and enjoy, perhaps snap a quick photo of. Just as soon as I stopped, however, I was immediately swarmed with mosquitoes!
I mean to tell you that I have not been swarmed in this way by any insect in many, many years! They were landing on my ears, eyebrows, arms, hands, shirt, pants, everywhere!!! In fact, though my initial intention was to snap a picture of this lovely patch of flowers, I was unable to do anything more than stop, snap and bolt from the spot at a fairly quick walking pace, trying to out distance these marauders. I was swatting and flailing and must’ve looked like I had stuck my face in a beehive.
I traveled a fair way down the path, before I finally felt that I had outdistanced these predators. I had now reached a point in the Woods where there was a bit of a breeze and I knew that would help me against any further onslaught or even occasional individual death run. I was now able to slow my pace to my more natural gait. Still, I noticed that I should not pause my travel.
Continuing with my slower pace, I once again arrived at some unknown gathering of mosquitoes, though not as intense as the first meeting. Once again I picked up my pace and successfully got out of range of this new posse. Once again, I was reminded that this was not a day to dawdle.
I soon realized that I was not going to be able stand in alliance with Mother Nature, as had been my original intention. I did arrive at a downed Oak where I had previously taken some pictures of the marvelous fungi appendages growing on this ancient being. I visited with this Oak, now living in the Forest in a different way, offering a different way of being and inviting all to thrive together in their own way.
I was invited to step off the trail and visit with this host from a different point of perspective. I no sooner had arrived at that point when I looked down and discovered something lying there that I could not identify. I looked it over, looked for any sign of like material anywhere on the Oak, under, around, above. I found no other structure anything like what I found here. I felt invited to pick it up and inspect it further. It was then that my greater sense was that this article, this treasure, this gift was the reason, and the only reason for my visit here, this morning. Indeed, I felt as though having arrived at the point of receiving this gift, it was time to immediately head back home.
This was an unusual and aborted visit to the Woods. The only other times that I have been given the sense to head out of a wooded area so abruptly have been few and due to weather, either immediate or incoming.
My return walk was one of a little quicker pace than I might normally. However, interestingly, I felt that for this brief time my body had morphed into some semblance of a tree creature. I felt like some form of an almost cartoon or artist depiction of a Tree/Man type fellow. Someone with long wooden legs and arms, an almost wooden face and of course leaf/fern/moss covered body. This in itself was a strange and wonderful feeling, as if for the moment I had accomplished my original intention of connecting totally with the Woods. And that this sense of being was to let me know that though brief, I accomplished what the morning’s invitation sent me to the Woods to perform.
The remainder of the walk out was with little pestering by mosquitoes, due to my quicker pace and sense of being other than human. I should mention that I had indeed applied insect repellent prior to this morning’s expedition.
I should also tell you that the couple who had arrived at the trail head just as I wandered into the Woods drove away just as I arrived back at the parking lot.
Peter J Quandt