9-25-13 Franciscan monks would be jealous of the peacefulness here. It is a place, once a bustling waterfront in recent centuries, now in recuperation. A place folding back into itself quietly, the Salmon Falls river reflective below, between the dark forest that lines its banks. The historic house rises stately upon a hill overlooking its domain. Despite the richness springing from the earth here, there is an impervious quality that I find masking the depths of the grassy hillock I’m seated upon. One that keeps me from feeling too deep. The message I am getting from the surrounds is to honor and uphold our remaining beautiful, pristine places. They are manna for the Soul. Yet there is the unmistakable quality of strength here too in this soil–the unyielding fortitude of early settlers and the underlying deep love and respect of the Natives who were here before. As the sun comes out I feel an opening, a softening, and I sit a short distance away in another spot. Here I feel a soothing peacefulness, a welcoming. The first spot had some hard usage at some point in its history I fear. Overlooking the sleepier banks of the back river, just past the house, this new one lets me feel in. The earth a soft cradle of kindness and sweetness, the comfort of an old friend. A place to rejuvenate one’s spirit and catch the palpable romance of all here that has come before.
By Lenaye Marsten
Hamilton House, South Berwick, Maine
Oh Lenaye, how beautifully you’ve put it! I was on the Salmon Falls river with my father and sister on a fishing trip, just as far as we could make it a pontoon boat. Reading your words I recalled looking up at an elegant, old home. I’ve been on all the rivers that empty into the bays and the Piscataqua. The Salmon Falls River is my most favorite. Thanks for bringing back this memory for me. Blessings for your next communion with mother earth and her living waters, Joanna
how lovely and calming words in this most troubled day… thank you my friend for inviting me here.
yes this place is so so reflecting the beauty of our region , of our country of our earth, I do go there and sit and get tranquil as the waters when I go, I haven’t been there on stormy days…but I might… just to capture its wilderness too. merci mon amie.
tchioo
ps I do not understand the following html comments… really not good yet at surfing and its languages..
why does it say ” your comment is awaiting moderation.. I did not write that….
It is just a blog formality–no worries!
Tchioo, thank you for your lovely words 🙂