I have made a decision. It’s one I’m going to try very hard
to stay true to.
In order to enjoy each and very day, in order to live life
and not allow myself to hide in my comfort zone, I’m going to say “yes” to
invitations and adventures. (Well,
ones that won’t land me on Dateline, of course…)
I’ve decided that I need to be proactive in this venture; I
need to make plans, find new and exciting things to do and reconnect with
people that make me laugh and touch my soul.
The other day I went on one of those adventures.
A good friend of mine called me to join her on a visit to a
place right outside of town called Rhoneymeade. An older woman from her church was holding an exhibit of her
paintings there, and thrust a brochure in Patti’s hand as she passed her in
church. It was only four miles
down the road, right outside of town, and she wanted to support this lovely
woman. Would I go with her?
I said ….yes.
We drove onto the property, passing an old brick house
surrounded by tall, tall hedges and a variety of monstrous trees of various
shapes. I was mesmerized by the
wooden studio structure that was around the bend, and knew that this was going
to be something fascinating.
It was.
Rhoneymeade is an Arboretum and Sculpture Garden, but in
reality it’s a hidden treasure.
The building we entered was a small wooden studio that invites artists
to hold exhibits every other weekend of each month. The artist and exhibit we saw were lovely, but it was the
much older gentleman tucked away on the third floor loft who was the most intriguing.
He was seated in the corner of a loft, surrounded by
windows, cobwebs, shadows and incredible works of art. His chair was probably once a lazy boy, but appeared to be a
part of the structure itself. It
blended into the floor and the corner- and he
blended into the chair. His long
white beard was narrow, and came to a point well below his chest, making his
face appear thing and narrow. He
might have had hair at some point, but now wore a tight cap that clung to his
skull. His blue eyes were bright,
if a bit glazed over, and his skin was almost translucent and as fragile as
rice paper as it clung to his skull.
I watched as Patti made her way around his tiny area,
touching and talking about each piece.
His sculptures were mostly made of large pieces of wood, large pieces of
marble, and smaller pieces of some kind of metal. They were perched along the walls of the loft, as if
keeping guard of the old man, and most importantly were keeping him company. He
was obviously tickled to have a few visitors who wanted to talk to him, and was
just as enthralled by Patti as she was of him.
I watched as she eagerly chatted with him, and peered out the
windows at the grounds. My eyes
took in the amazing panoramic view, and I was surprised at all of the
sculptures that I could see were peeking around various trees and shrubs. The caretaker came up to me, and
explained about the “tree walk” and insisted that we must remember to visit the
Labyrinth that was tucked inside the property. “You really must
see it,” he said. I turned to him
and smiled. He was a striking man,
with piercing blue eyes and a sharp, almost granite like profile. He explained his role as caretaker of
this non-profit artist’s retreat, and the “sculpture/tree walk” that he
encouraged us to take.
I waited patiently for my friend to pry herself away from
the fascinating creature she was conversing with, and we finally made our way
out to the grounds.
We followed the tree walk, feeling a bit like Hansel and Gretel
searching for hidden breadcrumbs. (Take a quiet walk with us.....)
We discovered many incredible surprises along our journey.
...and then made our way to the Labyrinth….which I’ll tell
you all about tomorrow.
This adventurous is a bit disausted…..
