Last week as I was rafting in the river, I saw a little ferret standing on one of the cliffs next to the water. 'What a brave and curious little ferret', I thought. It isn’t easy for such a small animal to come out of the safety of its little underground nest, and then stand on his two feet to look at the rafters go by. But a ferret may not see rafters going by very often. It may be a once in a lifetime opportunity for the ferret.
And it made me think that the ferret and I were like-minded souls. As even though our fears were great, our curiosities were even greater.
I came to Elsewhere three weeks ago from a land far away. Leaving my wonderful husband, my cute little cat, and my warm cozy home for two months was not an easy thing to do. I felt like a small animal forced to come out of her little cave, crawl on top of the ground, and run in the darkness of the night– not really knowing where.
But now I’m here in Paonia and it is not dark here at all! The people are smiling, the sun is shining and the bagels are flying! There are no hawks waiting around the corner to eat me!
And the two months that I am here are not like the two months I’ve experienced before and will experience in the future. They are the sort of two months that don’t pass by very often.
After my stay here, I know I can crawl back into the safety of my nest, but I’m going back with a bag full of souvenirs: nuts, mushrooms and perhaps some berries as well. I will hide the nuts into the little crevices of my nest. I will dry the mushrooms in the sun and the berries I will make into jam. And so I know I will be able to cherish and share all the treasures collected from this journey for a long time to come!