up close and personal with Reggie

It has been a quietly blissed and blessed week with Susan & Klaus (& the kitties plus a cast of others) in Roswell, Georgia. I left with sadness today, their company swooning softly in my heart. My last full afternoon yesterday included an hour and change back at the Chattahoochee Nature Center, revisiting the little Eastern screech owl Reggie (to whom I am blowing a kiss at left), scratching the back  of Camden's head while she seemed to like it, and meeting The Beav. Unlike the character from the early 1960's TV show, this was a strawberry-snarfing, buck-toothed sweetie with thick fur and beady little eyes. I was a bit daunted with this 55-lb. paddling rodent, but his sweetness was endearing. Susan is a champ with these rescued wild creatures. I've added some more photos to our existing album. 

I wanted a relatively benign drive away from the comforts of the Roswell respite. St. Mary's is a mere 160 miles or 3 hours drive away in Sewanee, Tennessee. It seems to have had several incarnations including school, convent and currently a center for retreats and programs, many for Contemplative Outreach which teaches Centering Prayer. This connects with my profoundly moving stay at St. Benedict's Monastery in Snowmass, Colorado in mid-July. I "just happened" to have arrived on the afternoon of their weekly Centering Prayer sitting, which offered an amazing if seemingly momentary healing of my jittery road brain. We even watched some of Fr. Thomas Keating in an older video of his "Spiritual Journey" series. This prolific author and gifted teacher, now in his mid-eighties, is a wondrous inspiration.

"You've made it to the mountain!" smiled more than one person after my arrival. Not adept at remaining neutral while feeling a bit dumb, I managed to splutter, "Thank you. What mountain are we on?" "This is the Cumberland Plateau, a portion of the Blue Ridge Mountains." All I had intended was to arrive somewhere safe and "spiritual" (I know that's a loaded term). I hadn't actually invested the energy to examine the area in more depth. I'm endeavoring to de-spazz. I think this is a very good place for that.