Rosslyn Redux

Tag: Homecoming

  • Home is Wherever I’m with You

    Home is Wherever I’m with You

    Sailing in San Diego, April 27, 2023 (Photo: Richard Darmanin)
    Sailing in San Diego, April 27, 2023 (Photo: Richard Darmanin)

    Homecoming! After a week in the Gila Wilderness with John Davis and other Rewilding friends I’m reunited with my beautiful bride. The photo above has *almost* nothing to do with my backcountry adventures in the middle of 3 million acres of New Mexico wilderness. That image was taken about a month ago when Susan and I were sailing in San Diego. The common denominator? “Home is wherever I’m with you…”

    Instead of getting tangled up in words and thoughts about homecoming, today’s post will lean into the lyrics of the song “Home” by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros… “from Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros’ debut album ‘Up From Below’…”

    Oh, home, let me come home
    Home is wherever I’m with you
    Oh, home, let me come home
    Home is wherever I’m with you

    Sometimes it takes being away from home to identify “homeness”. I’ve been meditating on this question of what makes a house a home for a looong time. And I’m not ready to offer a definitive answer yet. But juxtaposing glimpses — one above, and the other in my unplugged memories of six days and nights in the Gila — reminds me that a BIG piece of the puzzle is Susan. Home is wherever I’m with you!

    If you don’t know this catchy song by by Alexander Ebert and Jade Allyson Castrinos, here’s the full adventure.

    “Home” is a song written and recorded by American group Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros. It was released in January 2010 as the second single from the album, Up from Below… The song is a duet between Alex Ebert and Jade Castrinos, with portions of spoken word from both. (Source: Wikipedia)

    A quick post for a contemplative homecoming. Ideas percolating…

  • On the Level

    On the Level

    On the Level (Photo: R.P. Murphy)
    On the Level (Photo: R.P. Murphy)

    On the level, both literally and figuratively, this first full day at home has been invigorating and encouraging. As I’ve mentioned elsewhere, there are several concurrent projects in the works. Inside and outside. Home and outbuildings. Plenty of potential for discombobulation… But, by in large, this impromptu return to Rosslyn has been profoundly positive.

    The poem below, “On the Level“, and the photograph above reflect the reassurance that I’m encountering, the confidence and conviction that are flowing back in after ebbing. As so often in the past, I’m reminded that it is Rosslyn who caretakes us rather than the other way around.

    On the Level

    It has been thirty hours
    since I was transported —
    by car, plane, ferry boat,
    abrupt imperative,
    and overprotective
    compulsion — to Rosslyn. 

    A preternatural,
    primal homing instinct,
    a tenderness I thought
    had faded years ago
    from wandering wonders
    and wondering wanders,

    awakened abruptly —
    vigorous, protective,
    and hell-bent on action —
    decluttering my head
    and whetting my resolve
    to salve and to safeguard.

    A day and change into 
    hibernal homecoming —
    reviewing, revising,
    and, yes, celebrating 
    significant progress —
    apprehension abates,

    optimism returns,
    and waves of gratitude
    echo the lake’s lapping
    against Rosslyn’s sea wall
    where a few months from now
    summer will patina

    winter tribulations,
    gentling jagged edges
    like sandy beach churned glass,
    and the handsome highlights 
    will outshine the shadows
    and glow up the journey.

    In the photo above (actually a still from a 360° video that I intend to share on Instagram) Pam and Hroth, laser leveled the interior perimeter of the icehouse just below the intersection of the roof rafters with the north and south walls. There are a couple of quirky details that we still need to work out as we fine-tune trim details, but the good news is that this old building has held up remarkably well. On the level, there’s plenty of optimism, despite inevitable setbacks.