Yesterday, while I was writing my woman in the woods essay, I was castigating myself for not being adventuresome enough when it came to exploring my environment. I've done a lot of walking here, but in "designated" zones, especially since this is the crucible of lyme disease. But yesterday I decided to venture beyond Baker Lane to perhaps find a public access entrance to the Nature Preserve behind the house. I walked along 156, the highway at one end of Baker Lane, towards a bridge over the Eight Mile River. Just before the bridge, I saw some dirt tracks off to the left. I followed them past a wooden bridge in a wooded clearing and continued towards what looked like a large open meadow. As I neared the meadow, I saw rows and rows of large black birds. At first I thought it must be someone's shooting range, with decoys. But then one of the large birds slowly turned its head towards me and lifted its large wing. I turned and fled. I felt outnumbered, as though the whole army of birds might advance on me.
"Turkey Medicine" Tonya called it. She says she has turkey medicine and that I must, too, if so many turkeys appeared to me. When animals appear to you, they have "medicine" or teachings for you. I am still pondering what I should learn from these turkeys. Tonya said that they can be aggressive, but mostly if they feel threatened, or if they are nesting. She told me that it was probably a good idea that I turned around and high-tailed it out of there, even if they did have a message for me.
In the afternoon Marilyn took Ching-In and me to the Florence Griswold Museum, where we viewed the house and the exhibit, including a display of poems written by Marilyn about Venture Smith, and accompanied by landscape paintings from the collection that inspired her. Afterwards she took us to Venture Smith's grave in Old Lyme.
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