Wednesday, November 08, 2006


A blog is like a road, a journey

There is a very famous poem by Robert Frost that was read at my mother-in-law Betty's memorial service over twenty years ago. It is called The Road Not Taken and I have always loved it. You can find it here. Betty was such an inspiration to me as a young person just starting out in my adult life. She raised three sons by herself after her husband died, holding onto a 200 acre farm which had been in their father’s family a few generations. It wasn’t easy for her nor the boys but they all made it through and are fine adults and fathers and farmers. I often think about Betty when I am pouring hot water from her antique tea kettle and marvel at how she lived her life. These final lines from the poem sum up her life:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I –
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Writing a blog is like a road and a journey. When you first start out, you don’t know where it will lead. It was scary at first – definitely a new journey, a new turn in the road…. but I kept on posting, writing, thinking, snapping photos…. It all started to mesh and mold and have its own life. The layers began to build upon each other.

I thank you for all the kind comments yesterday, suggestions, and advice. It was great to hear from so many of you. Thanks so much. (I still don’t know what the heck those white berries are - nothing looks quite like them on the internet photos you referred me to.)

I have been saving these two photos of our little country road for just the right post and today is it. The top photo shows the road lined with maple trees as they were turning gold and falling a few weeks ago. The bottom photo is how it looks now and will look for the next few months. I’ve got to get used to it because it is here to stay for awhile. I must say though, I am looking forward to January when the days begin to lengthen and to April when I can post the road with some fresh chartreuse leaves.

I’m going to keep on blogging, journeying along the road that some of us choose to follow and we’ll see where it leads. I hope you’ll come along.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yes, I'll gladly come along on your blogging journey. I enjoy reading about your life as an artist and farmer, looking and watching your work growing... Well, I just enjoy it and since I'm also a bit selfish, I think your blog is very inspiring! Thanks!

Anonymous said...

I, too, want to echo the sentiment of thankfulness...for the inspirations in your positive posts, for generously sharing the everyday beauty in your life, and for sharing some of your knowledge in your tutorials.

Anonymous said...

I just wanted to say that I love coming to your blog for inspiration. (I also own a couple of your books.) I'm a knitter, fiber artist, and very involved locally in food sustainability issues. Plus, I love western Massachusetts and know it well, so I also love that part of it. Your pictures are great, as well as your posts on where you get your inspiration. I don't have much time to leave comments, but this seemed to be like a good time to say thanks and please keep it up! There are probably lots of folks like me who don't comment, but come here regularly for a dose of beauty and inspiration!

Green Kitchen said...

I'm following. Where are we going next?

Anonymous said...

The Road not Taken is one of my favorite poems. Maybe you can show us Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening soon too....

Thanks for a great read again today Kristin.

Anonymous said...

What a beautiful country road...I love to visit the city, don't get me wrong, but my feet are planted (for the most part) firmly on country soil. I'm really enjoying your blog, and I'm glad I discovered it.

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