Welcome to Woodland Spaces
Hello and welcome to Woodland Spaces My name is Michelle. I live in the wooded uplands of Southwest Wisconsin’s Driftless Region.
Throughout life hiking and writing have been some of my favorite past-times. In 2018 Facebook friends wanted to share my poetry with their followers. So, they encouraged me to start a public Facebook page dedicated to my forest images and poetry. As of this writing, the Woodland Spaces Facebook page has over 27,000 followers.
In addition to writing poems, I also enjoy other forms of writing. Most often I am inspired by nature. And because the vast forested hills and valleys of SW Wisconsin are my home stomping grounds, it is the trees which so often call to me.
There are many advantages to living in an industrialized and computerized nation. Especially during the pandemic, so many of us benefited from digital technology. I, myself, earn a living using remote work technology.
However, humanity gives up much when we head inside, to our climate-controlled homes. We forfeit greatly for the convenience of shopping and working online. Never having to leave our homes can cultivate a sense of isolation. Not only isolation from our family, friends and neighbors, but also detatchment from nature itself.
Industrialization brought with it urbanization. Manufacturing produced factories with jobs. As a result humanity responded with massive migration from small towns and agricultural regions into large, over-crowded, noisy cities devoid of open spaces and natural areas. And — in a manner of speaking — we left behind a bit of our souls …. tied to the earth we abandoned.
Still our hearts have not forgotten. Deep inside there is a thirst which can only be quenched by the earth herself. When we heed the quiet whisper of Mother Nature and leave our controlled environments behind, we are rewarded. For the earth has much wisdom to pass on. Her lessons wait for us in the woodlands and prairies, within rivers, lakes and oceans, out in the heart of dessert landscapes, high upon mountain sides and within the deepest canyons.
Woodland Spaces blog essays are inspired by the Earth. Specifically, they are inspired by leaving our busy, modern world behind and entering into the trees. I hope you enjoy them.
Michelle — 2021/11/06
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