...and the heartwood

Now that the formal introduction is out of the way, I can share what really makes me tick...

     I was born an Aquarius under a full moon.

     I have always loved this fact, it is something I have embraced and embedded in my life. I suppose my mother fostered the idea first, introducing me to astrology early on and recognizing my inquisitive behavior as a thirst for independence and knowledge. To accommodate that, she taught me to read at age three, giving me my first pastime. I read as much as I could, and that holds true even today.

     Soccer had become an afterschool ritual for me like many Gen X kids. It followed me through college and across an ocean to Dublin, where I played on the university team while on junior year study abroad. The travel spell had ensnared me in 1992 when I spent three weeks in post-communist Russia on a government ambassador program (People to People). Thus, the thought of nine months alone with Europe at my feet was far too enticing to pass up. It will forever be the best time of my life, teaching me more than I ever grasped at the time and still now when I reflect on it. Travel is truly the best teacher, through humble methods.

    By then I was firmly engrossed in horticulture, having abandoned veterinary studies to fears I believed I had (and have since proven wrong). Plants captured my heart, however, and I excelled in studying and mastering horticulture. I held both professional certifications available in MA for over a decade, and a commercial pesticide license. I was the horticulturist for one of the oldest golf courses in the country for ten years and loved every minute until I decided to return home to my roots on the farm, where I continue to grow today.

      Space and astronomy were my first loves. I wrote of my desire to be an astronaut to the new President Reagan in 1981 when I found out we shared a birthday. Shortly after that, I got my 8-year-old self onto the NASA mailing list, which provided me with many remarkable photographs sent back from Voyager. I poured over NASA publications for years; planets, stars, and later fighter jets dancing in my head.

     My brother and I were fortunate enough to grow up on a small family farm in New England. I say fortunate because it undoubtedly instilled in us a work ethic and rhythm of life that cannot be obtained any other way. I was the nature-inclined of the two of us (and the brainy one), meticulously cataloging all the cows born on the farm in my head for at least ten years. My middle school science project used this information to trace phenotypic traits in our herd according to Mendelian genetics… It is not a stretch to say the next inclination was to become a veterinarian. And with that in mind, my high school academics included a heavy dose of Latin. 

    Nowadays I can be found (when I’m not attending to wordsy endeavors) spending time outdoors with my dogs, raising poultry (who knew turkeys could be so engaging?), gardening, landscaping for a select few lucky people, and playing soccer in the evenings. I have also begun writing an portal fantasy novel which I hope will take the genre by storm one day (LOL). I dream of living abroad once again; my 'must-visit' list is substantial! 

    Akin to the protagonist in my fantasy novel, I have discovered that magic is real and of our own making. It exists in the aspirations we achieve. A sort of alchemy, really, of desire into reality. Plants teach us that when their roots are firmly in the soil, they can harvest sunlight, combine it with water, and create sugar to continue the life cycle. In similar alchemy, this Aquarius works with the earth, absorbs celestial energy, and weaves it with knowledge and desire to achieve dreams and foster growth; a little magic is made every day.