The last six months have been a wonderful time of refreshment here in Oregon. It has washed away a lot of the stresses that I’d been carrying for the last two years especially. The quiet and solitude have drained away a lot of the psychological toxins I don’t need. So, it is a bit saddening to be making preparations to leave and return to Los Angeles. I will miss the ranch, and the animals (although it will be nice not to have the daily inhalation of grass and alfalfa dust). But I have missed my Los Angeles communities, and the southern California weather.
I had been told that there was a “back road” into town from the ranch. But most of the time because I was trying to conserve gas and time, I hadn’t tried it. But a week ago, I had a lovely day and no rush, so I took that drive into town. Because it’s a back road, it is much more up-and-down over the landscape than the freeway. But it does have some lovely views.
I drove a little bit further up the road to get a more spectacular shot of the pocket valley up ahead.
Although I have taken several photos from various spots on the ranch, I hadn’t taken one from the road, looking uphill at the ranch itself. So I decided it was time to do so. The following shot shows the lower meadow, where the llamas and donkeys usually spend most of their day, grazing. None of them are in sight in this photo, because I had just fed them up at the barn, and they were all still up there munching away. The building in the foreground is the ranch chapel.
And then, of course, there is my home for the last six months, the trailer known as the “Fifth Wheel”. Sitting in the center of the property, amid the trees, it has been a very satisfactory hermitage for this time. But I confess, I will be pleased to return to more ordinary quarters.
The ranch is always going to be a beloved place to me. I will certainly keep it in prayers for the future, for their ministry in giving faith groups a wonderful place for retreats and meditation.
