The Blessing of a Fallen Branch

And thank you to my readers 💗

I didn’t intend to land a third post in your Inbox this week, but I promise this will be short.

I’m snuggled in right now with our first snowstorm of the season. Which you might know by now is heaven to me.

I want to share two beautiful posts that came my way today, which is Thanksgiving here in the US.

The first is from

Reinette Senum

here on Substack. Reinette’s Foghorn Express is one of the first newsletters I subscribed to, and in addition to her intelligence and tenaciousness, I always feel Reinette’s heart in everything she shares. This one touched me deeply, and if you happen to glance at your phone or computer and see this today, it might be a wonderful share with friends and family.

The Words That Come Before All Else; an Indigenous Address

I listened to her reading the Iroquois Thanksgiving Address with tears in my eyes. And I intend to listen to it over and over as a Gratitude prayer for all that I am thankful for in my life right now.

I put my coat on and was about to go for a walk in the snowy woods when I heard that familiar CRACK sound that I’d never heard before moving to the country—the sound of a big branch cracking and falling to the ground.

This one came from Grandfather Pine, the tallest of the giant White Pines that line my driveway, and I always get a little nervous about them during windstorms and wet snowstorms such as this one.

Part of the plan for my walk among the trees was to gather fallen White Pine branches for my next batch of Pine Oil. And so, when I heard the “crack,” and the initial shock wore off (glad I’d put Willow in the barn!) I heard The Voice telling me that it was a gift. And so, this will be the White Pine that I’ll infuse into the oil.

The second share I saw on Instagram today. It’s a poem from one of my favorite books, “Anam Cara” by John O’Donohue. I’ve quoted him many times here on this blog.

Anam Cara means “soul friend” in Irish, and if you’ve never read the book, I highly recommend it.

I have an anam cara in Ireland named Glenda and a few others - none of whom live near me - some of whom I’ve never met in person.

I have only met them in my heart.

I want to tell all of you reading this today how grateful I am.

That some of you actually subscribe to The Quaking Poplar and care about the words I write honestly still astounds me.

That you leave me the most beautiful comments.

That some of you nave become my friends.

Thank you from the bottom (and top!) of my heart.

And now, drink in the words of John O’Donohue:

A Friendship Blessing

May you be blessed with good friends.
May you learn to be a good friend to yourself.
May you be able to journey to that place in your soul where
there is great love, warmth, feeling, and forgiveness.
May this change you.
May it transfigure that which is negative, distant, or cold in you.
May you be brought in to the real passion, kinship, and affinity of belonging.
May you treasure your friends.
May you be good to them and may you be there for them;
may they bring you all the blessing, challenges, truth,
and light that you need for your journey.
May you never be isolated.
May you always be in the gentle nest of belonging with your anam ċara.

—John O’Donohue

With Love and Gratitude,
Barbara