Deep Family Roots

Sue (far right) is joined by COASST
friends (L to R) Pete, Connie, and Jane

COASSTer Sue (OR Mile 254) provided me with a wonderful personal tour of a beautiful place in which she has established  deep and abiding roots yesterday. The town of Neskowin (OR) is a nifty little settlement nestled just off of Hwy 101 on the Oregon coast. Sue recalls visiting the place when she was a child with her family and the desire even then to one day call the small niche of beauty home. Sure enough, home this place has been for decades now, a place in which Sue is intensely grounded. It is why she has participated in COASST for over a decade, walking the Neskowin beach in search of dead birds and monitoring the coast line with the eyes of a dedicated steward. As Sue provided a grand tour of the area, her knowledge and connection to this place became clear. Driving down a forested road on her property, she enthusiastically recounted the life stories of many of the trees along the path (when they were planted, why, and how they had developed). The delight she feels for her home was palpable.  Neskowin bonds Sue with her family, with friends who have become family, and with countless creatures that have graced her path in this rich natural sanctuary.  In her own way, abiding in this place allows Sue the daily opportunity to ‘climb her family tree’.

Sue calls the large tree in the middle of this
picture "the tree with many stories" as its
unique character and dimensions suggest a
history with many exciting events

Climbing my Family Tree ~Susan Noyes Anderson

When life is less than kind to me,

I climb right up my family tree.

Stout branches turn to arms of grace

and lift me to a lofty place.

A brightness shines through every leaf,

my sunlit soul finds sweet relief.

Their foliage enfolds my heart

and shelters every sacred part.

Embraced, protected, raised by love,

I like the view from up above.

And oh, how clearly I can see,

high in the nest of my family tree.