Christine from over at Quiet Paths is playing a fun game. It doesn't have a name, but it's sort of like blog-tag. 

Here's how it works.  I read Christine's blog about this exercise. I asked to be interviewed. Christine sent me the following five questions, which will be answered in this post.  Then...it's your turn.  If you want to play, either on the comment section to this post, or in an email to me, just let me know you would like to be interviewed.  I will then dream up some questions with whatever info about you I can gain from your blog or other sources that you give me.  Hopefully you'll have fun exploring the questions on your blog.  If you don't have a blog, I will post your answers here on the Virtual Tea House. 

  
Andy and I at a summer party 2008

Here are the five 'interview' questions Christine gave me:

What have been your most profound experiences involving nature or being in the outdoors?

As a child, growing up on a 200 acre dairy farm in Pennsylvania, I learned early on how to amuse myself for hours playing out of doors.  There were several streams on the property, and I loved going into the woods, and pretending it was an enchanted forest.  The creeks had crawdads and fiery orange salamanders with spots...and I felt they were fairy creatures. I can still smell the salamanders.   I could make an entire book about these and other creatures and plants....a child's nature journal.  I think of these types of experiences as formative.

Other memories... 

Almost being struck by lightning, high in the Rockies one summer day. Felt totally alive.  There was some energy that passed through my body that I've rarely experienced.  Again, there was a particular smell in the air...

Not long ago I spent a night outdoors during the winter, tending a fire, watching the stars and the moon, and a weeping birch in the glow of the firelight.  I  had never felt both so small nor so connected, to the larger universe.  This is hard to put into words, but it satisfied some part of me that needs that kind of connection to both the cold and the warmth of the universe.  And the smell of woodsmoke and starlight.

What binds you or attracts you to the place/ space where you now live?  This can imply either location or your house.

I love the high mountainous desert.  The rocks, juniper, ponderosa pine.  The occasional pinyon.  The smell of sage in the rain.  The tiny desert flowers in the spring.  The soft, volcanic ash/dirt.  The expansive blue sky.  I am at home. 

I love living with volcanoes.  They make me feel safe.

In conjunction, where I live is only a few hours to the ocean, and  even less to the wet, wild places of Oregon.

My home is full of art, color, plants and books.  It is small and lovely and fits me like a well-worn, well-loved leather glove. I enjoy the small yard around it with lilacs and lilies of the valley in the spring.  The firepit in the backyard is where new and old friends gather often for  stories, red wine, chocolate and laughter.  Tears and cigars are often present as well.  And then, there's that old grandmother weeping birch...

 

What do you seek when you are choosing a new pet to come live with you?

It seems to change as I mature.  At first I lived with wildly friendly dogs to romp and run with.  Then in adulthood I was closely affiliated with 6 German Shepherds.  I adored them all--such big hearts those creatures have.  Now I enjoy Geronimo, who found me, in his quiet, steady, clear presence in the world.  Not overtly friendly, and yet never aggressive.  He's a dog to nap and dream with. 

So, to better answer your question, I guess that unconsciously, I'm looking for animals that complement my state of being.  But I've never gone looking for them that way.  Interesting question you posed!

What are the five writings you have read in the last 3 years which have spoken to you most?

• The  Heart as an Organ of Perception by Stephen Harrod Buehner
• Staying Connected: How to Continue your Relationships with Those Who Have Died by Rudolph Steiner
• The Fidelity of Betrayal: Towards a Church Beyond Belief by Peter Rollins
• The Plague of Doves by Louise Erdrich
• And...the private journals of my young friend Liz who is living in Grenada, Spain.

What three genres of music do you listen to most frequently? 

acoustic and classical guitar

rhythm and blues

whatever's happening in the backyard of a morning

Please let me know if  you wish to do an interview.  Here are the instructions:
1. Leave me a comment to this post saying, “Interview me” and give me a way to contact you. Or you can email me at    beth (at) virtualteahouse (dot) com
2. I will respond by e-mailing you five questions (I get to pick the questions!)
3. You  update your blog with the answers to the questions.  If you don't have a blog, I will post your answers on this one in the comments section, or maybe make you into a guest blogger! 
4. Please include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions....and on we go!

Thanks, Christine, for playing tag with me.