A wise friend recently took a local road trip to “make sure she doesn’t forget what an amazing part of the world she lives in”.  Laura Shaw lives in Portland Oregon where her neck of the woods boasts heart-stopping, post-card-worthy scenery like Mount Hood, Columbia River Gorge and the nearby Calilfornia redwood forests – places it seems would be impossible to take for granted.  But her comment reminds me how easily we can become blind to magic, in the familiar busyness of hustling to school, work and grocery store.  Or in our heady rumination about where the heck we’re going to live come winter!

We’ve been coming to Westport, MA for 20 years, lured by the magical and extensive Sylvan Nursery as we created our Boston gardens.  Known as the FarmCoast; it’s where multiple rivers merge together at the Sea, creating otherwordly light, luscious marshlands, and rolling farm fields with miles of old stone walls  So, the trick is to return here through the wide-eyed wonder of a first time.

I’ve been playing with something I call “Interrupting the Pattern” for the past decade…consciously choosing to do things differently from my habitual norm.. like, taking a new route without gps, using my non-dominant hand, or hell, even selling our house without another.  Ok…that’s a little extreme.   But it’s all in service of seeing the world through fresh eyes, with wonder and delight.

This is not new of course – Wisdom for the Arts calls it “Structural Language” –that we often try to solve a problem by talking about it, as opposed to changing our structures to get different results. The other day, Dave and I were having a bit of a disagreement - I grabbed my hula hoop and tried keep the conversation going while I hooped… which made me fall down laughing instead. Discord Dissolved!

 Positive Psychology studies show that altering our routine even in small ways, like trying a new food, wearing a new hairstyle, or taking a new route to work, shifts our brain patterns to make us more mindful, happier and maybe even luckier!  It breaks our habits and as the Dalai Lama quips “I am the source of my own suffering because of the habits of my mind”. Habitually doing anything the same way fosters a dullness and lack of consciousness as we operate on autopilot. We appreciate things more if they’re new to us – it makes us more alert, more mindful and more grateful.  And more grateful means more happy. 

Hey, who can’t use more happy in the middle of a pandemic?! 

  Vimala Rogers does this “interrupt the pattern” routine too…through her Handwriting Institute.  She makes the bold claim that you can change your life by changing your handwriting; by interrupting the pattern of how you’ve formed your letters for years. I was intrigued, so I studied with her for 6 months, training to be a handwriting teacher. 

People had always complimented me on my flowing handwriting, but as the hand/brain research pioneer that she is, Vimala pointed out that some of the ways I had habitually formed my letters for decades was hindering creativity, confidence and other positive attributes.  Hm. I was doubtful but curious. 

Re-learning a new handwriting system is HARD.  My brain did not like it.  Or maybe my brain liked it and my ego was pissed off.  My formerly artistic, praise-worthy handwriting now looked like a 7 year olds’, as my brain tried to translate the new forms to my hand. 

According to Vimala, each stroke of the Vimala Alphabet, based on sacred geometry, is designed to cultivate qualities that enlighten the spirit.  Instead of working on our brains to cultivate confidence, trust, gratitude, creativity etc.., we can let our hands teach our noggins to make the changes we want to see, through the movements we make.  Which is so much more fun.  And magical.  As Vimala says, “Don’t believe me – try it yourself!”.

But wait! This blog is supposed to be a love letter to Westport and an ode of deep gratitude and acknowledgement of the Christianson family without whom this whole Serenity Rose escapade wouldn’t have happened.

Ok – so do you know why Westport is cleverly named Westport?  In 1630, the Massachusetts Bay Colony stretched from the easternmost tip of Maine (aka Eastport) to this western-most port (aka Westport) before hitting Rhode Island (Rhode Island was colonized in 1636 when clergyman Roger Williams was exiled from Massachusetts for his progressive Quaker views.) 

Those Puritans sure did know their real estate. 

 Eastport is the easternmost point in the US –it’s where the sun rises first in the US, and where the mighty St. Croix River forms the formidable Passamoquoddy Bay which has some of the most dramatic and extreme tides in the world and the largest tidal whirlpool in the western hemisphere.  It’s a breathtakingly beautiful place.  And at the western-most tip, Westport rivals the dramatic beauty along with perfect swimming ocean temperatures.

 This land where the rivers meet was sacred to the Native Americans, the Wampanoag in Westport and the Passamaquoddy in Eastport, who were here 10,000 years before the Puritans decided they liked this land too.

The town was first settled in 1670, and Westport today is a conglomeration of Yankee families going back generations, a strong fishing and farming culture, young farmers doing sustainable agriculture, artists, and plenty of “summer people” mostly from Boston and New York, and of course everything in between. 

These “summer people” (us) are referred to by the locals (quietly amongst themselves) as “skukes” which is a play on the word “skua” which is a predatory bird who arrives around Memorial Day and leaves around Labor Day.  Skua Birds are predatory; they disturb other birds nesting sites taking their nests and food. On the other hand, native Westportians are called Turnips since the prized Macomber Turnip was bred right here on this hallowed ground. Would you rather be a vegetable or a seabird?

There’s lots of little magic being made in Westport and maybe that’s the best kind… Like the local bakers at the farmers market.  During the pandemic, MaryAnn  & Chris decided to bake whole grain bread for a few weeks as a labor of love, as a way of contributing to the community and to keep spirits up during the lockdown.  Little did they know they’d quit their day jobs as this act of grace turned into Renegade’s Rising Bread and that their farmers’ market stand would generate lines across the parking lot, selling out in the first hour.  Seems Love is the secret ingredient in cooking and in business.

Speaking of the farmers’ market… one might ask what business I have buying pottery of any kind living in 125 square feet where storage is beyond precious and every bump in the road is likely to smash yet another coffee-mug.  But that’s what beautiful art does…it tugs at your heart and asks you to take it home, regardless of where home is.  Mika Seeger is a ceramic artist, and her farmers market stand draws me like a moth to a flame, as I swear once again I’m only going to look and not buy. 

 Mika is a bright spark who animatedly speaks of her mosaic work, considering herself a mosaic muralist first and foremost.  Partnering with Rhode Island State Council for the Arts, she and her creative partner Peter Geisser have created mosaic murals all over the state of Rhode Island, holding workshops with kids in schools to co-create and involve them in the process.  Her work can be seen throughout Rhode Island schools, at the Tiverton Library, in community parks, at the Children’s Museum in Providence (a huge 8’ x14’ sculpture) and in RITS – a correctional facility for incarcerated youth – where she taught the kids to create a remarkable mural for their home aka, the correctional facility. 

Melding art and community just oozes from Mika as she explains her workshops.  She makes the tiles for the mosaics and she and the community work together to create the mural.  Mika and her husband have championed community and the arts too, by selling 97 acres of their farmland to create an affordable artist community, farm and venue space next to the Tiverton Library.

Our very own Dave created a little magic of his own too…receiving his Coast Guard Captains’ license which he’s been working on for the past year, on our Westport return - congrats Dave! Dave tells me his official title is now either Captain or Master. I prefer “Baby Doll” myself, but I’m bowing to his new status by modifying this to “Captain Baby Doll”.

Among those recently arrived “new, young farmers” setting their roots down in Westport’s fertile soil are Kate Canney & Jude Zmolek owners of The Neighborhood Farm.   Kate & Jude met while through-hiking the Appalachian Trail years ago and clearly enjoy a good challenge. 

 In 2007 Kate, who was trained in sustainable agriculture, education and organic farming wanted to farm, but the lack of affordable land around the Boston area forced her to think in creative new ways.  She started growing naturally in 5 different private backyards and over the years worked on rented and borrowed land in yards, barns, garages and greenhouses spread over 20 miles.  Jude joined Kate a year into their venture and they haven’t looked back.

 With a motto of “Grow Where You’re Planted”, Kate and Jude walk their talk.  Their love for farming and desire to grow healthy food for their community inspire them to do whatever it takes to find land and plant it with healthy vegetables.  Farm Aid named them Farm Heros for this labor of love that they do.  We first learned of them at the Roslindale Farmers Market, discovering their passion for growing unusual, hard-to-find garlic and tomatoe varieties.  My dream years ago was to be a garlic farmer, so it’s a bit of serendipity that  they moved to Westport last year and are now growing their expansive garlic crop in Adriana & Phil’s farm fields where we’re based.

 And this leads us to the Christiansons…This blog wouldn’t be remotely complete without paying homage to Adriana, Phil, Nora & Calvin Christianson who’s land we’ve based on, who’s mailbox has given us a legal domicile, and who’s kitchen generated countless delicious meals, generously shared with us. 

 Their 1727 farmhouse on Cornell Road, was originally owned by Margaret Wood & the Reverend Phil Taber III and later, by the Borden family for countless generations who operated an oyster business out of the basement.  Much of the farmland had been sold off for development over the years, but the original farmhouse and 13 acres remained, and Phil & Adriana enthusiastically and with youthful zest and optimism set to renovating the house that hadn’t been touched in decades . 

As a corporate exec (Phil), full-time law student (Adriana) and parents of two active young children, there isn’t a whole lot of time left over to farm at this second house.  But their ingenuity and skill in creating community has led to them to share their fields with farmers Kate & Jude.

The “old-timers” knew how to site property….centuries ago, folks were attuned to the land and knew how to site a house to bring in natural light, afternoon breezes and a pleasing aesthetic and the Taber/Borden, now Christianson farm is no different.   Phil talks about how he loves how the house is sited above the fields and he imagines what it would have been like for the farmers to look out their windows and watch their crops grow as he reflects on all the people who lived there through the centuries, through every American historical moment.

 The original owner, Reverend Phil Taber III also made history by officiating the marriage of the extraordinary Westport resident Paul Cuffe in 1783.  Cuffe was born into a multi-racial family on Cuttyhunk Island with an emancipated WestAfrican slave father and a Wampanoag mother, becoming one of the most successful boat builders and wealthiest businessmen of color in the US. He used his wealth to support smallpox hospitals, integrated schools and people in difficulty regardless of ethnic or racial background, and his lifestory is legendary, reading like an adventure tale.  It feels as though the Christianson farmhouse, through it’s round-about association with Cuffe retains the good energy of community; welcoming one and all.

 The Christiansons are Fun and Welcoming and their house is often rocking with friends and family. When they’re not tending their bees or chasing pooping chickens off the patio, they’re pursuing their passions.   Adriana satisfies her deep love of nature and gardening on their 13 acres, planting fruit trees and berry bushes, flowering shrubs, herbs and perennial gardens, talking about how special it feels to be on the fields with the ancient stone walls and the deer, bats, coyote, fox, owls, birds, insects and countless other critters.  

The land has led Phil to discover his love for fishing and hunting and their freezer (lucky for us!) is always chock full of local tautog, sea bass, striped bass and smoked bluefish.  Phil managed to find the best fishing captain in the area, Captain Mel, to teach him how and where to fish and we were the lucky recipients of this connection in our early days, as Phil arranged a squidding expedition during the squids’ two week mating run.

All that fried calamari you see on restaurant menus? Most of it arrives in the two weeks before Mothers Day at the full moon in the Buzzards Bay and Port Judith region in a literal fishing frenzy of small boats pulling in line after line of squid.

But now the days are getting shorter and colder and all those fishing boats will be out of the water soon.  Westport has always seemed like a summer place, and we’re at a crossroads – does Serenity Rose go into storage for a long winter’s nap? Or is she a snowbird migrating with the Sun? 

 We’re tending towards hibernation as Dave heads to Mexico in November to tend to his boat while Diane circles back to North Carolina.  New places foster new thoughts and we’ll see what percolates during this time.

Lest one thinks we’d moved permanently into Westport the past month, our explorations circled us back to western MA a few times – looking at homes and farms near Great Barrington, with some close calls!  A few places were Almost right…but we’re holding off for the sharp stab of the delight in our guts that says “This is Home”, remembering that Patience is not Passive.

It’s been an extraordinary journey so far and we Thankyou in spades, Adriana, Phil, Calvin and Nora, for helping to make this possible for us!  Thankyou for your generosity and friendship, for your welcoming, loving, fun, bright spirits and for your beautiful hearts.  We appreciate you so much; we love you and thankyou from the bottom of our hearts!

Thankyou Westport!  Thankyou for your magical sunrises and sunsets, for your grand old trees and mossy forests, for your sandy dunes and soothing sea, for all the fun people we’ve played with along the way.  Thankyou for welcoming us.

Because the Universe has such a funny sense of humor, I’m finishing this blog with an ironic twist of fate.  Seems Boston is not quite done with us yet. Needing an anchor to base from this winter, we’ve taken an apartment in our Fenway apartment building.  We left our beloved Jamaica Plain because we wanted a quieter, gentler place.  Now we’re back in the midst of one of the most vibrant, urban and loudest areas of the city!  In a building full of Boston University students!  Seems my job is to surrender to this cosmic joke and to remember to Be-The-Magic and find magic, even in the most unlikely places. 

“To have Joy…Look at Everything in your Life as though for the Last Time”…Betty Smith

(this from Spirituality and Practice thanks to musical genius Merrie Amsterburg).

 Next Leg…???

Let us give thanks for unknown blessings already on the way

— A Quaker Mealtime Blessing in “The Whole Heaven Catalog” by Marcia Kelly