by Joy Houck Bauer | Dec 18, 2021 | Contemplations
The unofficial theme of 2021 at Rolling Ridge has been “Transition”. The prior year brought worldwide upheaval— stalling and quieting the normal flow of activity, even here on 120 forested acres tucked between the Appalachian Trail and the Shenandoah...
by Lindsay McLaughlin | Mar 15, 2021 | Contemplations
As February slid toward March, the harsh grip of winter tightened. It snowed, and snowed some more. Fierce winds thrashed the oak and fir trees around my new home, a cohousing village community built not long ago on the edge of an old and vibrant small town. To...
by Lindsay McLaughlin | Jan 7, 2021 | Contemplations
It has been our custom at Rolling Ridge to gather in the Meditation Shelter on the Eve of the New Year for a time of quiet reflection, poetry, sharing, and candlelight. In the past, visitors have joined us. This year we had no guests. We wore masks...
by Rolling Ridge | Dec 7, 2020 | Contemplations
(Photography by Joy Houck Bauer) As the year turned and a new decade opened, a small group gathered in the Meditation Shelter on New Year’s Eve. Having walked from the Retreat House in silent procession, we gazed in awe at the crescent moon, a circlet of light in the...
by Lindsay McLaughlin | Oct 10, 2020 | Contemplations
photo by Lindsay McLaughlin Autumn is an apt metaphor for transition; the landscape changes so dramatically as the season unfolds. This year, though, autumn holds real change for us at Rolling Ridge. Two of our five families are leaving. (I am part of one of those...
by Lindsay McLaughlin | Jul 30, 2020 | Contemplations
photo by Scot DeGraf It was hot, a rainless time. The stick weed and wine berries wilted among the straw grasses. The creek beds were scatterings of tumbled stones. In the garden, Kate watered, and watered again. The hard soil seemed to repel the...
