Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Words in the Woods

What is it about the woods and creativity? A little fresh air, a night under the stars, and a pen in hand was just the thing I needed this weekend. I took my first trip up to Anderson Valley on my first ever writing retreat at Hendy Woods.

To break the ice among 11 strangers, we immediately set out on a hike to get the creative juices going and get acquainted. We passed these lean to's where the famed Hendy Hermit lived in the woods undisturbed for 18 years.



I wonder if he was a writer?



Following the trail through the old growth redwoods, I marveled at the stretch of clover on the forest floor.





Back at the camp, a fellow writer and camping virgin helped start the fire. She did a great job!


We worked on 8 different prompts, one of them being to build a story around a magazine picture.


The coordinators brought ample "nature themed" reading material to keep us inspired. Of course I immediately picked up Little House in the Big Woods.


We found some bear poop less than a mile away. Actually, we found it after dark during a night hike, but then came back the next day to verify because the rest thought it was just us writers embellishing the truth.


Next time, Jack London State Park!



2 comments:

Urbanforageur said...

Revenous- love your wild styles, just a quick note, that is actually Oxalis (wood sorrel, super lemon bomb), next time try some on your salad or steamed with fish :)
Happy foraging!

Ravenous Woman said...

Thanks, Urbanforageur!