The Land I Own
I spent the day today walking in the woods. This was not an ordinary walk, one where you have a destination in mind, like a waterfall or a spectacular view, but a walk where I was looking down, searching for markers in the earth that tell me where my boundaries are. I was searching for my corners. I unfolded the decade old survey, counted steps and followed the compass, getting myself to a rough estimate of where the corner should be. Then I looked along the ground, under scrub oak, crisp leaves and fallen trees, for a small, red cap sticking out of the earth with five specific numbers written on it. 11183. These are my numbers. The six numbers that mark the boundaries of my land. My land. As of September 1st I am a land owner. 6.5 acres of New Mexico mountainside with Ponderosa, Pinion and Juniper pine covering everything. This task of finding my corners is the first and most important as it sets the definition of what this land can be. It stretches the canvas around the frame. The possibilities are endless.
