Earlier this month, I sat at my desk and stared at the floor, pondering the two ongoing wars, the release of another dire climate change report, the mass shooting an hour's drive away. To quote poet Wendell Berry: "despair for the world grew in me." Taking his advice, I took a walk down to the Little River overlook at the Wells Reserve, "where& the great heron feeds." High overhead, V after V of Canada geese flew south across the otherwise empty sky. I envied their escape. I wanted to take wing with them, away from this sea of troubles.

But they're not really escaping this world, are they? They're just temporarily changing their latitude. Another perspective might see those migrating geese working as a team to find more hospitable climes in winter. They rotate the lead flyer, so none gets too tired; as a gaggle they find food, open water, and relative safety. Season after season, they persevere. Even into headwinds as strong as today's, they fly on, together.

Geese on their journeys need places like the Wells Reserve, and so do we. This place is a refuge, a refueling station for the body and the mind. For a time I rested by the river, "in the grace of the world," and I was free. I returned to my desk, still world weary but less heartbroken. That's what a walk in the woods or a long gaze at an estuary can do. That's just part of the reason why the Wells Reserve at Laudholm is here, for you and me and anyone else who needs it. We all need a place like this, especially these days.

Thank you for being a part of saving and sustaining this important place and its work. This holiday season, I do hope that you'll renew your support for this reserve that continues to renew so many, and I hope you'll have the opportunity in 2024 to visit and "come into the peace of wild things."

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Until then, all of us here wish you a safe and sound holiday season.

Sincerely,

Nik Charov, President

PS. You can find Berry's seminal poem, "The Peace of Wild Things" online in many places. It is one of our favorites here at Laudholm. It fits right in, and so do you.