Special Spaces

This post by Gayle M. Irwin

I’m a woodswoman. A few decades ago, I read a book by Anne LaBastille called Woodswoman, a memoir of her life in New York’s Adirondack Mountains. She sustained herself through freelance writing and conservation work. Inspired by Thoreau, she lived in a log cabin without modern conveniences, relying on a boat for transportation and neighbors to help with things she couldn’t do by herself. But, she did a lot alone. I admired Anne’s fortitude and independent spirit. I wanted to be her. But, alas my life differed from Anne’s but I’ve always enjoyed her writing and appreciated her life (my parents lived like that during my 20s and 30s, doing so for nearly 14 years, although neither were writers or professional conservationists). Anne had a special space, environmentally and emotionally – she lived in a beautiful place and she lived a life not many people, especially single women, would choose. I highly recommend her books, Woodswoman and Beyond Bear Lake, are the ones I’ve read; she also has written others before her passing in 2011.

There are many special spaces; each of us holds a “somewhere” dear in our hearts (maybe more than one place). It may be our childhood home, the community where we currently live, our own writing space, a place in which we’ve visited that made an emotional (even spiritual) impact. There are several special spaces for me, and most every one is an outdoor place. Here are a few of most favorite places:

1.  National Parks – America is blessed by the foresight and fortitude of people like Stephen Mather, John Muir, Presidents Ulysses Grant and Teddy Roosevelt, and many others who deemed places throughout our country worthy of protection, and therefore, created the world’s first national park. From Yellowstone to the Grand Canyon, Yosemite to Kenai Fjords, America’s national parks are treasures that not only Americans enjoy, but that also beckon people around the world who basically have nothing like U.S. parks and marvel at the majesty and wonderment. I’m privileged to have a story I wrote about our national parks in last year’s Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Spirit of America. I’ve visited several parks and plan to visit more – they inspire me, both as a writer and a human being. 
2. Ranch near Kaycee, Wyoming – I am fortunate to have friends who own a ranch about 70 miles northeast of Casper, where I live, and every few months I make a trip out there. I bask in the beauty of the landscape and the vast amount of animal life, a place where domestic sheep, cattle, and horses mingle with wildlife such as turkeys, deer, and sandhill cranes. Glorious sunrises greet me and the nearby Powder River lulls me to sleep at night. The quiet relaxes me, and the generosity of my friends brings me joy. I stay at the guesthouse with large windows that look upon the fields and woods nearby, and I write. I’ve composed many short stories, chapters of my book Walking in Trust: Lessons Learned with a Blind Dog, and developed a children’s book about to be released called A Town Dog Named Mary Visits a Ranch, in which I’ll teach children about the domestic and wild creatures living in harmony together at the ranch. 
3. Mountain Property and Cabin – this is truly my special space, for my husband and I own it. At 8,000 feet in elevation, the mountain property is a bit difficult to get to during the winter, but from May to October, I spend weekends and week nights at this place, only about 20 minutes from our home in town. We purchased the acreage nearly 14 years ago and found a Park Model mobile cabin in 2006; two years would pass before we could move the cabin to the property (lots of trees to cut for fire mitigation and lots of work to prepare the ground; thankfully our ranch friends had another small acreage close to Casper on which we parked the cabin as we prepared the land). A lot of writing occurs at the property, whether inside the 12x32 cabin (we had a tiny house before tiny houses became popular!) or outdoors beneath the coolness of the lodgepole pines. In fact, as I write this post, I’m at the cabin, soaking in the quiet on the 4^th of July! Songbirds of all sorts are our neighbors, and mule deer grace the landscape. Our three acres brings us great peace, and me much creativity. My children’s book Cody’s Cabin: Life in a Pine Forest takes children on a woodland adventure as Cody the cocker spaniel uses his senses to explore the forest; kids learn about the plants and animals found in a Rocky Mountain forest and are encouraged to go on their own woodland adventure with a variety of activities found in the book. 

 

As humans and writers, we all have special spaces. I recently returned from a trip to Alaska; my husband, father, and I drove through the state, experiencing mountains, oceans, rivers, tundra, and forests and the creatures that live within each ecosystem – not surprisingly, I came back with a book idea. The 49^th state is definitely a very special place!

My special spaces involve the outdoors. Although I may not be Anne LaBastille, she certainly influenced me for I find peace and creativity in the woods – I am a woodswoman!

Whether it’s a favorite coffee shop, our home office, a farm, field, or forest, perhaps even a city park, there are places and spaces people enjoy and at which we as writers re-discover our creativity. What are some of your special spaces? I hope you have time and opportunity to enjoy them this summer!

Gayle M. Irwin is an award-winning Wyoming author and freelance writer. Her inspirational pet books for children and adults teach valuable life lessons, such as courage, perseverance, and friendship. She is a contributing writer to magazines, newspapers, and compilation books, including last year’s Sundown Press release, Memories from Maple Street USA: Pawprints on My Heart. Her short story about a rescue dog, titled Jasmine’s Journey, will appear in the August Chicken Soup for the Soul release called The Dog Really Did That? This will be her seventh contribution to the Chicken Soup series; last year her story about America’s national parks was a feature in Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Spirit of America. Learn more about Gayle and her work at www.gaylemirwin.com.

Finding Creativity Through Tranquility

Serenity echoes deep in a central Wyoming lodgepole pine forest with the sights, sounds, and smells of nature. Chickadees chirp from tree branches, mule deer munch late summer grass, and orange-spotted butterflies wing through waves of yellow daisies. Within the stillness of the woodland, a group of 20 people spread like spokes on a wheel, finding inspiration, tranquility, and creativity.

            

 For the past four summers I’ve welcomed a group of writers to my secluded mountain property. We spend an afternoon soaking in the solace of the landscape, escaping traffic noise and the ring of telephones. This is my special retreat, a place where I’ve written articles and developed book ideas. I share it with my writers’ group one day of the year, and during those afternoon hours, creativity flows, from poetry to children’s stories.

             

Located a short 20-minute drive from my house in town, my woodland hideaway seems hours from the barrage of droning disruptions. This peaceful parcel of forest land has become my writing refuge. Thoreau had his Walden's Pond; I have my Peaceable Kingdom, 3+ acres of Rocky Mountain forest at an elevation of 8,000 feet. Within the timbered setting stands a 12x40 foot wood-sided cabin, which receives electricity from the sun via solar panels and heat from a russet-enameled woodstove. Although other cabins are visible through the lacy lodgepole branches, rarely is my quietude disturbed, for other property owners don't frequent their private paradises as I do mine, even during summer. 

            

In the midst of such peacefulness I create stories, sitting at my laptop that's powered by either its own battery or the solar panels connected to a cluster of marine-celled batteries, the collection which also lights our paneled cabin. Each form of energy helps me produce chapters of books or develop feature articles for magazines and newspapers. Although I can write at my home office in town, the visits to the cabin rejuvenate and revive my creativity, priming, prompting, and pumping the flow of words. Amidst the solitude, I've written three books and partially-written two others, as well as countless magazine articles, newspaper stories, and blog posts -- and more muse flows forth. Sometimes my creations are generated within the cabin itself, other times sitting under the shade of the towering lodgepoles or while reflecting in the enclave of the screened porch during twilight. The twittering of songbirds and ruckus of raptors, the fluttering of butterflies, scolding of pine squirrels, and wafting of a breeze in the tree tops tug at the tendrils of my brain and sing within the crevices of my heart, culminating in a creativeness that soars from my soul.

             

Setting is important in stories, from the written word to the backdrop of a movie screen. I am inspired by my mountain property much as Laura Ingalls Wilder was by her surroundings, whether it was Rocky Ridge Farm in Missouri or the great plains of the Dakotas. The inspired woodland location atop Casper Mountain encourages writings that will, I hope, uplift readers of my words. Whether the product is a book about my dog that helps children facing adversity, a story that teaches an environmental lesson, or an article that encourages people who are down on themselves, the excitement I feel when I sit across from my laptop in the stillness of my mountain acreage cascades through mind and spirit. For me, tranquility equals creativity and productivity.

             

Laura had her Little House in the Big Woods, Little House on the Prairie, and the Farm House in the Ozarks. I have a combination – my Little Cabin in the Tall Woods of the Great Plains. And tomorrow I will again share this unique environ with fellow writers. I smile as I envision the amazing compositions which will bloom within us as we savor the serene surroundings.

Gayle M. Irwin is a Wyoming writer, author, and speaker who creates inspirational pet stories for children and adults. She is the author of seven books and a contributing writer to six Chicken Soup for the Soul compilations. She is also a contributor to last month’s Sundown Press release Memories on Maple Street U.S.A.: Pawprints on My Heart. She volunteers for various Rocky Mountain region pet rescue organizations and writes for several newspapers and magazines, sharing stories about people, pets, and nature. Learn more at www.gaylemirwin.com.