Submitted by Michele Sokoloff
(September 11, 2023) — I didn’t know when I moved to Killingworth two and a half years ago that I would be living such a unique life. Coming from the suburbs and center city Philadelphia, I was intrigued by the dense trees along the quarter mile drive into the property.
I was in awe that the house, barn, and fields were nestled in the forest. Learning more and sharing the beauty of this special land, that I now call home, has been my ongoing pleasurable quest. Even the names of the local roads reveal traits of this sprawling 27,000 acres of state-owned forest land.
As I have fallen in love with the forest, these roads identify prominent characteristics that existed so long ago and hold true today. There is: Partridge Hollow, Hemlock Drive, Blueberry Hill Reserve, Chestnut Hill Road, Cow Pen Hill Road, Old Mine Road, Woodland Trail, Pheasant Run Road, Beech Tree Ridge, Hunters Ridge Road, Roast Meat Hill Road, Old Deep River Turnpike, Lovers Lane, and many others.
There had to be reasons for these road names. According to the tenacity of local historians like Tom Lentz, Killingworth has written records dating back to 1625. (Lentz’s informative books can be gotten at the Killingworth Town Hall.) Just down the road from our homes, we can witness the lives and souls who chose to live in the forest, like us today, in small historic cemeteries dotted throughout the region.
If we choose to look a bit more, we are living close enough to see nature go through its cyclical changes; just as we humans go through our own gentle changes. Go ahead and take a look up close at the moss in the forest near your home. According to Robin Wall Kimmerer, a small handful of moss has thousands of living, breathing, breeding colonies, ecosystems, and habitats of living organisms. They feed the forest and help it sustain itself for generations. (Her book: “Gathering Moss – A Natural and Cultural History of Mosses”)
Even the towering trees in our forests here give us clues about the place where we live. They can provide indications of land disturbances, the coast, tree shapes, survival, genetics, environments, and time. To gather more about trees and the forest around you, see Tristan Gooley’s “How to Read a Tree – Clues and Patterns from Bark to Leaves.” Also for a small anthology on personal reflections on trees and forests, see “Trees – A Celebration,” edited by Jill Fairchild.
How many people are fortunate to live in nature like this? This is the home and territory of wildlife, the birds, the bees, the wild grasses, the scent of sweet pepper bush, the wild ferns. Here we are next to the water that continues to flow for generations into the Long Island Sound.
We can see it if we choose; we can touch it; we can let nature do what it was meant to do. Living in nature allows us to witness the continuation of life, feeding each other, recreating, and supporting each other in peaceful tranquility. How did I end up here?
Perhaps it was meant to be. Take a stroll outside. Look a little closer at your surroundings. If the opportunity arises, share with someone or a few people. This is where we live… in nature. Aren’t we fortunate?
Michele Sokoloff lives at Lovers Lane Farm in Killingworth. She shares the forest and land on a “Magic Trail,” her flower field, and has art classes in her studio. www.loverslanefarmct.com
