To the river

The retreat center where I stayed last week has a lovely library filled with comfortable chairs, a small chapel with cushions on the floor for anyone who wants to meditate, and a courtyard dominated by a flowering tree that dropped petals into my hair as I sat on a bench with my notebook.

But the best thing about the retreat center is the river. The morning I arrived, I followed the trail down the hill and through ivy-covered trees until I came to the water.  As I approached, a long snake slid off the bank into the water, disappearing beneath the muddy surface.