The Glade
"If only we were wise enough to take advice from trees"
You find yourself in a field surrounded by wildflowers. It is springtime, and the morning dew begins to glimmer in the light of a new day. As the sun peaks over the mountain ridge, mist rises from the field and the fragrance of pine fills the air. You take a deep breath, then exhale. Meanwhile the Northern Flicker calls out her sweet song, an ode to the morning.
The air is cold and crisp, cleansing you like a sweet medicine. Twenty paces to your east lies the forest and at its edge, a small hut. The whole structure seems to be enveloped by the forest on all sides. Grasses and ferns surround the foot of the hut, creating a collar of vibrant green. Sturdy vines climb up the walls and onto the roof where the wildflowers and moss cling to the topsoil. The smoke from the chimney turns with the mist, each rising towards the sky, dancing. Looking at the place, you would not be able to tell the man-made from the natural. They dwell together in perfect harmony.
Construction on the Hobbit House began in summer of 2018. I had spent the previous winter traveling in New Zealand and came home with a head full of ideas. Being a starving artist and fresh out of high school, I scraped together a work plan and began pouring the foundation. Four years later the Hobbit House continues to find its shape brick by brick.
