A lot happened this week. It is hard to describe the gratitude I felt when I saw the principal standing outside the school doors, under an umbrella, dressed in her professional clothes in torrential rain; or the sorrow that only moments later arose when I saw the beautiful duck or was it a goose? lying in the middle of the road, with its best friend flapping, begging him to get up as the man with slumped shoulders threw bread crumbs in a path leading it away.

In that moment, I pulled my car over, wrapped the bird up and carried it over to the side of the road and placed it down, out of the way. It was a beautiful beast. and I cried. I didn't know what more I could do. I asked the man should I just leave him here? and he nodded yes.

I wondered about those two events, why they fell only moments apart, and how they could resonate so deeply. It made me think about timing and the choices we make - not just as individuals but as a collective whole - how my son's school principal chose to stand out in the rain; how the man sprinkled bread crumbs; how that duck missed its mate; how I held that beautiful beast and looked at the soft white feathers on its neck and couldn't distinguish my tears from the rain.

Every day one of the principals at school is there to greet the children and whether the children are outwardly aware of it or not, they are registering it on a profound level that some one is there to welcome them in. The man scattering bread crumbs didn't need to, but he chose to because saving the other duck mattered. In that morning, I felt how intimately connected we all are in one village, stretched out along one long road, any day of the year. We may not always register this, but in an instant it is all revealed.

I feel that way about the process of healing, that as deeply personal as one's journey is, the journey is made better by the collective conscious that tells each and every one of us that we're never alone and that we are all part of something bigger and greater, connected to something that says it's ok to be chipped, broken, cracked and fragile, because some one will always hold a door open, or lead you to a safe place, or help you carry a burden. We're all in it together.

ANNA MAY has been on the road to Dakota and she's still right at home on Highway 395...and she's ready to be guest Juice-ician at The Lyme Juice Company on Saturday, September 24th - at The Lyme Farmers' Market. Anna is a twenty-one year old traditional folk musician, singer and songwriter whose voice mixes in jazz with an American twist but her French stuff will make you wilt too. Anna's music is inspired by the people in her life and their stories, the places she has traveled to and the coastal town in CT where she grew up.

Anna doesn't sit around hiding behind walls and closed doors waiting for life to happen to her. She's out there living and breathing, responding to all that she experiences and lucky for us, she's creating beautiful lyrics and melodies. Here's proof - check out her song Highway 395.

She's just back from an eye-opening journey to North Dakota in support of the Lakota people and Sacred Stone in protest against The Dakota Access Pipeline. Here is a link to Anna singing Acadia's Song, a song which holds a special connection to this cause. [See below for lyrics].

Anna was christened into the world of activism with guidance from songwriter and activist, Jen Taylor, and musician/aerialist Dani Bobbi Lee. After a long and arduous car ride through the MidWest, they pitched a tent at the Rosebud Camp on the Missouri River and began their work offering music, massage, and conversation as well as helping in the community kitchen at the children's school. They took part in indigenous drum and dance circle and even said hello to Joan Baez {OMG. Right??!!]. The Om Fly Circus from East Haddam CT topped things off with an acrobatic circus jam on the grounds of Rosebud Camp. Anna May says that the experience was "bright, joyous and that the Lakota people are resilient despite dire circumstances."

For more pictures and a first hand account of their experience, click here to read Jen's account of their journey to Dakota.

Pictured below: The wonderful children they met and played with; hooping silhouette at sunset; the view from the Missouri River bank from the Standing Rock Sioux Rosebud Camp, looking out from the tent at the main Red Warrior camp with the tipi of the Elders Council in view and horses drinking at the water's shore.

The Sacred Stone Camp website explains why it's so important for all of us to pay attention to what's going on out there:

"The Spirit Camp is called Iŋyaŋ Wakháŋagapi Othí, translated as Sacred Rock, the original name of the Cannonball area. The Spirit Camp is dedicated to raising awareness and stopping the Dakota Access pipeline, the dangers associated with pipeline spills and the necessity to protect the water resources of the Missouri river. It rejects the appropriation of the name “Dakota” in a project that is in violation of aboriginal and treaty lands. The word Dakota means “the People” in the Dakota/Lakota/Nakota language and was never intended to be used in a project which violates traditional ceremonial areas...

The Dakota Access threatens everything from farming and drinking water to entire ecosystems, wildlife, and food sources surrounding the Missouri. The nesting of bald eagles and piping plovers as well as the quality of wild rice and medicinal plants like sweet grass are just a few of the species at stake here. We ask that everyone stand with us against this threat to our health, our culture, and our sovereignty. We ask that everyone who lives on or near the Missouri River and its tributaries, everyone who farms or ranches in the local area, and everyone who cares about clean air and clean drinking water stand with us against the Dakota Access Pipeline."

The message is clear and Anna wants to help spread the word and build awareness: "Water is Life. A pipeline that threatens to contaminate a clean water supply should not be built. The Lakota people need HELP NOW in order to make it through what will surely be a very harsh winter." Visit Sacred Stone Camp to see what supplies you can donate.

Always On The Road - Anna May pictured here with friends on a different road trip.