Several years ago, I had the opportunity to spend a week in England. My dear friend, Dr. William Sladen, a native Britain, had arranged for me to visit Welney Wildfowl and Wetlands Center, in the southwestern part of England. While I was there, I was given the rare privilege of feeding the wild Whooper and Bewick swans that flew in nightly. Driving through the English countryside, I felt as though I was traveling in another time – a simpler time. It felt oddly familiar and I wanted to stay there forever.
Another highlight of that trip was my visit to Stonehenge. We had gone early on a cloud covered, foggy morning. The mist lent an air of mystery to the already mysterious monument. The photographs that I took portrayed a haunting beauty which I will always cherish. Stonehenge continues to fascinate those who are drawn to it. It is believed to have taken over 1,000 years to build it. There is also evidence that some of the bluestones that make up part of it, originated in Wales. A similar structure has recently been discovered in Wales. Although no one knows for sure, how or why Stonehenge was built, the arrangement of the stones always coincides with the winter and summer solstices. The sun rises and sets always over the same stones. Over the centuries, efforts have been made to preserve the monolithic structure. Historical pictures have been found that depict its rebuilding during the Victorian era, in 1901. More restorations were undertaken in the 1920s, 1959, and 1964.
I had heard many years ago that information is stored in stone – and in bone. There is no doubt that the stones of Stonehenge contain deep secrets. It is also not surprising that I am drawn to England – like a magnet. I have celebrated the solstices, rather than modern, traditional holidays, for the past twenty years. My paternal grandmother was an immigrant from Wales. I aslo found out recently that my DNA shows me to be 98% British. Somehow, I have always known this. I feel it in my bones.
