A Still Place

"To anyone else this little plot of land probably looks like a dull Kansas hillside: A grass covered hill, a mossy pond, a grove of tangled, old Osage Orange trees, and a small meadow full of weeds. But the land called to me like an old friend with a delectable secret to share. I was meant to live here even if it was a totally illogical purchase..."

Thus begins a lyrical journey to a neglected piece of land in northeastern Kansas. "A Still Place" is filled with hauntingly poetic descriptions of the plants and creatures inhabiting one hill that changed author Nancy Lankston's life.

Lankston observes and explores the land, sharing how it shifts and changes with each passing season. She describes her own growing sense of joy at living with wildflowers and weeds instead of the perfect garden and manicured lawn. Lankston shares her sense of wonder at the sight of butterflies making trees dance and stars stretching across the night sky, blanketing the hill in dark mystery. She revels in her son's adventures as 'king" of one little hill.

Lankston's essays touch that still place in us all that responds to the magic of the natural world.