Wolf traps are not always for wolves.

I just returned today from four days in Virginia.  It is the first respite of more than one day from my little chicken farm and its unpretentious responsibilities.  When I get away, I use the time to reflect on my concerns and put them in perspective.  The short trip to Vienna (VA) provided plenty of metaphorical fodder for my symbolically oriented mind.

Wolf Trap, VA is an area named by early pioneers for the pursuit of the menacing wolves which were a constant threat to community livestock.  The menace of wolves represents to me the menace of flood back at Sawmyl Synders Farm.  A certain “Wolf Trap Farm” sat on the Difficulty Run tributary.  Difficulty Run would surely describe, for me, the last three years of three floodings and recoveries.  The Difficulty Run, in VA, flows along mildly, for a while, until it meets the treacherous rapids at a juncture with a larger flow…the Potomac.  Potomac in Algonquin means “the place to which tribute is brought”.

Back at the farm, each time my hope was restored, my birds repopulated, and my buildings put back to near normal…I looked up to the heavens. The clouds ominously gathered.  They inflated and then darkened.  They came thundering down to exact tribute.  This treacherous Difficulty Run tributary ends at Dranesville, VA.  “Drainsville” is about where I am.  I’m not quitting but I’m not going to tell you I’m hopeful either, that would be a trap.  Prevailing over this difficulty will not look like anything I can imagine at this time.  I’m still draining.