Land Acknowledgement: “I would like to acknowledge that we are on the traditional land of the first people of Seattle, the Duwamish People past and present and honor with gratitude the land itself and the Duwamish Tribe.” - Duwamish Tribe
*If you are just joining us, please go back and read parts 1-3 of the Martha Washington Park series. Part 1 & part 2 were released together last week and Part 3 & 4 came out together this week. To ensure you don’t miss any posts, please consider subscribing or getting the Substack app by clicking the links below.
I still feel a hush fallen over the park. It feels peaceful and quiet, almost like a cemetery. The wind is more pronounced than the birds. They are on the outskirts, signaling the boundaries.
A crow flies back and forth with materials, perhaps building a nest. An eagle soars overhead. Tufts of fuzz accumulate on every surface like snowdrifts.
Dogs frolic in the meadow, dodging daisies and daffodils. So many dogs. Running, playing, exploring. Dogs in groups of three and four. Happy dogs. Totally at ease.
I hear a lonely crow in the distance. They dive and pick something out of the water. A tiny spider creeps along a mossy rock out of the sunshine. I close my eyes and listen to the waves.
The cool waves wash tiny pebbles between my toes. I think about wildflowers and the wheel of fortune. Sometimes this gets to be your life.
My feet are still wet so I make my way to the sandy trail and walk along it through the warm grassy meadow, soft as shag carpet.
The main reason I was driven to come back here was to find signage about the ground nesting bees, a bit of a synchronicity with me lately. Like with all synchronicities, you can’t really force them, they come to you. So of course I never do find the sign.
Seattle Parks and Recreation have a board educating us on the white oaks originally planted by the Duwamish.
I come up close, admiring the flowers, searching earnestly. And in so doing a bee nearly lands right on my nose, so close it comes to my face. And I nearly step on a bumble of foraging bees. The irony doesn't escape me that in my thirst to discover a sign about ground-nesting bees, I end up standing barefoot in the heart of their hive.
The fence line around the corner is where we received our most harrowing evidence. But I see now that it's fenced off out of respect for the plants and bees. I notice PVC piping and wired garden barriers, bright orange markers, countless buzzing bees and birdhouses.
This is the place where our apps gave us the most alarming words last time. Repeatedly. It led me to believe it was the scariest section of the park. But now I see it is also the most cared for. The most loved.
I thought I would be focusing on the ghosts of the park, but instead it feels like I was directed to the spirits of the land. We can't erase the grim history, but it's not enough to limit this space to just the tragedies that occurred here. That's not the whole story.
There used to be a rich history here. This is a special place that draws so many in for many reasons, not the least of which are spiritual. One consistency is the love of the land.
This land was cherished since the beginning. Hand picked as a sacred burial plot and a place for Longhouses and recreation. It was cared for during the days of the schools with several trees planted. And now cherished again as the WNPS tries to restore it and make it a better place by honoring the traditions of the First Nation people.
Today I didn't turn on any of my ghost gear. Today is about feeling. About honoring the land and the spirits who reside here.
Now that I know a bit more of the story, it feels like a different park. Still heavy. Still important. But it feels more like healing.It feels more like hope.
My wish is that this will be a lesson to me. That I won’t forget. That a place is so much more than the sum of its tragedies. Even if you hear about or encounter darkness, the energy can change. Energy can be healed. The light can be found in the darkness.
I see and hear a dragonfly racing towards me, the buzz of their wings harmonizing with the steady waves against the shore. I see a sailboat in the distance.
As I leave, I marvel one last time at the view. Smell the smells. Look back sentimentally, sad to go. One last dragonfly comes near, big and prominent against the light blue sky behind them. For once I don’t try to get a picture or video, instead I say goodbye to the park with gratitude, goodbye for now, and blow her a kiss. She has taught me more than I will ever know.
It’s one of those places that feels like comfort, feels like home. Memories I will grasp at long after they’re gone. Looking up at the oak branches blowing in the wind, the sun peaking through. Soft. Quiet. Peaceful. Warm. No matter what happens. This land will remain.
This visit was accompanied by a Spotify playlist for a bit of Shufflemancy: mwp-060924. These songs came up on random shuffle on my way to and from the park. of Substack Skyler’s Schematonics has a great article called Shufflemancy 101: Using Music for Divination if you would like to learn more about how to use Shufflemancy in your practice.
*This Martha Washington Park series includes four articles released over two weeks. Part 1 & part 2 were released together last week and Part 3 & 4 came out together this week. To ensure you never miss a post, please consider subscribing by clicking the button below, or getting the Substack app so you can see the full catalog of previous posts all in one place.
If you liked this series, please let me know by clicking the heart icon or re-stack button, or leaving a note in the comments below. I would love to hear from you! Thank you for joining me here on this journey!