Sometimes people give you birthday presents early. And sometimes those presents are unimaginably wonderful. I received one such gift via email three days before my birthday this past September. It is something I have known about, but was unable to share since last fall, when it came completely out of the blue…as most Divine gifts do.
In October of 2023, I drove to Lebanon, Ohio to meet with Kathleen Maynard for the first time. She and her husband had just purchased the 27-acres Craig and I called Prairie Pond Woods from the owners I had sold it to. Those owners had it for only four years before deciding to put it up for sale. Though Kathleen is married to the Director of the Cincinnati Zoo, she is a powerhouse in her own right and deeply committed to conservation. After finding out they bought it, I sent a letter to them expressing how happy I was they had purchased it and what a comfort it was to know they would continue to care for the land. I told her I would love to meet with her there to answer any questions, point out where the Pink Lady Slippers would emerge in spring, and share our stories of finding and falling in love with the property. We agreed to meet at the coffee shop in Lebanon, so I could hear her story and, unbeknownst to me, she would bear witness to mine.

Kathleen told me how they had been looking for property and ran across “our” 27-acres for sale on Kepp Rd. in Adams County. They toured the property, along with several other properties for sale. When they were finally ready to make a decision, they looked up the listing again but it was no longer online. However (and here is where she said things got a bit mystical), they ran across MY listing from seven years ago!
Now, to backtrack, when I went to sell PPW, I insisted that the realtor allow me to write the copy for the listing and use my photos. He said he had never had any client ask to do that before. But I knew the kind of people I wanted to become the next stewards of the land. So, the first line of text read: Attention Birders and Botanizers! The listing went on to explain the bio-diversity and other fine points of the property, as well as offering to provide a species list.

Kathleen became even more interested due to my description in the listing. Then she sent a letter to the owners asking if it was still for sale (The owners had taken it off the market to do some upgrades but planned to put it back on in a few months). She also asked if they had the species list, which they did, because I had given them one. Some plants on the list were from my observations, and some were from a survey done by Rick Gardner, Chief Botanist at ODNR. After the upgrades were done, the Maynards bought it.
We continued talking in that coffee shop for a couple hours, as she answered my many questions…were they were going to retire there, would they be using it in connection with the zoo, or perhaps for retreats? She said they wouldn’t use it that much as winter approached but was looking forward to birding there in Spring for sure.
Now, this is an assumption on my part, but I think Kathleen must have looked at this Sacred Absence blog, and/or the previous owners told her how much Craig and I cherished the land that I had to give up, because the next thing she did brought me to tears. She reached into her purse, pulled out a key and handed it to me, saying, “I know what giving up Prairie Pond Woods cost you. I want you to go down as often as you like to find some healing. Because after spring.... I’m donating it to the Nature Conservancy!”
I think I went into shock for a few seconds, but then told her she had no idea how much this meant to me and I crumpled into weeping. Craig and I had poured our heart and soul into creating a beautiful space for people and animals to find sanctuary. Heart by Nature Retreats was created to help women connect with their hearts and learn about Nature. Craig hosted several "Deer Camps" for men to experience deeper camaraderie and respectful hunting. It was also a respite from our own busy lives, and an inspiration for many poems and written reflections that later made it into my book, Sightings. It was a place for family and friends to getaway and reconnect. And now it was going to be preserved and protected.
After composing myself and thanking her profusely, we talked a few more details around the sale. She mentioned that all the furniture I had left was gone when they took possession of the house. Evidently, a couple from New Jersey was going to buy the house so the previous owners vacated everything. But the NJ couple eventually backed out. Half-jokingly and half-seriously, I asked if the dragonfly lampshade in the foyer was gone. “No," she said. "Why, do you want it?”
“Are you offering it?” I asked, wide-eyed at where this line of questioning might be going.
“Sure,” she said, “Take it! It’s yours, you bought it!” (So I did on my first visit back and it now hangs in my entryway). More tears flowed because that was the first decorative piece I bought for the “cabin,” after falling in love with it. And also, because I don’t think I had ever met someone so incredibly generous.

So, I held on to her secret and sacred intention for just shy of a year. They didn’t want anything to jeopardize the sale, so she asked me to keep it in confidence. I can’t tell you how hard that was, especially because it took longer than the projected spring transfer timeframe. But finally, on Thursday, September 26, I received the email below. I will forever be grateful and in awe.
And right before we got up to leave, I put my hand on her knee and told her I was positive my husband, Craig, had orchestrated it all. :-)
Cindy,
It is with heart-felt gratitude and humility that we announce the donation of this shining and special Place to The Nature Conservancy. We signed the deed yesterday. It is all official.
Most importantly, for my heart and for the Earth, it will be preserved and protected and serve a higher Purpose from this day forward. I started this Journey to save some Trees. However, that Yes allowed me to see and honor and save so much more…Pond and Prairie and, yes, all those amazing Trees! You know this better than Anyone!
The Sisters Cabin will become a place for Seasonal Employees and Americorp participants. It is such a remarkable, comfortable, peaceful cabin that will welcome the ongoing work, conversations, and ethic of those that will pass through and share that wonderful space. You helped create that! We just added a bit here and there!
The past year will remain one of the most important years in my life. And This is the Moment I have worked toward every day that I/we were graced to have the property and cabin in our possession.
All the shimmering Spirit Energy there lives in Safety.
Kathleen

Mary Oliver
Thirst
When I am among the trees,
especially the willows and the honey locust,
equally the beech, the oaks and the pines,
they give off such hints of gladness.
I would almost say that they save me, and daily.
I am so distant from the hope of myself,
in which I have goodness, and discernment,
and never hurry through the world
but walk slowly, and bow often.
Around me the trees stir in their leaves
and call out, “Stay awhile.”
The light flows from their branches.
And they call again, “It's simple,” they say,
“and you, too, have come
into the world to do this, to go easy, to be filled
with light, and to shine.”
September 23, 2024
The Sisters Cabin
Prairie and Pond and Forest
Donated and Preserved and Protected
With Humility and Gratitude,
Kathleen and Thane Maynard
In the name of Three Sisters,
Caitlin, Shailah and Lily Maynard.
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