Six or seven years ago, our friend Ed Gulley visited the farm. We had told him we needed a small bridge to get us over a stream and into the woods we owned behind the farm. Ed came over one day with a shovel, saw, and long wood planks in his truck.

He just walked down into the woods by our stream and built one. We could hardly believe it. Ed is one of the great friends of our lives. We miss him all the time.

Seeing how quickly and easily Ed built the bridge and how long it lasted was inspiring.

The heavy rains knocked the bridge this summer and fall, and Maria has had to go way out of her way to get to her beloved woods, the subject of her writing, photography, and videos. She returned from Vermont today, announcing that she plans to rebuild the bridge tomorrow by herself. Ah, I said, another Willa Cather Woman Day.

She laughed. The woods are significant to her and her blog. She is adamant; she doesn’t want or need any help. She does want me to take some pictures. The two planks in the photo will be the new bridge.

She came up with these two longboards she found in the barn – she throws nothing away – and tomorrow morning, we’ll haul the boards down through the pasture and off to the Gulley bridge side. She has plans to bind the two planks together in a way I can’t understand; I can walk on them without a stick.

She is putting two concrete blocks down in the water, laying the planks over them, and nailing the boards together. I am not sure how she is doing it, but I am sure she will do it well, and it will work. Fate is excited about the project; she’s all over the board.

Maria is a born handyperson. I’ll be with her to try and help. She says she is sure she can build a bridge that I can walk on, possibly with the help of a walking stick. I’m excited to see this and will be ready with my camera.

Maria knows how to do all sorts of things I will never understand. I can say that I’m grateful and thank the spirits for bringing us together.