Field Notes

For the past seven years, I have repeatedly returned to the same internal, imagined landscape. This place (which I don’t yet have a name for) has become so familiar to me that I know where certain landmarks are and where I’ve had particular experiences.

I know where a towering oak stands in the middle of meadow, and the birds that settle in its branches. I know that a pond stays shallow for 20 feet before dropping off. I know where the meadow gives way to rolling hills, and where dense woods begin to the right. I know everything to the left remains blurry and unexplored.

Over the years, I’ve had vivid experiences here. I sat beside the pond with my cat Loki after he died. I once saw a smiling woman standing in the hills as I soared overhead, and despite returning many times, I’ve never found her again. In the meadow, I often encounter a cat-lion, a snake, and a dragonfly, each of which has clarified something about my life.

I was inspired to stop thinking of this space as a private experience and instead treat it like any other place worth documenting, mapping, and surveying.

These are some of my field notes. Welcome. Have a look around. Feel free to wander and discover and explore as long as you like.

— Tulip