Four ways in
Where the path forks
Four kinds of writing and looking live here. None of them are in a hurry, and none of them need to be read in order.
The ground this covers
Places that keep what happened to them
People and places leave traces. A worn lane, a leaning marker, a board split along its grain. Slowing down is the only way to notice them.
How this place works
Not advice. A record of paying attention.
Nothing is prescribed
There are no steps here, no programs, no encouragement to feel a particular way. Only observations, offered in case they are useful to someone walking their own version of this.
Slow is the method
Most of what is worth noticing does not announce itself. It shows up on the second pass, on foot, in bad weather, after the interesting part of the road has already gone by.
It keeps moving
This collection is not finished, and does not aim to be. New essays, places, and photographs are added as they're ready — a record still being walked rather than a story with a conclusion.
The idea behind Sidepath
What the obvious route leaves out
Most places reveal more after the obvious route has been left behind. Sidepath collects what is noticed there: landscapes, traces, memories, ordinary details, and the occasional change in perspective.
None of it is offered as instruction. It is simply kept, gathered slowly, in case a slower way of looking is useful to someone else.