On my walk this morning, I could hear, “We survived! We survived!” The Birds were singing, the Plants dancing. Everyone was excited to be waking from the slumber of winter. I was moved to see the Plants returning. As I was walking, I was brought back to the first time that I walked this Land and how it has changed.
After many years of searching for land, we finally agreed to see this property. It had been on the market for over a year. Every time that I saw the listing in the paper, I said that I wanted to see it and then we would remind ourselves of where it was. It was a cornfield. We were opposed to taking farmland out of production. We wanted wooded land. We wanted land that we could help heal. Suddenly we awoke from our slumber and realized that the land that needed healing was the farmland around us. This land has been and is being poisoned and planted with more poisons (GMO corn and soybeans). We finally agreed to see it. As soon as we stepped on the property, everyone said “This is it!” We knew!
What did it look like then, just bare soil with remains of cornstalks. Though we did find a turtle and several frogs. We bought the farm in October 2003, shortly after a crop of soybeans was harvested. The field pretty much was barren earth surrounded on three sides with thin woods. The only Plants that we found growing were Jimson Weed, which is an imposing and poisonous, though medicinal plant. We had a farmer plant hay in the field. The following Spring, Burdock, Thistles, Yellow Dock, and Amaranth were among the plants to join us. These plants have good protective armor with thorns and spikes. They also have deep tap roots that help to bring minerals into the upper soil and I think help to clean the land of toxins. After a year of pleading, Plantain moved in! She has been here ever since and is now quite prolific.
Since that time, more and more Plants have come to live here. I love to see the progression. When we first moved here, there was a tiny patch of Violets in the woods. I considered that my special place and would often go to spend time with them. Now, they are throughout the field. It still surprises me when I see them.
As I was walking today, I discovered that several Trees are beginning to grow in an area of our field that we have not been mowing. This is exciting! I wanted a good portion of our Land to grow and change on her own. However, that is difficult to handle when you are taught that land needs to be manicured and a person’s character can be judged by how well maintained their yard is. And so, this was always a bone of contention with my family and neighbors. Fortunately, as Ani Difranco says, “Nature always gets her way!”
One of my favorite areas of this Land is an area that we agreed from the beginning to leave alone. It is a Faerieland. When I was there today, my Heart was bursting with Love and gratitude. We now have Trees whose trunks are 6” in diameter! These trees were not there when we moved here and we did not plant them, yet they are tall and strong and gorgeous.
I am so grateful to live on this Land. I now realize that it was incredibly arrogant of me to think that I was going to heal the Land; instead, the Land is healing me or maybe we are healing one another. I realize that not everyone can (or wants to) live on a farm; however, I think everyone needs a special spot where s/he can watch Nature unfold and change. This can be your backyard, a park, a sidewalk. Nature is everywhere.
I love this time of year: the new beginnings and unbridled energy full of joy and sensuality. I hope that you enjoy the re-awakening and re-emerging into the Light.