I TOOK A WALK TODAY...

I took a walk this afternoon around 4:30 in the rain. Not exactly what I had planned, since I’d waited for hours for a break in the showers, but as soon as I stepped off the porch it started up again...or rather, down, again. I decided to forge on because the temperature was so mild for January 10th, and a little rain never hurt anybody.

I had been walking less than 2 minutes, when I spotted three white flags waving and moving up towards the prairie ridge, as I walked towards the bottom. Definitely not a surrender, but a retreat from someplace close to where I stood. I think deer are one of the most amazing creatures on the planet. They are not exotic, or terribly interesting, but they have the supernatural ability to appear and disappear like four-legged wizards. I decided not to track them, as it was getting close to dusk and I wanted them to find their favorite place to bed down for the night…which is probably what they were already doing. Oops.

When I got to the woods, I stopped to listen to the clacking of raindrops hitting the dried leaves on the forest floor. It was strangely similar to the sound they made hitting my nylon raincoat. Not the muffled thud of a summer shower absorbed into the soil and the decomposed leaf litter. This was crisp and clear. I closed my eyes to hear the syncopation and wondered, putting a twist on the proverbial riddle, if I wasn't there in the forest would the rain still make a sound?

I remember having the other question posed to me as a young girl and found it philosophically intriguing, "If a tree falls in the forest, and there's no one there to hear it, does it still make a sound?" But as a pondered this, my head tilted back receiving the sprinkling of holy rainwater, I realized that the question is anthropocentric at its heart. The glorious truth is that there are thousands, if not millions, of other organisms in a forest that would hear or feel the falling of a tree. Human receptors are not the only indicators of whether something is real or not. It reminded me of a similarly poignant question posed by musician Bruce Cockburn in a song about the rainforest, "If a tree falls in the forest, does anybody care?"

Finally, as I traversed back through the prairie, the rain let up. I headed for the house; making one last stop to check for any damage the deer had done to the fruit trees planted this past fall. It was minimal, for which I was grateful, so I think they’ll make it. Next year, we’ll probably see lots of deer helping themselves to our peaches, cherries, and apples...or maybe we won’t. If I stand in the orchard and don't see any deer...does that mean they're not there?

RESTORATION

Restore; 1. to give back. 2. to return to a former or normal state, or to a position, rank, use, etc. 3. to bring back to health, strength, etc.

Restoring the land is like restoring our own souls, or helping in the restoration of others who are broken, alienated, or lost.

I think we all have a remnant of Eden within, an anscestral memory we just can't shake, that longs for the perfection of all things. God restores our souls. We are co-redeemers as we enter into the lives of people in the world, and as we help restore the earth. God created both, in the beginning, beautiful, harmonious, but now out of synchronization with the original intent.

At Prairie Pond Woods, I take out things that aren't supposed to be there, vines that choke trees and pull them to the ground, and animals that destroy the natural balance. I let the scars on the land heal over. Like we should do.

I put things in that are supposed to be there; beautiful things or necessary things that lend grace and abundance to the overall ecosystem, which other creatures feed on or shelter in.

I assess it regularly, and dream about its potential and the gifts it can offer others for their healing and transformation. Like we should do with others.

Anyone who "tends the earth" or "loves their neighbor" knows these ongoing struggles. God, once again, uses nature to teach us valuable lessons in wisdom if we pay attention and learn. I consider this a sacred and holistic work to help in redemption, not only for the people who yearn for it, but also for the earth that groans for it.........

UPDATE

Land Raisin' Canceled!

Sorry folks but the snow, wind and cold has the upper hand for our annual Land Raisin' this Saturday. Thanks to all of you who made plans to come down and help us remove invasive species. We are grateful. Looks like it might be spring before we can plan another attack. :)

THINGS ABOVE THE EARTH

Spring may be all about the birds in the sky...but summer is about every other flying creature!! I have never been so bombarded, tactily irritated, or gleefully amazed, as I have this August watching their aerial displays and landings. They are absolutely everywhere, traversing the air right in front of my face, bashing loudly into windows, and crawling on my ankles...or my food.

Starting with the 17-year brood of cicadas, which are all but back in the soil until 2025, to the many wasps who have recently settled in on both porches to raise nice, wholesome families of their own. I don't have the heart to knock down the nests, so we co-exist ever so gently. I just tell myself (and them) what great predators and pollinators they are, as I skulk by their papery homes hanging near the doors.

Standing in the prairie is a treat... The butterflies lilt through the air, some haggered, some still crisp and vibrant. The dragonflies charge each other like WWF combatants. The wasps coast with legs dangling, as if being air-lifted by some invisible force. And the flies...don't get me started.

All these creatures have their place and purpose, their niche, in the ecosystems of the world, no matter how much we swat, spray, or duck. The web of life continues on because of them, and for that I am grateful. I welcome their presence and reproduction at Prairie Pond Woods.

Just remember...
you may come to Prairie Pond Woods to experience solitude...
but you are never alone...!!!!

SPRING/SUMMER SPECIES LIST

LISTS! I love them. In 2007, I started a species list of the flora I stumble across at Prairie Pond Woods while wandering on The Refresher Course. The Fauna LIST is still a work in progress, so that's the focus for next year!

And not to brag (since I had nothing to do with it), but after several visits to Lynx Prairie, a National Natural Landmark, there are really only a few prairie species growing there (albeit more abundantly) that we don't have...but I'm working on it! Because it is only about a mile away (as the crow flies), both parcels of land, and maybe some in between, were probably once a large alkaline prairie, before agriculture replaced the wildflowers and grasses with crops. Non-native species are indicated with an asterisk*.

Someday I hope you will pick a favorite month of flowers
and come see them in bloom at Prairie Pond Woods!

March/April Blooming

Cut-leaf toothwort, Rue Anemone, False Anemone, Golden Ragwort, Yellow Violet, White Violet, Common Blue Violet, White Trout Lily, Purple Cress, Wild Phlox, Bluets, Virginia Bluebells, Pennywort, Wild Ginger, Wild Columbine, Wild Strawberry, Winter Cress, Pussytoes, Jacob's Ladder, Jack-in-the-pulpit, Pink Lady's Slippers, Star of Bethlehem*, Daisy Fleabane*, Common Cinquefoil, Wild Petunia, Dogwoods, Redbud, Apple.



May/June Blooming

Two-flowered Cynthia, White Milkweed, Large-Flowering Trillium, Lyre-leaved Sage, Indian Hemp, Tall Meadow Rue, Downy Wood Mint, Ox-eye Daisy, Foxglove Beardtongue, Trumpet Vine, Mayapples, Prairie Rose, Honeysuckle Vine*, Deptford Pinks*, Yarrow*, Narrow-leaved Mtn. Mint, Flowering Spurge, American Columbo (not blooming), Buckeye, Ninebark, Black Locust, Wild Black Cherry, Honey Locust, Dark Green Bulrush, Spike Rush, Hawkweed*, Deerberry, Wild Hydrangea,


July/August Blooming (taken from this & last year)

Butterfly Weed, Black-eyed Susan, Blackberry, Multi-flora Rose*, Common Milkweed, Thimbleweed, Slender Ladies Tresses, Elderberry, Sourwood trees, Hickory nuts letting go, Rattlesnake Plaintain, Wild Bergamot, Gray Headed Coneflower, Tall Larkspur, Horse-Nettle, White-Top Daisy, Trumpet Honeysuckle, , Rose Pink Arrow leaf, Pickerel Weed, Wild Senna, Wild Petunia Peak, Sweet or Pearly Everlasting, Boneset, Iron Wood, Virgin’s Bower, Canada Goldenrod, Flat-topped Goldenrod, Stiff Goldenrod, Gray Goldenrod, Mistflower, Teasel*, Downy False Foxglove, Spiked Lobelia, Wild Sensitive Plant, Pokeweed, Joe-Pye Weed, Primrose,Thin-leaved Coneflower, Whorled Rosin Weed, Heal-All,* Wingstem, Queen Anne’s Lace,* Common Mullien,* Narrow-leaved Mountain Mint, Lance-leaved Loosestrife, Flowering Spurge, St. John's Wort, Leather Flower, Agrimony.