Happy Earth Day

If I’ve learned one thing living up at Wally Farms this past month it’s that nature doesn’t adhere to our calendar. It may say spring in April, but snow and hail came anyway this past week. So I feel somewhat justified in celebrating Earth Day one day late — or perhaps it’s just an easy excuse.

It’s hard not to get sappy (so to speak) writing about the forests, the fields, the wetlands — all of which I now walk every morning. The blooming trees, the enormous beaver house and dam, the bright green moss growing on fallen trees. It’s simply magical. But I’ve also come to appreciate how neglected the land has been. Vines have been strangling trees, with weeds so overgrown we’ve had to bushwhack our way at every turn.

This past month we’ve started to make real progress, spending afternoons and weekends pulling down vines and clearing trails. Surprising how satisfying it is to walk a path you’ve just cleared.

What I’ve begun to really appreciate is how no one can truly own property (I can hear my law professors reeling). Although we’ve officially bought the land, we‘re actually just its stewards, with a real responsibility to care for it. The trees were here hundreds of years before us — and with care, will be here hundreds of years to come.

This post marks the launch of the Wally Farms blog. What better day than Earth Day to launch it. Oh OK, Earth Day plus one.

-Susan (Danziger)

Taken on a morning walk on Wally Farms