Swan Sanctuary

Last spring I had to begin from scratch to make a garden. I had a 64 foot by about twelve foot area that stretched alongside an irrigation canal in which mostly weeds and grasses were growing. Within that space I dug four hügelkultur beds; layering cardboard, then biomass that I had collected, and finally the soil that I had dug out. I might add that I enlisted no help from anyone. It was hard work and I am a woman in my mid-sixties. I was on a limited budget so I planted four different varieties of wildflower seeds. In the spaces remaining, I grew tomatoes, zucchini, and several herbs. Nearly all of the flowers came up and thrived. I had also planted cucumbers, but they never grew because they were shaded by the borage. I realized later that I should have started the watermelon indoors because the growing season was far too short for it to succeed. I brought a couple of truckloads of free mulch from the recycle center which I laid down between the beds. (I put down black plastic underneath for about six weeks to kill the weeds.) The garden thrived in the short time it had to do so.

My garden was listed in the town’s garden tour. It had cost me only around $40 or $50 for the few things that I needed, including seeds. I already had some seeds and I had started the tomatoes and the basil indoors. I had begun a compost pile the previous fall and I was able to use it mid-season in the beds and again at summer’s end. I had been invited to the local garden club where I heard many members complaining about their gardens being decimated by grasshoppers. There were grasshoppers near, behind, and even in my garden; but they did not eat any of my plants. Their favorite food was the grasses behind my garden, growing down the bank into the canal. And, since I had erected my birdfeeders and birdbath in the area as well, I knew that the robins and blue jays were dining on the grasshoppers. I want to make people understand that it is the monocultures and lack of companion planting that contributes to their garden failures. My polyculture of numerous flowers, herbs, and vegetables was the perfect recipe for a thriving garden.

This spring I will begin again in a new space. Instead of going the wildflower seed route, I am starting more plants early, from seed indoors. I am limited in that I do not have a greenhouse (yet!) or a cold frame; but I have one grow light, two heat mats, and a lot of windows! Yesterday I began rosemary, Echinacea, and lavender. I am excited at the prospect of the coming spring. I will also be getting chickens again, which will help control any grasshoppers and help to nourish the soil.

It is no surprise that often, when I sit down to write I find myself writing about gardening – or the animals and birds visiting my yard. I can assure you that we will visit this topic again, possibly weekly!

I made my first trip down to Denver, in nearly a year and a half, to attend the Departure Ceremony for the Army Guard unit with which my youngest daughter is deploying to Afghanistan. I went a day early so that I could spend time with my other two daughters and see former friends. I had every intention of posting Friday’s blog before leaving, but I ran out of time. I am fully committed to writing this blog consistently, but sometimes life gets in the way of our best intentions.

The purpose of my short trip was twofold. My mother had passed away last April at the age of 94. We did not hold a service since she had been slowly deteriorating from dementia, in a nursing home for several years, and nearly all of her friends and relatives had already passed. On Friday, I went with my oldest daughter to see the gravesite. She had been buried on top of my stepfather, so one side of the stone was dedicated to her, and the other side to her late husband. A few sections over, my biological father was buried, as well. I was amazed at how peaceful it was there. Although it was nearing dark and we had trudged through snow to find the headstones, a part of me did not want to leave.

This got me rethinking what I had affirmed for years. I have always impressed upon my daughters that I wanted to be cremated, but having had experiences with being badly burned, I am hesitant. Also, I am questioning the methods by which cremation is carried out. Do those large ovens require fossil fuels to burn? Do the fumes add to are already polluted air? These are only some of the questions that I am now asking myself. My biggest fear about being buried is the fear of being buried alive, since I am prone to being claustrophobic. A few years ago, I had seen that someone had developed a special burial pod that would allow for a body to decompose naturally. It could be buried in the ground and a tree planted on top of it to nourish the soil and thereby, the tree. Since I am an avid, organic and sustainable gardener, I love this idea. I do need to research this concept more, to find out where it is legally allowed. My parents are buried in a national cemetery where they have strict regulations about flowers and planting real flowers or shrubs is strictly prohibited.  It is illegal to bury a person on private property, but I want to be placed in a garden among endless flowers. One of the solutions to sequestering the carbon in our atmosphere is to plant trees. Could we not bury our dead and reforest the earth at the same time? Our planet is already overpopulated with human beings. Cemeteries continue to grow larger to make room for all of the dead bodies. Isn’t it time to bring sustainability to all of our human activities, including the means by which we discard our dead? They are only bodies after all, completely devoid of the souls that once inhabited them. When I am finished with my body, I want it to contribute to the life of something else, whether it is fish in the ocean, organisms in the soil, or scavengers that recycle remains. With global warming accelerating, should we not be re-evaluating all of our human traditions – including our human death?

While catastrophic flooding is going on in the southeastern United States and deadly fires rage in Australia, resulting in the death of millions of marsupials and other species, it feels like much of the world is sitting on pins and needles, waiting for the next catastrophe. Scientists have been warning us for decades about melting ice caps and the consequences it is having on our oceans, our land, and our air. Disasters are happening more frequently and causing greater and greater damage. Some cities that have been established along coast lines are being forced inland as water rises. Many people are being forced to move either because they have lost their home, or because it is in an area that will be transformed by these events sooner than later.

Human beings were once hunter gatherers. They moved about like many grazing animals do, without causing great distress to the land. This allowed for the soil and the flora to replenish itself before it was grazed again. Moving about is still a strong urge in many people. It is in our DNA. This is why the automobile has become entrenched into most human societies and why airplanes have become a common means of travel. I am certain that this is also the push that gives others a passion to explore outer space. While not everyone has a great desire to travel, if we are to continue to camp out in the same area for centuries, we must learn how to do so sustainably in order to impact the land as gently and responsibly as we can.

Some retired seniors have discovered that living in an RV and travelling about is to their liking. The emerging popularity of tiny houses and the concept of downsizing is a step towards a more sustainable future. These choices alone, of course, will not solve all of our problems. The biggest problem is that we are too many people living on a small planet. As long as we live in denial of this fact, we will continue on this downward spiral, possibly towards another great extinction.

Looking through the window this morning, it was snowing very lightly and the sun penetrated the thin clouds making the snowflakes look like gently falling glitter. It was beautiful and cause for me to pause and enjoy the moment. There are so many times throughout my day when I can stop to appreciate what is beautiful, what is amusing, what is interesting, and what is amazing in this world. As I look out of any one of my three large windows, choosing any of three different directions, I count my blessings. Many people spend their days in tiny cubicles without windows and with only artificial light. They leave their houses in the morning before the sun has risen and do not go home until after it has set. They miss out on the best part of the day. They miss so much.

When I was much younger, I would often be depressed. The long months of winter and attending public school as a girl, enveloped me in a gloomy cloud much of the time. Eventually, I discovered that I loved to be outside. Cloudy days were not as dismal from outside where the clouds were mere curtains for the light that still managed to sift through them. As long as I was involved in physical activity and dressed in several layers, the cold did not bother me. I learned that if I temporarily fell under the spell of melancholy, all I needed to do was go outside in the fresh air to walk or shovel snow or empty the compost. Admittedly, it takes a bit more self-encouragement living in this place where the wind blows almost incessantly, dropping the temperature by several degrees.

The need to connect with nature every day is vital to our mental health, regardless of the season. In the preface to his co-written work, The Living Landscape, Rick Darke states, “It isn’t easy to write a book about combining beauty and biodiversity in garden design without constantly referencing Nature (with a capital “N”), but we’ve done our best. Why? Because the traditional idea of Nature is rooted in separatism – in the dichotomy of Man and Nature – and this book is about connection.”

We are not separate from nature! We are part of nature, as is everything that makes up the scenery in our lives’ ongoing play. It is time to shelve the idea that we are bigger, smarter, or better than other living things. That was a humungous lie that began with the Christian church more than two thousand years ago. The truth that we are all ONE is being revealed to us every day as more and more people wake up to the world that is all around them. From now on, I will not capitalize the “n” in nature because I know that I, too, am nature.

The deep bond that exists between best friends often crosses racial, age, and even species lines. It is common for animals and birds to form lasting friendships. While certain species are more social than others, there is a biological need to connect with fellow beings because we are all a part of nature. Two pets living in the same home can become best buddies. Single people with a dog or cat companion will insist the animal is their best friend. Dogs have always been considered man’s best friend, but cats, birds, and even outdoor visitors such as squirrels, can form friendships with us. Friends keep us emotionally healthy by helping to affirm our sense of self-worth.

We have heard stories like The Incredible Journey, about animals travelling long distances to find their long lost pal. I have an incredible story of my own. Fourteen years ago my husband and I had put our home up for sale. We had two cats at the time. Briga was a stray that had adopted me six years earlier. Aslan was a Main Coon that we had taken in because his owners were moving into an apartment and could not keep him. Each morning they would go out through the cat door and return a little while later, depending on how cold it was outside. One morning in early spring; however, Aslan did not return. By the end of the day when he still had not appeared, I grew increasingly upset. He did not return the next morning, or the next day or the next. I plastered posters with his photograph all over the neighborhood. I put them up in veterinary offices and begged them to contact me in case someone had stolen him. A few weeks later the house sold and we had to move. My heart was broken and when moving day came, I was miserable. What if he finally showed up and we were gone? I kept thinking about the night before his disappearance when he came up on the bed and lay close at my side. This was not normal behavior for him. Was he telling me goodbye?

Seven years later I moved back to the same city and I was living approximately five miles as the crow flies, from where I had previously been living. My neighbor fed the stray cats there. He said they travelled in groups and his place was a part of their regular circuit. I remember looking out the window and seeing that one of them looked exactly like Aslan. The next time I saw the cat, I called his name and he came up to me and let me pet him. I knew in my heart that it was Aslan, but I knew if I told anyone they would not believe me. I saw him and petted him a couple of more times and the next time, Briga was outside with me. He ran up to her and the recognition in both their faces was undeniable. They had never been best buds, but she had taught him how to hunt and in the five or six years that they had been together, they had gotten along well.

I began to coax Aslan inside. I had acquired another cat by then, Shamu, but she was jealous and resented his presence. I tried to keep Aslan in with me for a couple of nights, but he would meow at the window. He missed his feral friends. I knew that I needed to let him go. After seven years of not knowing what had happened to him, I at last had closure. I knew he was where he wanted to be and with his best pals. Just like in our human relationships, sometimes letting go of one we love is the most loving thing we can do. As it turns out, Briga was my real best friend. Aslan had apparently found his within the feral cat colony. While not every friend can be our best friend, the love that connects us all, leaves its tracks permanently in our hearts.

It is a common fallacy to make judgements about others based purely on the outward success that they portray. Those who mistakenly believe that the amount of money one has is a sign of intelligence are seeing only what they wish to see. Wealth does not automatically infer a high IQ. Former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg has been in the news in recent days after announcing his entrance into the presidential race. He may be a billionaire, but some of the words coming out of his mouth testify to his ignorance. His comment on farming that, “It’s a process. You dig a hole, you put a seed in, you put dirt on top, add water, up comes the corn”, is typical of egocentric know-it-alls. He has probably never grown anything in his life. I am a master gardener practicing sustainable, no-till methods and implementing permaculture wisdom into every aspect of my life. Does this man think that just because he has a lot of money he is an expert on everything?

Donald Trump is another example of a man who has far more money than common sense. Those who actually know what they are talking about have no need to yell or use profanities or slander others. People who are experts in their field can speak in a normal conversational tone, knowing that the words themselves will convey meaning. They have no need to raise their voices or speak so fast that their words are tripping over one another. A person, who speaks from his heart, rather than from this head, is in no hurry and has no ulterior agenda. Is the 2020 race going to turn into an even bigger mud-slinging contest than the 2016 race was? Bloomberg and many of the remaining Democratic candidates continue to make this about “beating Donald Trump”; but this is so far from what this election needs to be about. It should not be about “beating” anyone, but about who is willing to work the hardest to reverse climate change.

Tom Steyer’s name rarely comes up in the news. He entered the race later than some, and he has not received the publicity that the better known candidates have received. He is a self-made billionaire, but unlike the other billionaires, he and his wife are committed to giving away most of their fortune. When asked what would be the first big challenge he would undertake, if he were elected president, his answer was without hesitation, climate change. He has realized, unlike Trump and Bloomberg and many others, that regardless how much wealth or power one is able to accumulate in his lifetime, it cannot help him if our planet is destroyed.

Love is in the air today. However; this quasi holiday needs a facelift. A large number of people still persistently hold to the illusion of romantic love. The Hallmark® Channel provides endless hours of sappy “happy ever after” movies and romantic novels are sold to countless romantics who choose to live in this imaginary world. Walking through the grocery store I see men with bouquets of flowers in their arms, hovered over the greeting card section, looking for that perfect card that will contain the words he himself cannot say to his beloved. Women will often allow themselves to be deeply hurt if their husband or boyfriend forgets to honor them on this day or on their birthday. Why do we place so much importance on a day?

True love is spontaneous and imaginative and most importantly, it happens in the moment. We seem to want to regulate all the parts of our lives into a space on our calendar where it will fit nicely; but love lives outside the box that we try to trap it in. Romantic love can be a wonderful thing as long as we know that all things must pass. As soon as we place expectations or perimeters around it, it is lost. We need to remember that romantic love is a tiny sliver of the whole of LOVE, which is the driving force and the focal point of the entire universe. We try to make it small and manipulate it to fit only in our personal lives, but love is so much bigger than what we can perceive it to be.

When I was a youngster in grade school we used to have to decorate shoe boxes and we were expected to put a valentine into every classmate’s shoe box. I don’t know what they do in schools these days, but I am hoping they have outgrown this silly, corny, ridiculous tradition. Let’s use this day instead, to teach children about universal love. Let’s teach them about acceptance and non-judgement and show them how to be conduits of love. Instead of hearts, they could envision themselves as lighthouses. The light of love can then shine from them into the world. Imagine a world where the love within each and every one of us shone. Would our collective light be as bright as our own sun?

There has been a lot of talk recently, especially in the Democratic debates, about making college free and forgiving student loan debts. Education should be free. Whether we are student or teacher, we are all learning all of the time. Knowledge is empowering and empowered people are less likely to succumb to the many evils of which less educated people are often subjected. Prior to public education, many people learned a trade or skill from one who was already skilled at his work. Knowledge was handed down from elders and mentors. Hands on learning provided the possibility of honing and perfecting one’s newly acquired craft. The value of apprenticeships, to both the expert and the apprentice, has been cast aside in favor of a competitive grading system.

Many required courses in high school and college are a waste of time and effort for the student. Perhaps the more classes a student can be required to take, to prolong the sought after degree, the more money can be pocketed from the learning institution.  While students are forced to learn irrelevant things and memorize useless facts, their opportunity to become contributing members of society is delayed. Many students drop out with a sense of hopelessness and loss as to their true purpose. Another lesser known truth is that often what is taught in schools is not necessarily true. History has been written by the so called winners and few students question the authority of those teaching. In the United States we have been raised to believe that a democracy is the best form of government. What they have failed to impart is that democracy does not equate to equality. Many people are awakening to the fact that we have been lied to. We are not a true democracy. Capitalism is the law of the land we are currently living in, which serves only the rich, or about 1% of the population.

I may have gone to college if it had been free. Still, I choose to learn what I choose to learn and life is too short to take unrelated courses just so that I can get the over-rated letters behind my name. Astra Taylor, author, activist and filmmaker, was quoted in The Sun November 2019 issue #527 as saying, “If you’re allowed to be an independent songwriter or an independent painter, then why can’t I be an independent scholar?” This resonated strongly with me because I have spent my life learning those things that I want to learn and becoming an expert on the things that I am passionate about and love doing. Granted, I may have learned more quickly if I had known an apprentice; but that age is long past. Children love to learn and I believe that even adults, who have not become jaded by the system, also love to learn. Let’s make education free – for everyone! And, let’s bring back apprenticeships to pass on our gifts.

I should be writing. Most days I haven’t got a clue what I am going to write about, but once I sit down in front of my computer, the words begin to flow. Today though, I am easily distracted as I watch the flurry of birds at the feeders. I could watch them for hours. I also spend time looking at the trees and their beguiling shapes that are so visible in winter when they are without their leafy garment. My eyes follow the branches to their tips where they join the endless sky. My gaze follows the avian flights across the vast blue space above the tree tops, or hovers over the varied shades of grey clouds.

This is something that I have done since I was only a girl. I never did drugs in spite of the fact that I grew up in a time notorious for experimentation with them. On more than one occasion I was asked if I was “stoned”, but this was just my natural state. I find nature positively mesmerizing. Lying on my back on a warm summer afternoon and watching the beautiful cumulus clouds, listening to the drone of busy bees as they zip from flower to flower, smelling the scents of herbs and flowers, and feeling the warmth of the sun on my skin pulls me into the present moment where I long to remain. My mind becomes free in those moments, released from incessant thinking, released from all care.

Today there are no bees or any insects at all. The sun has been hidden by the dreary winter clouds and snow flurries strike against the window panes. Still, I am distracted, preferring to simply sit and watch. In letting go of any pressing need to be busy, I enjoy the gifts of the moment.