In Nature
A couple of years ago when Lou Ann and I decided to become vegan, we also desired to reduce our carbon footprint. We discovered permaculture.
Permaculture is a system of agricultural and social design principles centered around simulating or directly utilizing the patterns and features observed in natural ecosystems. We have an acre of ground surrounding our house. It is all natural desert land, no landscaping. It is red dirt and it is covered with over a hundred pine trees. We discovered a few garden plots that had been left unattended for years. They were overgrown with lots of different kinds of local vegetation. In the desert, many plants grow thorns to protect themselves from being eaten by thirsty predators.
A couple of days ago, a young woman named Ashley, posted on Facebook that she is a farmer and wanted to get involved with local folks. We connected and she and her husband Austin, came over to our home and we worked those old garden plots. We discovered a lot of rich brown soil beneath the shrubbery. It was exciting to be digging and raking and building mulch piles. It felt like home to me.
I grew up in Hollywood California. It was a delightful Mediterranean climate. Warm sunny days throughout the year. Hardly ever got cold. I spent most of my childhood out there in the flora and fauna of Southern California. We boys would play a lot of outdoor games of chasing each other. When we got hungry or thirsty, we would stop at a tree or bush and eat the produce. There were ample amounts of citrus, plums, peaches, apples, figs, nuts, and berries to consume to our tummies delight! It was our Garden of Eden. It felt so safe and nurturing to be in nature for all those years!
Now some seven decades later, I was again out on the land. This time with Lou Ann and our new friends, preparing the soil for our new Garden of Eden. It feels like I have returned home to that wonderful childhood feeling of connecting with nature and feeling complete! I wish for all of you to return to your roots of pleasure and connection with goodness. From my natural heart to yours, Thomas