Wednesday, November 03, 2004

The Morning After

I'm having a lot of conflicting feelings today - after another roller coaster election and in the midst of a hectic life. I am entrenched in a busy work life in a heavily liberal environment. I allow myself to forget that there is a majority out there that thinks differently than the bubble in which I live. How do we (as a group, attempting to live an alternative life) reconcile our goals and ideas with a conflicting political and social environment? It's overwhelming until I allow myself to escape to this vision of living a slower, quieter, more removed life.

Chris and I took a walk through our woods at sunrise during the peak of fall color a couple of weeks ago. So far, that has been the most profound moment for me at the farm. We slowly trekked the hill, collecting leaves, stopping at each new type of tree to identify its name by color, leaf shape, breadth of crown, and bark patterns. The beauty and solitude among our trees was overwhelmingly comforting...as of they were welcoming us to the community as we came to know them better. Down the path a ways, at the top of the deep stone hill, I came upon a grove of young Aspen so thick I couldn't walk between the skinny trunks. Their taut, golden bark and quaking leaves looked like costumes on a chorus. From the ground below, Chris hollered up to me, explaining that Aspen grow as one unit...each tree is a part of one organism, connected to its neighboring tree by an enormous, intricate web of shared roots. I instantly became arrestingly aware of how small I am under the powerful hand of nature, in awe of what I have to learn from its example of communal living.

In three days, the four of us will welcome a band of Cedarleaf family, who are opening their hearts, hands, and tool boxes to help us continue to transform the farm house and clean up the property. Today, Chris and Kevin are filling the shell of our living room with new insulation and drywall. (We have learned loads from Kevin's brilliant construction mind. Without him we might all still be standing around a crumbling living room, scratching our heads.) Last night, we did some hot tub shopping and are quickly falling in love with the image of our good friends and family sharing a glass of wine in our tub before taking a roll in the snow! Check out www.cedartubs.com ...then give us a call to schedule your visit.

Despite the post-election long faces, we have much to look forward to. It's a beautiful, cold fall morning here, and I'm escaping my work desk with thoughts of trekking through our woods to visit the Aspen grove.

3 comments:

Matthew said...

Becca,

Your "so far...most profound moment" at the farm: "among our trees was overwhelmingly comforting...as of [sic] they were welcoming us to the community as we came to know them better" (why didn't you say? "as they were welcoming...") resonated with me. In the past few months, I've related to various trees (and tree communities) in ways that my previous self might have described as ridiculously new-agey. On a couple of occasions this summer (in Mt. St. Helens' Goat Canyon and in the Columbia River Gorge) I've felt embraced by the love of these old trees. These wise beings who have much love to give. Powerful.

LeahKStevenson said...

I know this is an old post, but I've just come across your blog and there's something I wanted to share with you.

I agree with what you are doing. I come from generations of Kansan farmers and I feel like that defines part of who I am. The idea of living a life that we make ourselves has been a dream we've talked about since we were dating.

I also consider myself pretty much conservative, though. I just want to say that the things that separate us are not the only things that define us. As people, as women, as mothers (I think you are- I just started from the beginning here), there are still things that we share, even if a few ideas about the role of government are different.

Becca said...

Leah - I'm so glad you found us, and it was a good exercise for me to go back and read this post from 5 1/2 years ago (seems unreal that it's been so long!). Yes, we are all parents now and yes, our ideas and goals have changed since 2004 and will continue to evolve. My political and religious ideas and ideals have been especially quieted and I am glad to embrace a more open-minded approach to life in all ways. Thanks for getting in touch, and enjoy reading more of our journey!