Looking to the Future

Getting one child alone with you in the car can result in some rare and wonderful conversations that just don't otherwise happen in the middle of bustling family life. Eight-year-old Alexander and I had one of those conversations the other day as we made the short drive to MSU. The topic was global warming and the future of humanity. We covered a lot of ground in 15 minutes! It should have been 10 minutes, but I got so engrossed in our dialog that I turned the wrong way a couple of times out of habit, thus lengthening our journey a little. :o)

Alexander started things off by casually observing that all our efforts to reduce pollution only seem to result in more pollution. We explored that a bit. He had a couple of mis-conceptions, but over all, his feeling that not enough change is happening is certainly valid. He very candidly said that he doesn't think we are going to stop global warming. He doesn't think we are doing enough, and he doesn't see people and businesses willing to do more. With all the happy talk directed at kids about "going green" and "saving the planet", this surprised me a little. It also impressed me as an astute observation for an 8 year old.

"So what do you think will happen?" I asked. He didn't know. We talked about pessimistic predictions, optimistic predictions, best- and worst-case scenarios, winners and losers, and points in between. I told him a little about peak oil theory and confessed my reluctant suspicion that maybe we should be listening more to the folks warning us to get ready for a very different way of life. He worried about being hot, but thought that the weather changes could be a boon to farmers in places that are colder now. While he expressed pessimism about our ability to curb global warming at this time, he is somewhat optimistic that humankind will adapt to the major changes that are coming, both through our behavior and with new technology. He is not very worried.

The situation may, perhaps, warrant more worry, but his outlook warms my heart. We need our young people to retain their optimism, even as they try to grasp the enormity of the problems. Whatever adaptations and technology come to our aid, it will be my son's generation (and those that follow) that will implement them and most benefit from them. They will begin -- whether out of intelligent foresight or desperate necessity -- to deal with the problems that their great-great grandparents started, and that their grandparents and parents refused to do much about.

Garden and Yard Photos

Two of the 4 main garden beds. The one on the left has broccoli, kale, rainbow chard and peppers. The one on the right is my first attempt at a "lasagna" bed -- layers of mulch placed right on top of newspaper-covered sod! It's doing great, with a sprawling pickling cucumber plant in the foreground, basil, cilantro, tomatoes and parsley. Firmin has started building boxes around these beds. Eventually, he'll do all four beds. They will look very neat when he is done. They already add some sharpness to the garden! In the extreme foreground, you can see the edge of the dying pea patch on the right and a corner of another tomato bed on the left.

Looking from the new blueberry patch (planted this year) toward the apple trees (last year) and the main garden beyond that, next to the house.

Another tomato bed (the one you could see the corner of in the first picture.) My tomato plants are doing very well this year. A bit of leaf spot, but not too bad. Many, many green tomatoes and still many flowers as well. The bed in the foreground with the spent peas will be my fall bed. Just planted carrots, with lettuce and spinach to come.

Another view of the garden with the big tomatoes in front hogging most of the view. All my tomatoes this year are heirloom. I'm going to try my hand at seed saving this time around.

In this picture you can see the blueberry patch on the left, the garage on the right, and into the back yard. We have let the far back grow wild, with paths mowed through the tall grass. (Ethan loves it back there -- the grass is higher than his head!) My plan is to eventually have another garden plot behind the garage for space-intensive things -- pumpkin, corn, melons, broccoli, etc. (I really need a much larger stand of broccoli, since we eat a ton of it!) It's a long way from the water spigot, but some rain barrels by the garage should take care of most of the water needs. The biggest obstacle is fencing. Right now, this section of the yard is very wildlife friendly -- we have rabbits, deer, skunks, raccoons, woodchucks, and more visit or live in our yard. Needless to say, any garden back there will need a good fence!

Random Pictures Just For Fun

Brianna and her friend Wren. The children in First Day School visited the new meetinghouse construction site and posted their hopes and dreams for the new building on the studs, so that they will be there behind the walls for always. (Click here for photos of the building progress.)

Dissecting an owl pellet takes concentration.

Our newest porch residents!
5 day old robins

Who knew a cold fire pit could be so much fun? Ethan looked like a little coal miner.

Below: Fun at the park

The Crocus are Coming

Dancing on My Grave

We had very heavy rains this weekend. Today, the kids and I marveled at how far the rivers in our area have over-spilled their banks. Brianna and Alexander wanted to scout a section of new trail running behind a cemetery near our house. We drove into the cemetery and parked near an embankment overlooking the trail. The kids jumped out of the van and ran to get a better look. They pointed and laughed and romped along the ridge for a while before skipping and running back to me to report their findings.

I loved seeing their joy in that place, oblivious to the remains below their feet and the granite and marble reminders of generations past. I was reminded of the day of my Grandfather's funeral some years ago. At the graveside, we adults were somber. But his little great-grandchildren, far too young to appreciate their loss, played gleefully among the leaves on that glorious October afternoon. The pastor saw them and smiled. "I love seeing young children at a funeral" he said. "They remind us that life carries on."

As the memory faded, my thoughts turned, unbidden, to my own mortality. Some day, I thought, children may romp happily on the spot where my remains are buried or scattered. Children of children of children yet unborn. I was infused with a feeling of peace and joy. It was the most beautiful thought about death (particularly my own) that I have ever had. I pray that I may be so blessed. And if I am, I hope that somehow my soul will be aware of them, of their energy, of their joy, of their dancing into the future.