WordUp by Chad Gramling

(No Ratings Yet)

 Loading ...

As I left off, I told you about my evening of completing the final 2006 harvest and meditating by the fire. Wow, that fire was great. It was relaxing to sit and feel the warmth of the flames that burned wood I have been itching to get rid of for several months (maybe even a couple years). It was thin, so it burned down fast, into a pile of ashes. As I watched it burn, I watched the material glow a firey orange and break down into mere remnants of what it once was. It was an eerie reminder of where I came from and where I will one day go. It was also a reinforcement that material gain is meaningless. It was, in a way, very spiritual – especially as I listened to the 6PM Catholic church bells play.

This, of course, was all after I had plucked the final fruits from their plants and rotated the soil in preparation for the 2007 planting calendar. Later, I will pile leaves on top of the soil and then cover it with empty garbage bags. A few rocks will weight it down safely through the winter.

When spring comes around, if I am still living at the current house, I will take my daughter outside and show her how to prepare the soil for the coming year. I’ll ask her what she wants to grow that year. She’ll probably say hot dogs and chicken and fries – so I will decide to plant tomatoes, peppers, zucchini, squash and some flowers.

I’ll explain to her, as we are putting the seedlings in their places, that we are going to watch them grow up over the spring and summer. I’ll also explain that we won’t see it happen tomorrow or the next day, but that we will need to be patient and wait for it. During that time, we’ll need to make sure the plants are cared for with sunlight, water and non-toxic nutrients. At the same time, we’ll need to shelter the plants from bugs, bad weather and any other threat. These plants are our responsibility.