Earth Day

Spring in Minnesota to me seems to resemble the moods of a toddler, swinging drastically between euphoric delight - warm sunny days - back to the depths and despair of not having enough snacks - cold, blustery snowy days. Today seems to be one of those days that’s on the upswing in the mood pattern. Sunny, yet cool, not in a state to be totally euphoric, just yet, but definitely on its way.

It’s also poetry month which has been on my mind a lot. I’ve written some, but with all of the upheaval in our state, I must be honest, like so many, my heart is hurting right now and the creative energy to write has taken a hit. Between the challenges in my own personal life and the insanity of our shared public life, it’s hard to find a sturdy place to land. My soul feels like it is suffering from the same toddler-like weather pattern of a Minnesota spring.

I have noticed this spring, that even though we humans do our absolute best at destroying our own environment, what gives us the most joy and awe is celebrating our natural environment. I had the opportunity to visit my son and daughter-in-law in Portland, Oregon, in March, at the height of the cherry blossom season there. Oh my goodness, the people who packed into that park to revel in the beauty of perfectly blooming trees was astounding. Folks from all walks of life were taking pictures, ogling the blossoms while not paying attention to where their feet were, whilst pushing babies in strollers and pulling leashes with pooches. It begs the question of why the constant need to destroy our own home.

This earth day, I had the opportunity to celebrate with the attendees of the Wargo Nature Center’s earth day celebration. We wrote haiku on ‘wood cookies,’ little round pieces of wood prepared for this, so that participants could write a haiku, decorate it and then take their little wood cookie home with them. The older children were able to come up with a haiku and embellish their cookies, while the younger ones had a great time with stickers and markers. It was a delightfully messy time.

For the adults though, the mood was a bit somber as this event took place just two days after the decision to revoke the mining ban in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. The book that Sofia and I created, The Northland Beckons, is a testament to the beauty of the Boundary Waters, Quetico, and the entire Minnesota canoe country experience. It is the reason I am doing what I am doing; trying to spread the love of our beautiful northwoods for younger generations to learn of, explore, and to cherish.

What is one to do with this heaviness? This despair that hangs in the air and stubbornly gums up my soul. When the event was finished, I packed up my things and headed back out to the nature reserve portion where the story walk is located. The Northland Beckons has been the story walk book here since last September and will soon be taken down. I wanted to wander through it to marvel at how some haiku that I had scratched down over the years at various granite sloped BWCA and Quetico campsites, were now here, for anyone to enjoy on a walk through this nature center. My heart was filled with joy and gratitude as the sun sparkled its way through the trees, birdsong filled the air, even the wind caused the tree branches to whisper their delight in sap that now freely coursed through their limbs.

And then I saw her; a beautiful sandhill crane. I do not know if this crane is male or female, but because her long legs reminded me of my mother, I decided she was female. I didn’t want to frighten her, but I did want to get a little closer, so I carefully trailed her. She elegantly high-stepped her way down the story walk path, turning her head from side to side, as if she were reading the pages of the book as she meandered. Did she recognize her forest friends in the pictures? What was she thinking? She promenaded down the length of the story walk and then turned to make her way closer to the water’s edge.

I tarried for quite some time, allowing the stickiness in my soul to clear while the gratitude and awe buoyed up in me. This connection to other created beings in our natural state filled me with the strength to know that we are all in this together, none is greater than the other, we all need each other.