One of challenges of getting back to nature is that I have committments and responsibilites that keep me local to my house in the suburbs of a city. So it is usually only with great planning that I’m able to get away for a whole day, let alone an overnight or longer. The extended time is important because it takes time to transition from from worker/husband/father to the version of myself that gets reinvigorated within nature. On further examination, however, while that transition is true and real, it is a skill that can be improved upon to my benefit.
I think that I can improve my skills at this transition with appreciation. This thought came to me as I spent most of a recent Saturday doing yard work. Our back yard has a large decorative garden (which was there from the previous owners) and a vegetable garden (that I added). I enjoy working in the garden, especially the vegetable garden. I’m learning, but my vegetable production is still pretty hit or miss each year. But in the fall, there is a lot of manual work to put both of these gardens to bed for the winter. It is often about a 2-3 day project, plus in Wisconsin the weather can turn pretty quickly from when things stop growing until there is snow in the air or on the ground, so it must be done within the span of a few weekends.
It was in the middle of this work on Saturday that I stopped and noticed that I was content. In working for a few hours already outside in the crisp air, I had the physical stimulation of the work, the mental stimulation of observing and evaluating our gardens on a foot by foot basis, and the internal stimulation of the feel of the plants and dirt, the fresh air, fall colors and sounds. The mental transition that I thought was so challenging had been made in my own back yard within a couple of hours. I think that it was done through appreciation of my gardens and the plants that grew in them. The need to go through the gardens to manually weed and cut down most of the plants makes for slow work. But in that slow work, I could examine and appreciate (in the case of buckthorn and thistle shoots, it was a negative appreciation, but still an appreciation in a sense) what made up the natural surroundings of our back yard space.
In the decorative garden, I noticed which plants had grown compared to the year before, and which ones had struggled. I still think that with more dedication to this space, I can currate it more, but as of right now, we give it pretty light touch and let everything grow as it may, only weeding in the spring and the fall. In cutting the plants down for the winter, the backbone of the garden is laid bare and I could think of ways that some day it can be enhanced.
In the vegetable garden, I took stock of how the season of growing had gone. Cucumbers and beans had done well, tomatoes poorly, kale – well, squashes – poorly, garlic – well, and so forth. Even if it is modest, I appreciate the ability that we can produce at least a small amount of the food that we consume, and that our boys can be a part of it and see the fruits of their labor. I appreciated the garden that we had developed over the last few years and thought of the ways next year that we could make it better.
The work didn’t hold my boys’ attention for that long. Beyond a couple of raking projects and some cutting projects (what is better than getting to use a scissors? – getting to use a giant scissors to cut branches!), they headed off to do other things. Next year, I’d like to so something to make it more fun for them and to hold their attention helping for longer. We’ll see what I can come up with, I guess I’ve got a year to figure it out.
The yard work complete for the fall, I headed inside and it wasn’t long before I was thinking about the work to do before Monday, the chores around the house, and supper for the kids. The transition back didn’t take long. However, it was a good lesson that with appreciation of my surroundings, I can enjoy nature even in my own back yard.
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