I was so happy, and emotional, when I opened my copies of the new issue of the beautiful magazine, Wild Hope, to which I contributed an article with photos about some environmental work we did at the old Apifera in Oregon. They arrived yesterday and I sat in the car and cried a little bit.
I'm happy. No buyer's remorse. Let's get that straight.
But when I saw my old farm, Old Barn, my sheep my old land, Marcella running free which she can't do here yet, and the late but great Aldo the Elder, my throat swelled and so did my heart.
I encourage you to visit their site and buy a copy. The magazine's mission is to educate and inspire everyday people to look at their own relationships with the environment, and contribute what they can to making a better world for nature, in small ways or big. It is designed by the talented Jane Palacek who I always wanted to work with in my young days as an illustrator and never had the chance, so I was thrilled to get it. Thank you too to editor Kathryn Arnold for this opportunity to write about something I cared so much about, and still do.
The article discusses how we maintained a flock of sheep and other animals while we still designated a small portion of our land to help the wild lupine reseed which in turn would help repopulate the endangered Fender's blue butterfly. I'm pleased we have lupine here and lots of wildlife so i hope to tap into what I can here to help Nature.
In the past week as we settle-and there is still a lot of that to do-I have been analyzing if I want to get some sheep again. I'm leaning towards yes. We have land here that is a bit marshy in spots and would be fine for ruminants. I underestimated how much shepherding had entered my blood. Stay tuned.
