Home Ground

Like all farmers, my paternal grand-parents, my dad, and my aunts and uncles instinctively practiced phenology—the study of plants and animals’ seasonal life cycles. Their observations guided their decisions about when to plant and harvest, when to breed animals and set beaver traps, and when to look for mushrooms and wild berries. They knew the land intimately, respected its rhythms, and worked with it instead of trying to bend it to their will.

Most of us today are too distracted by our many activities to pay attention to the plants and critters around us. However, the pandemic has changed that. Now that we need to stay close to home to safeguard our health and that of others, we have an ideal opportunity to study the plants, animals, and insects that surround us.

Why should we bother? Closely observing our immediate environment helps us stay grounded in the present instead of worrying about what the future will bring. It feeds our wonder about the diversity of life God has created. It sharpens our vision and fosters humility through the reminder that we rely on plants and animals to sustain us with oxygen and food and that we too are subject to the cycle of life, death, and resurrection.

In the book The Color Purple, a character says, “I think it pisses God off if you walk by the color purple in a field somewhere and don’t notice it.” I don’t know if our inattention angers God, but I suspect God is sad that we fail to nourish our spirits with the marvels of creation that are literally everywhere around us.