Taming the Wilds

As I was scraping snow off of the porch today with a dust pan, I started wondering who was taming who?

I started with a raw piece of land three years ago come April 1st and this is my third winter here.
Seems to me I'm the one that's been tamed.
Sure, I've carved out a small corner for my home and even dug out a few terraces for when I have company, a place for a table and chairs and of course the firepit. I had a driveway made and brought in a storage shed, but thats about as far as I've gotten.
The weeds up the hill tend to take over now, after trying to battle them every year, I kind of gave up on that. After all, I reason, I don't spend a lot of time there. It's all I can do to keep the weeds down from around my yard. Gave up on grass. Tried to plant some special shade loving grass and that didn't do too well. Of course, I didn't try to help it along either once I got to thinking about having to mow it.

The driveway I had put in that goes to the area on the hill where I eventually want to build another small cabin is getting washed out by the runoff from the top of the mountain. Oh, well, I think. It's gonna be a long time before I can start another cabin, and in the meantime, I hardly ever drive up there anyway.

My first year here, I spent the whole spring,summer and fall raking and burning leaves and cleaning tangled vines and dead leaves off of the 500 rock wall. I cut back weeds and claimed an area as my yard space, making it even bigger the second year. By my third spring and summer here I decided that raking leaves goes against nature and decided to let them go, gently raking only a small area, and after all, how big of a yard do I really need?

The first year here, I made a twig fence with character, now it's starting to crumble away and I'm planning on rebuilding parts of it next year. I started out with a 12 ft pond, digging and digging it out, then filled it in and settled for a small tiered one about 3 ft across.

I had all of these grand plans, and still do, but my land has taught me that it's more important to learn it's rhythms and work with it rather than against it. I have learned to slow down and listen and stop fighting to tame this land. It has been here a long time and will be here long after I'm gone and nothing I do to change it is going to last anyway.

I have learned patience from my trees. I tended to want everything now. I wanted all of my visions for this land to happen as soon as possible and it doesn't work that way.
I am building a life here, trying to keep it debt free and unless you have some deep pockets, it doesn't happen overnight.

So, next year, surely I will get my room addition done, after all, I've had the floor down since last summer.
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Next year, I will finish my porch, after all, I got a good part of it done last summer.

Next year, I will have my own indoor shower if I manage to get the addition done.

I have found that I am the one that has been tamed. I have fallen in with the rhythms of nature, hibernating in the winter, looking forward to the warmth of Spring and the new green shoots popping out of the ground, slowing down in the summer heat, and relaxing on the deck in the crisp cool autumn air.
The day is warming and the snow is melting in the sunshine. Why keep shoveling it off when I can let nature do it's own job.
Think I'll make some snow cream instead before it all melts away.