I guess that if I had to point to the one thing that most influenced my love of the outdoors, it would be the time I spent exploring my Grandparent’s farm in Southwest Missouri. My mom grew up on their 120-acre farm, which was more like a homestead. Just about the only thing they did commercially was beef cattle, and even that wasn’t a large operation. They had at least a half-acre of garden with some fruit trees (plum and peach).

By the time I was born, they had sold some of the land, but still had 40 acres of forest and pasture. I remember spending all day, during our visits, catching tadpoles down at one of their ponds, exploring the forest, or riding along with Grandpa to hay the cows. I remember going out to the “well house” with Grandma to get a jar of canned green beans. It was a whole shed full of canned goods that she had worked on that year.

Grandpa and Grandma had always loved nature. Here are a couple of pictures of them admiring the rose bushes and orange trees in Florida while they were on their honeymoon. 

Grandpa always loved exploring. He could remember, well into his 90s, the route he took when he moved his family from Seattle, Washington back to Missouri. Here is a picture of him standing on a mountain out west.

I wish I could sit down with him and talk about what we are doing at Middle Eden. I know he would have good advice and be interested in new ways to build life into the environments we all live in. The world around us should be productive, not consuming our time and resources in mediocrity. I hope that as my kids and grandkids and people in our community spend time here, they generate a love for the outdoors and the life that it shares.

posted in part from RegenerativeLandscaping.com