nature gets the last word

For over a decade now I’ve lived in somewhat rural places, usually with a fair amount of acreage around the property. The good and bad to living like this is nature tends to creep on you. The upside ; lots of wildlife, vistas, stars at night, well water, distance between you and any neighbors. The down side – nature creeps on you.

I spent the last week pulling up sage, lots of sage, weeds of all high desert growth, grasses, and cutting back desert hardy plants like Arctic willow and , oh yea, did I mention sage? I love and hate sage. I love the smell of it as it always reminds me of New Mexico. But it will, and can, grow fast and everywhere you don’t want it to in the high desert. I would rather spend hours beating back nature from my doorstep than an equal amount of time in a clean gym pounding down on a treadmill. The satisfaction I get from yard-scaping is immeasurable . It’s a different sort of canvas for me. Rocks and dirt, sage and gravel, pine trees and boulders.

This creep of nature is humbling. It’s a no win proposition, year after year. But I love it. I love to be reminded over and over again, that NATURE GETS THE LAST WORD.

( photo by Catherine Massaro)