The nightly news let me know gas prices are up. Wars and natural disasters to blame. I don’t pretend to understand exactly how world events impact the price of a barrel of oil but I do know it trickles down to my little rancho. The current price of last year’s hay has gone up, along with farm calls from the vet and most everything else. And it isn’t like I wouldn’t prefer driving a donkey instead of my truck.

The same news program told me that gold prices were at an all time high. When I am not working in the barn, I am in my goldsmith studio. My art materials all come from our natural world, impacted by the same wars and natural disasters. Buying supplies for my studio work has become an adrenaline sport.

A NY Times poll says the nation’s mood is the lowest in two years. I agree. Some days it feels like as much of a challenge to balance business and nature in my little world as it is in the whole world.  It is enough to distract you from the big picture.

It’s Earth Day, the Other Mother’s Day! Lucky us, we live on a great planet and she is a beautiful, nourishing home.  We haven’t always done the best for her, but it isn’t too late to do better. Too often we use our ingenuity to damage our world, it’s time to get back on the grow side.

Native Americans have a proverb: We do not inherit the Earth from our Ancestors;
we borrow it from our Children.

When I was young and bored, my mother used to tell me to get outside in the fresh air and do something. Mother Nature would agree with her. Take a walk and breathe. If you are feeling some stress, bring a therapist along. I recommend a horse or a dog.

Again, my little corner of the world isn’t a lot different than the whole world and the act of being outside is a worthy reminder. There is always a yin-yang balance of good and bad in life with nature. Whether we commemorate Earth Day or Easter, it is easy to be awed by the beauty around us, and know we belong to it.

And when your heart is restored, consider giving something back to Nature. Lots of animals need our help. It is a good time of the year to plant something. And I know Mother Nature likes recycled things.  Pay some green ahead for our children’s children -and their horses.

“I believe in God, only I spell it Nature.” - Frank Lloyd Wright, Architect

Anna, Infinity Farm

(Photo: Clara, Prodigious Hay Recycler.)