I have spent a few Mother’s Days at Redberry Lake, but this is the first Mother’s Day that the kids actually got into their swimming suits and went into the water and the trees were all green. Ian is finding things are moving really fast in the propagation house, and in the garden in general this year. We are hoping for some rain with all this heat – forecast is calling for some so fingers crossed. We do what we can to give the plants what they need, but when it comes down to it, we are at the mercy of Mother Nature.
As the kids played in the water, and Ian and I enjoyed some of his home brewed beer on the beach, we found ourselves reflecting on how similar raising kids was to growing plants.
You have to:
- Give them water
- Give them food
- Give them the right environment for growing
If we care for them right, they thrive and we marvel at their beauty. We are their care givers, but it is they who fill us with goodness. You can raise them conventionally or you can raise them organically. We choose to raise them organically even though conventionally sometimes seems like it may be easier.
When I say Organic, I mean chemical free and as natural as is practical for our lives. When I first met Ian, he practiced a Fukuoka style of farming inspired by Fukuoka’s book The Natural Way of Farming. It’s a farming style that requires little human involvement and encourages plants to go wild and do their thing. Since then, we have adopted some order, direction and weeding into our farming practices. We practice this same philosophy with our kids -we let them be in their natural state (kids), and let them get wild, but we provide some direction and do some “weeding” of the less than desirable behaviors. It’s a little work, but we are hoping it will help them to grow to their full potential.
And that’s where the reflection wrapped up and a water fight ensued, followed by a drive through some twisty country back roads and a trip to another local lake before getting home. A visit with the baby 
chicks (just arrived Friday!), and garden fresh asparagus for dinner wrapped up a perfect day.
Happy Mother’s Day to all the caregivers out there. It’s nice to take a day to remember the important work we do. On this day, may we be reminded to extend some love and gratitude to Mother Earth for the important work She does, maybe, even say a prayer (something my own mama taught me always helps).
Sweet dreams and may we wake to the sound of a nice, gentle rain on our window pane.