When moving to a new home and land, I always felt it was wise to pause and observe it for the first year. Live with it, learn it, collect information; get intimate with its natural flow so you can make adjustments that better suit you and your family. Hey, a new home may feel good, but nothing is perfectly matched, everything needs some tweaks or adjustments. However, it is important to pace yourself and pay attention.

I think this process is especially important when looking at the land. Basically, you need to know what’s there and how the land evolves over the seasons. After being on our new land during most of the summer, it may be shrewd to go through two years without making any major changes. Frankly, I have had very little time to really be with the land and experience its nuances, as I have been so busy with painting, packing and moving throughout the magical time of spring and summer.  Most of my time outdoors has been spent relieving the plants from the strangle hold of vines: Wild Cucumber (Echinocystis lobata) and Bindweed/Wild Morning Glory (Convolvulus arvensis). And folks, those vines are very impressive, they do not need much time to swallow up plants let alone trees and shrubs. Although Wild Cucumber can cover entire trees, thank goodness, it is very easy to pull off its hosts but Bindweed really grabs hold and refuses to let go unless you unravel it and get to their roots. They really know how to anchor in deep. Along with removing vines, I’ve widened paths and tried to balance the plants on the land, as some seem to have more advantage over others.

Wild Cucumber

Bindweed

As a forager, my desires and the land’s needs will need time to adjust to each other. I can see now that it will need a lot more attention than I’m wired for. Typically, I help the land awaken in the spring and forage my way around it through the seasons. But I fear that it will no longer be sufficient anymore. Therefore, we will need to come up with some compromises as the relationship of steward and land evolves. I have no idea what that means at this moment but know it will take time to evolve as I live with it, learn it, collect information; get intimate with its natural flow.