Today , the Álcantar-González family with their three young children have taken over the cultivation of the land on our family farm . It is inspiring to see the children help their parents with the farm work with attitudes that seem to be equal measures of work and play , but tending towards the work required to keep the farm running and productive . It is also encouraging and at times amusing to watch the children attempt grown-up tasks completely out of their reach , such as the regulation of water flow through the mechanisms of a sometimes tricky water gate , or the demanding irrigation of a large field . However , if they never attempted these things , how would they ever learn to do them ?
Dominic , the eldest of the two boys , recently accepted the challenge from his Great Aunt Rocío to plant an entire row of sunflowers . He was given free access to a section of land , and in exchange , Dominic promised he would harvest the sunflowers and take them to the local farmers market with his parents where he would put them up for sale . Under this arrangement , he would also be entitled to all of the proceeds .
Without fail , he did precisely that and netted a fair amount of money which gave him much joy and boosted his self-confidence enormously . Rather than frivolously spending his earnings , he decided to buy a number of baby chicks to raise for their eggs which he hoped to sell , thereby generating more income for his next project !
If Dominic ’ s recent activities are any indication , then it appears that he is well on his way to mastering some important lessons associated with the caring of living beings and of directing his energy toward the creation of a beautiful and sustainable way of life for
himself and his family . This should come as no surprise because , as I clearly recall , by age four , he would always be trailing behind his grandmother Liliana on the long rows of planted crops as she harvested their yields . Even then , it seems , a gentle but powerful spirit of love , caring and respect for the Great All was emerging — much like what I sensed in that little boy at the grocery store . It seemed to permeate every fiber of his being even then and is sure to provide a reliable compass for navigating the bewildering labyrinth of modern life , leaving only good in its wake .
Alejandro López is a writer , photographer and experiential educator who resides and works on his ancestral farm in northern New Mexico together with the Álcantar-González , a family of talented and committed farmers originally from Mexico .
plenty I autumn harvest 2023 41