open space
Nature and the New Normal
by Jennifer Scully
I
was driving down Boonsboro
Mountain Road towards Boonsboro,
Maryland to deliver groceries to my
89-year-old grandfather in early April.
It was the first time I had left our farm
in two weeks. The grass was turning
green and the buds of the trees were
just announcing their arrival. Going
up and down that country road made
my heart sing. Those worries about
sickness, job, family melted away. As I
cruised through the quiet neighborhood
near Grandpa’s house, I saw an
even more hopeful sight. It was kids on
their bikes. They were pedaling around
a vacant lot rimmed with trees and littered
with rubble and shrubs. No parents
in sight and they looked happily
immersed in their own world—a world
I can only hope was filled with imaginary
play and exploration. It reminded
me of what my childhood was like, exploring
the world beyond our yard with
friends to build forts in the mountain
laurel or collect tadpoles. As the drive
and days have past, I keep seeing those
kids. They are in our parks hiking with
their families, installing beehives three
houses down from ours, and planting
bee balm in their very own container
garden on a patio in full sun. These are
all pieces of light coming through a
dark and uncertain time.
Nature is providing us solace during
the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
And while we all are yearning to leave
this crisis behind us, there may be
habits and practices that are worth
continuing into the new normal.
Growing Plants
If you have ventured into a gardening
center or perused your social media
feed lately, you’ll know people are really
into planting stuff right now. There
is nothing more hopeful than a flower.
Taking the time to plant a tree or
start a garden is an investment in the
future. You can start small by getting a
container and planting host or nectar
plants for native pollinators. Container
gardens work great for homes that
may not have access to a yard. Online
resources are available at Black Hill
Nature Programs and the North American
Native Plant Society to help you
get started.
Have you considered growing
your own food? Greens like lettuce,
spinach and kale are super easy to
grow and offer a delicious, nutritious
learning experiment for kids.
Seeds are widely available and can be
started in small containers if needed.
Check out our Black Hill Nature Facebook
page for posts on how to grow a
garden from kitchen scraps.
Observing Wild Things
On my daily walks down the road
from our house, I’ve been able to
watch a pair of geese evolve into a
feathered family of five. Then sadly,
it became a family of four. Are they
swimming on the pond? How many
babies are there today? Looking every
day to see the geese has allowed me
to feel a part of their world.
What tiny wonder have you
observed during quarantine? How
has this made you feel? In Richard
Louv’s new book “Our Wild Calling”,
he writes about the idea of “species
loneliness,” first coined by author
Michael Vincent McGinnis. McGinnis
is quoted saying, “Species loneliness
in a wounded landscape moves us to
want to restore our relationship with
place and others, or to put it another
way, modern humanity yearns to
plenty I summer growing 2020 39