Man vs. Nature

There is a feeling that you get when you walk into a well kept yard. The lawn is neatly mowed, tools are put away, there are flower beds growing beautiful flowers and you don’t see any weeds. There is no trash, thorns, or weeds in the grass. You don’t even need to worry about stepping in dog or chicken poop! There is something really nice about having some tamed places! Also, there seems to be a natural, inborn drive for man to tame wild places.

While I admire people with manicured yards, I am not one of them. I am more of a wild man! I like to be able to experience nature even though it is sometimes a little (or a lot) more uncomfortable. I find nature fascinating! When I was teaching graphic design as an adjunct professor at the local university, I was also taking photography classes. We had one assignment to travel to a location not too far out of town and spend time there, then create a conceptual photograph of our experience. I recall laughing at all the other students because they were complaining about it being hot, dusty, and that they that they didn’t have the best cell phone service. Some said that it was boring, or ugly, etc. I was surprised at the number of complaints. I found the place to be interesting and full of history. I felt at home there in the wild desert. That doesn’t mean that I wasn’t careful. I knew there was cactus, I knew there were rattlesnakes, I knew that there were sharp rocks, and I knew that I needed to bring plenty of water for the outing. Not everyone was prepared to interact with the wildness of the place. Too many people live isolated from nature and when they do encounter nature, they don’t know how to handle it.

This was once cleared area, the default for this land is forest so if you leave it alone, it will try to go back to forest land. These areas are actually the most difficult because during the growing back phase there are more thorns, and thick brush. Once you’re in the deep forest, the trees drop enough leaves to keep some of the really thick and thorny brush down. Some of these areas need to be cleared ASAP because we need spaces to live, garden, play, etc. However, this brush provides great food for our goats so we’re letting them clear some of this for us… Or at least that’s the idea. Our goats are so used to captivity and being fed that they aren’t quite sure how to handle this life and are still adjusting.

Nature can be unfriendly, and even violent, but often nature also provides solutions to problems. For example, where there is a poisonous plant, there is often a plant nearby with the antidote. Where there is infertile soil, there will undoubtedly pop up plants which we usually call weeds that are there to add fertility to the soil. Nature has systems, and backup systems in place. I think it is interesting to learn about and observe those systems. Often when man interferes too much, it can actually make things worse. Humans can easily take it too far and cause more problems than solutions. Our food is lacking in nutrients because we’ve tamed the farms and fields so much that they no longer have anything to give. There is no longer any natural top soil and we have to rely on man made, chemical based fertilizer to grow crops. We cover the ground with concrete, and wisk away any water that falls from the sky and then we wonder why the land is in drought. (I say this from years of living in the dry land of Utah. Right now we’re kind of happy to have a little dry ground as we’ve had a lot of rain and mud lately.)

However, that doesn’t mean that I don’t believe humans should never interfere. I think there is a place for taming nature. I actually believe that God gave us that urge and it has been part of our existence from the beginning. This is why I love the concept of permaculture. In permaculture you observe the natural systems and then work with them instead of against them! Sometimes it takes looking at things from a different angle and thinking outside of the box.

One of the important aspects of taming nature is mobility. In these thick brushy areas, it is difficult to move and get from one place to another. When we got here, our trails were overgrown although not nearly as bad as they were last year. Mowing the trails made a HUGE difference is accessing our property. Now that we’ve sold our tractor, we need to get our skid steer working and get a quick attach system so that we can mow again. There are several areas that we love but it’s gotten so overgrown that we simply don’t go there much anymore.

So while I am fascinated by the wild nature of nature, I also recognize the desire, or need for humans to have safer, more tame spaces to live in. I can’t even express how much relief we felt to mow down some of the tall grass/weeds/brush on our property and cut in some trails. That wild nature here can be overwhelming with ticks, snakes, thorns, etc. It’s fine to occasionally venture into that when you’re prepared but even a wild guy like me doesn’t want to deal with that every day, all day. We all need a break from the wildness sometimes. We all need a space where you don’t have to be on high alert all the time. Living here has really emphasized the need for that balance. I love being able to cut grass, haul gravel, have a roof and enclosed walls, have dry clothes, etc. We are currently going without some of the modern conveniences that most people in the world take for granted, but we also recognize the need for some taming of the land. Especially in a place that is so very wild!