Rainbow of Life

written by

Drausin Wulsin

posted on

November 2, 2018

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Rainbows appear when we need them.

In midst of cold rain, grey skies, concern over inventory, and wonder about transitions, a rainbow graced our farm this morning such as we have never before witnessed. It was a full rainbow visible from one end to the other, with a great arc and a complete, thick spectrum of colors. It was magnificent, breathtaking, and instantly inspiring. It filled the heart with vitality and a sense of purpose, thus warding off the day's woes, to enable us to continue the great and demanding journey.  One of the privileges of life on the farm is anecdotes of inspiration, such as this, which surface unexpectedly. It never seems to fail that when the footstep or heart are heavy something shows itself to dispel the burden, if the eyes are open. What a gift it is to receive these showings, like dividends upon investment that appear out of nowhere.We have a number of barn cats on the farm, one of which is Coffee, pictured below. They seem to fit in so naturally. Coffee lives near our apartment, where visitors now stay, keeping it clear of mice. We feed her in the corncrib, so dogs don't avail themselves of her fare. She navigates in and out through an open slat. It always feels good to feed Coffee. She improves the day, in her silent dignified way. Her mate, Tea, is mostly white and lives at Landis' house. An itinerant grey cousin lives at our other barn. Each fills a void, providing color in the rainbow for those who witness. 






As mentioned months ago, we have started taking down dead ash trees on the edges of pastures, in preemptive fashion, so we aren't faced with a crisis, when they fall at inopportune time into pastures and creeks and upon fences. This has been a fairly succesful strategy for avoiding crises, but we have an unexpected outcome to deal with. That is what to do with all of the tops now stacked along the sides of the creek. With flooding, those tops will sooner or later end up in the creek, and then we will have a closer look at crisis management. So, we can leave them where they are and hope they decompose before too much flooding occurs, bring in a chipper and convert all of that biomass into wood chips to provide bedding for hogs and cattle in the winter, burn them to acccelerate decomposition, or haul the tops to higher ground where they can decompose without risk. We will probably try some of each, and will keep you posted.It is disconcerting to observe how much of the forest is composed of ash trees, now dying or dead. Along creeks and edges of forests, ash amounts to probably 90% of species. Deeper in the forest it is closer to 25%. Nature will fill the void, but only over time. And what species will be next to fall to invasive insects?




These lamb chops were some of the best we have ever had. The lambs were 18 months old, so the chops had more fat than ususal yet were tender as tuna. They looked as good as any sushi and, barely cooked, made our eyes water in gratitude.




We look forward to seeing you this week, as we move indoors to Clark Montessori, 3030 Erie Avenue. If you care about nutritious food, please continue to support vendors at the market. We have bills to pay year around, and are dependent upon customers to keep us vital, as you are dependent on us to keep you vital, which is a beautiful and balanced connection.  
May the rainbows of life continue to inspire us all!Drausin & Susan


More from the blog

Sacred Place

It is a privilege to know a sacred place, as I feel I do. In some ways, it seems sacred places are supposed to be scarce and remote, like Stonehenge, Chartres Cathedral, the Taj Mahal, or abandoned Pueblo dwellings. Large landscapes, like the desert, ocean, or mountain ranges feel imbued with the divine. Alaska, the Amazon, and the Serengeti invite a sense of awe. One travels to such places, in pilgrimage. And sometimes such places reorganize the pilgrim's sense of order, inviting disorder or change, that can be both painful and uplifting.

Big Muddy

Here is the Lower Mississippi River, 45 feet below normal pool. Over Thanksgiving, Susan and I shoehorned ourselves onto a cruise ship to learn about the lower Mississippi and its bayou. We started in Memphis and ended up in New Orleans, with stops along the way to explore river towns. This river is the third longest on the planet, providing drainage to 40% of North America. It has historically deposited silt yearly in its floodplains, producing topsoil 120 feet deep, making these soils some of the richest in the world. Vast wetland forests grew beside its banks, of cypress, oaks, and sycamores, populated by a rich array of black bears, deer, bobcats, alligators, and aquatic life. This was the legendary bayou.

Streams & Souls

Streams and souls seem to share character. They are life-giving, they are coveted, they can be impeded, they can be channelized, they can be overwhelmed, they flood, they dry up, they flow downhill, they are a force of both change and constancy, they lie at the center of a community, they will not be denied, and because of this great complexity, they attract periodic resistance. So, it seems that streams may serve as a metaphor for the journey of the soul.