We ARE living among them. I had no idea how prescient that title would become when we chose it as the category title for our writing last fall.

This morning has been such a magical experience of living WITH all the other beings who call this land home and make their livings and build their communities here. I imagine this is similar to the experience of living in the Garden of Eden. I’ve always thought that was a mythical story to inspire us. Now I think it exists in our own backyards if we humans simply provide space and support and an open, welcoming attitude to all the others who live here – or rather be respectful guests.

I do believe that embodying the attitude that we are guests on their land, even if our human laws grant “ownership” of the land to us and our culture treats non human beings as “resources’ and “commodities” to be exploited and used for human purpose. The Animals and Plants here are learning that we see them as neighbors and citizens of the land with rights and responsibilities of their own. I think we fail at this a lot of the time as we overcome the indoctrination we have lived with our entire lives. But we embody it enough for them to see it in our actions, hear it in our voices and feel it from our energy.

We are very lucky to have the opportunity to witness so much of their family and community lives. I am often stopped in my tracks and filled with gratitude and joy that they trust us and see this land as their own. And then I feel deep grief that most of the humans I know, see and hear on media and read about are not seeing what I see. Most humans continue to dismiss non humans as different than or less than. What is not appreciated is that we have the capacity to live in an actual abundant utopia with enough for everyone and where we truly respect each other, including non humans. Humans continue to choose a path that leads to scarcity, suffering and death. And the difference is in our attitude, nothing else.

This morning was remarkable because so many came to the yard. As I write, there is one adult female Deer, five adult Wild Turkeys and one Momma Raccoon with triplets . Earlier there were a total of five adult male Deer with glorious antlers – both beautiful and terrifying to see as I know the hunters nearby will be after them soon. There was a momma Doe with her twins. A couple of single Does. A second Raccoon mom with her twins. A Wild Turkey mom with her nine babies and her nanny. I have noticed that Wild Turkeys always seem to travel and teach with a nanny – that many babies does require a bit of help! There were Crows and Blue Jays and Cardinals. Black, Gray and Fox Squirrels. And all of them were interacting with each other and doing so in the open area behind our house. And we were allowed to witness it all.

We moved here last November. This spring we decided to stop mowing the 2.5 acres that surrounds the house and are bordered by woods on three sides. We mow paths so that we can walk through the developing meadow and see what is going on up close and easily. When we had the new septic system installed, we broadcast 7,000 square feet of Native Plant seed over the disturbed area. I planted about 100 Native Plant plugs in a couple of areas. And then we watched. We don’t believe there were herbicides, pesticides or fertilizers used here for a number of years so that is a great advantage. The sheer number and diversity of Plant life that is growing in our Meadow is spectacular and inspiring. We are talking about mere months of simply allowing the Plants already here to grow into adulthood, flower and set seed. I cannot wait to see what happens year to year! Many of the Plants are native to this region. So far there are only a few non-native Plants on this land. We will actively support diversifying the Plant community especially with the Plants that the Animals who live here need – for food, shelter and safety. We will only Plant Native Plants that are likely to thrive in the conditions here.

Some of the new forbs (flowers) growing among the Grasses and Sedges (and there are many of those too – like common Oats, Spelt, Timothy, Eastern Star Sedge, Bristleleaf Sedge…) include: Skunk Cabbage, Pennsylvania Smartweed, Riverbank Grape, Marsh Marigold, Yarrow, Trout Lily, Common Blue Violet, Spotted St. John’s Wort, Swamp Thistle, American Hog Peanut, Virginia Creeper, Elmleaf Goldenrod, American Burnweed, Jewelweed, Narrowleaf Evening Primrose, Black raspberryWild Garlic,Red and White Clover and Self Heal. And that is just a partial list. I did not plant any of these species. They were all here already, just waiting for a chance to grow up and reproduce. And these don’t include all the Trees and Shrubs that also call this land home. I don’t know many of these Plants so I have to carry my phone with me when I walk to take photos and then identify who each of these people are. And they all bring such beauty and health. It’s magical.

Watching the WildTurkey eat the Grass Seeds helps me to understand why their heads and necks move in the way they do – it makes perfect sense and is truly beautiful when watching a group of Turkeys move through the Meadow eating. And now as the Meadow grows they are beginning to browse through the grasses and eat fresh food. I’m not sure what the Deer are eating yet, but they are eating fresh food and I am hopeful.

The Black Raspberry bushes that grow in thickets on both the North and South sides of our property at the edge of the Woods, were picked clean – we think Deer, Bird and Raccoon took advantage of the bounty. We hope to provide more and have planted Hazelnut bushes and will plant many more Fruit and Nut Shrubs this fall.

I found potted, hanging Strawberries for us to eat and hung them above our small herb garden. It wasn’t long before the plants began looking ragged. We assumed Deer as they are hanging about 5 feet off the ground, but it turns out it was a Raccoon. Chuck photographed him. We are happy to share with the Raccoons – he certainly worked hard enough for them!

My reverence for life, all life, my gratitude for this Planet we live on, my appreciation of the wisdom and compassion of the non human beings who live here has broadened and deepened so much since living among them that I find it difficult to articulate. I want to share this with others and yet, I find it difficult get past our common cultural myths. Last night we attended a local Garden Tour. Two Native Plant Gardens, one public and one private. Both impressive. At the private home, I was talking to the homeowner, a delightful retired woman who has spent a bit more than a decade rewilding her large yard into a Native Plant Garden. As we talked, she pointed to a bare spot in a garden and asked if I knew what it was. I told her it looked like a Wild Turkey dust bathing spot. She was surprised I knew but said, “Yes, it is. Those damn Turkeys killed everything that was there and made that mess.” I am still so surprised to hear such things. The area was maybe 18 inches by 12 inches and this yard is at least a full half acre just in the back where we were standing.

The disturbance was minuscule – plus it was not a disturbance at all, particulary when compared to the size of the house and the driveway. The Native Plants fully grown and flowering are majestic and clearly thriving. I’m not always as quick as I would like to be about these things but said, “Turkeys need a place to bathe too! “ I then went on to tell her about the Turkeys at home and how I welcome them in and they are now bringing their babies too. She told me that the Department of Natural Resouces (DNR) (sic))is asking for photos of baby Wild Turkeys along with location data for a survey they do. I responded that I know about that and that the purpose is for determining the number of hunting licenses, not something cute, though that is how it was presented in the local online paper. She wanted to argue with me saying – that’s not what they said. And I told her I had reached out to the journalist, he gave me more information from DNR, which I then read and found that DNR is working with The National Wild Turkey Federation – a group whose goal is to preserve hunting and gun rights. They use the data to figure out where to send their humans to kill Wild Turkeys. And DNR helps them do that by asking the public for their cute baby Wild Turkey photos.

And we fall for it. I did not say this part out loud. And I sensed that she was a bit annoyed with me for deflating her belief that DNR is a good and benevolent force saving Wildlife and Wild Land. I wish I could find a way to make this easier for other humans. I am never sure why so many humans often hold anger or annoyance toward the messenger when we are confronted with information that rattles our beliefs. I know this woman is doing fabulous things for Pollinators and Birds with her Plants. I hope she can widen her circle of compassion to include the Wild Turkey and Deer and others who may share the land she lives on.

It’s funny, the Seeds we planted last fall and the plugs I planted this spring, are all growing. They are not being hurt by all the Wildlife who visit every day. It will take time for them to reach maturity and I am told it will be three years before we have a fully functioning Meadow. But it is already happening and in only four months of not mowing. Four months. This is amazing. This is resilience. This is Gaia healing herself. And I am barely doing a thing to help. Mostly just getting out of the way. And there are Deer and Wild Turkey and Raccoons and Birds, and Squirrels, and I am certain many others over night who spend time here. None of them are destroying this. Someone did uproot a Redbud Tree and a Hazelnut Bush I planted along the South side. But they left the ones I planted on the North side. I have no idea who did this or why but I know that the vast majority of the Plants are growing. I believe the Meadow will mature. I believe the Animals will help it, not hurt it. They all evolved together – I think they belong together. It’s us humans who need to reconsider our attitudes and actions.