“It was dowsily warm with dozens of bees, lazily buzzing through flowers and trees…”
—Hairy Maclary and Zachary Quack by Lynley Dodd
I have just returned from the countryside in Tuscany, Italy. How alive the land, harmonious the old stone buildings and fresh the food! There were bees everywhere, busily doing their work, reminding me of the opening sentence above in Dodd’s book.
I have never seen so many bees, and they had no interest in the people around them. The 7-foot tall hydrangea bushes, olive trees shimmering in the sunlight, upright cypress trees and clusters of grapes hanging from the vines were all alive with spirit. My granddaughter and I stayed with a dear friend, Lynn, and her niece, Michaela, in a small village called Borgo San Felice. We spent time in the herb garden, walked through the vineyards and played bocce ball. One night after dinner we were stunned by June’s “blue moon” hanging in the sky over the land, and as we turned around we watched Jupiter and Venus dance together on the horizon.
I came home to a land that is not as alive with the spirits of nature. Nor is our food as consistently fresh. What have we done to our home? Upon my return I read about the controversy about a copper mine going into a river valley in Montana where my husband fished with friends in the 80s. I saw another article about the deleterious impact of Donald Trump’s cutting down 460 trees along the Potomac River to have a view for his new golf course.
Profoundly affected by the experience, I ask myself: what may I do to treat Mother Earth with more respect and invite the nature spirits to return? How may I improve my relationship with them?
© Susan Beilby Magee, 2015. All Rights Reserved.
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