Indra's Net and the Common Good

In the midst of societal polarization and an unpredictable election, I offer these reflections about Indra's net and its implication: the need to work for the common good. I first heard about Indra's net at a meditation retreat. Steve Spiro, a gifted teacher of Chi-gong, mentioned the net during a talk. According to a Buddhist story, Indra's net is an infinitely large net owned by Indra, a Hindu/Buddhist god.  

Here's how Francis H. Cook describes Indra's net:

" Far away in the heavenly abode of the great god Indra, there is a wonderful net which has been hung by some cunning artificer in such a manner that it stretches out infinitely in all directions. In accordance with the extravagant tastes of deities, the artificer has hung a single glittering jewel in each "eye" of the net, and since the net itself is infinite in dimension, the jewels are infinite in number. There hang the jewels, glittering "like" stars in the first magnitude, a wonderful sight to behold. If we now arbitrarily select one of these jewels for inspection and look closely at it, we will discover that in its polished surface there are reflected all the other jewels in the net, infinite in number. Not only that, but each of the jewels reflected in this one jewel is also reflecting all the other jewels, so that there is an infinite reflecting process occurring." [Cook, Francis H. (1977), Hua-Yen Buddhism: The Jewel Net of Indra,] 

The net is a metaphor for the universe and our world in which all phenomena are interconnected and mutually interdependent. Chief Seattle's reported words tells us more about Indra's net.

"This we know: All things are connected

like the blood that unites us. 

We did not weave the web of life,

We are merely a strand in it.

Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves."

Chief Seattle was the leader of the Duwamish and Suquamish peoples from Washington state. He died on June 7, 1866 at the age of 85 or 86. His wisdom and words live on. Seattle is named after him. 

So here we are embedded in Indra's Net. Chief Seattle reminds us that whatever we do to the net/web affects us. The climate crisis is an obvious example of how individual and collective actions negatively affect both the web of life and each one of us. Right now stories about the horrific Hurricane Helene underscore the truth of Chief Seattle's warning written so many years ago.  

       

Prospect Gardens is a jewel in Indra's net. On September 21st thirteen volunteers joined my wife Ann and me as we once again cared for the Gardens. Nine of the volunteers are members of West High School's Leo Club, a community service club sponsored by the Lion's Club. 

Pictured are the stalwart Leo Club members. In the blue shirt (far left) is Sanjana, then in the dark blue shirt is Hazel, wearing a pink shirt is Kaylee, Emily in black (leaning on the rail), wearing a gray shirt is Amy (in the middle), and to the left of Amy is Selene. At the top, is Vasu, Gaon, and then Rajeev, Leo's Club's president and a senior.

Rajeev is my contact who recruited participating Leo Club members. He was also helpful in guiding his fellow students after I gave instructions.  Thank you Rajeev. A special thank you to the nine Leo Club members who gave up their Saturday morning. Each one of you is a gem.

    

Here's a picture that includes the adults: Becky far left, sitting on the second step is Peggy, third step far right is Percy and behind Percy is me. Not pictured are Laura and Ann B. Thank you for your good work. A special thank you to Ann B. for providing cookies and grapes which all enjoyed during a pleasant break.

The Gardens are just about ready for winter. Putting up the orange snow fences is one of the few  remaining tasks.

Our collective efforts resulted in two large piles of plant materials. Here's Percy between the two piles with her trusted hand tool. Percy with her oversized hand tool can clean out weeds in no time.  

A special thank you to John from City Engineering for scheduling the pickup. His crew did an exceptional clean up. Thank you crew members. The crew and John are more jewels in Indra's net. 

Here are four more pictures of crew members in action or taking a break .

Peggy working on the Regent side. This was Peggy first time volunteering. Thank you, Peggy. You are now officially an experienced volunteer and will be warmly welcomed back. 

Becky, Selene, and Amy after cleaning up a Regent side section next to the path. What a team! 

Sanjana, Emily, Rajeev, Gaon, and Vasu. Lots of youthful energy even after a few hours of hard work.

Emily did an outstanding job of removing white snake root from the Gardens. Not an easy task because she worked on a slope and sometimes with rocks underfoot. Emily revealed her grit while navigating the challenging terrain. I wonder if she ever thought about rock climbing.   

Hazel thinning out Jerusalem artichokes while scaling a slope on the Regent side of the Gardens. She showed her tenacity while maintaining her balance and pulling on the sturdy stalks. 

Indra's Net and Chief Seattle's words implies that we have a responsibility to further the common good. Many times as we tend the Gardens, passersby express their thanks for the beauty we now maintain. Their statements tell me that developing and maintaining the Gardens has impacted the common good of our neighborhood. 

Goldfinches eating Jerusalem artichokes seeds and a Monarch butterfly feeding on the blooming asters are more signs of how Prospect Gardens benefit nature and the common good. The Monarch I saw is probably migrating to Mexico. The bright golden male yellow goldfinches are changing into a brownish-dull yellow hue as they prepare for winter. Shades of brown help the males blend into the bare underbrush of winter; offering some protection against predators. 

The little bunnies who ate some spring plants have moved on. Reluctantly, I admit they too are part of Indra's net. Chipmunks on these warm autumn days still scamper between and among the rocks. 

Frank Joswick (1905-1995) 

 Furthering the common good and community service were ingrained in my high school education under the influence of Mr. Frank Joswick. During the early 1950s rural school consolidation swept through Wisconsin. Mr. Joswick, Administrator of the Pulaski Schools, led the initiative in the Pulaski area. He worked tirelessly convincing one room school loyalists from 13 small rural school districts that consolidation would benefit their children. 

The one room school I attended for six years closed in 1956 after joining the new Pulaski district. As a seventh grader, I attended the new elementary school in Pulaski and entered an expanded new world. 

Now the Pulaski Community School District is the largest district by area in the state. It spans 176 square miles and has five elementary schools, a middle school, and a high school. The district serves 3700 students. 

Mr. Joswick's  educational philosophy permeated the consolidate school district and his legacy continues. Mr. Joswick was the district's Superintendent for 35 years. He believed that school and community were closely linked. His educational philosophy also stressed that democracy required a sound public education system and that learning occurs in community settings. Plus Mr. Joswick stressed that we have a responsibility to work for the common good through community service. 

Community service was so important to Mr. Joswick that during the early years of his superintendency teachers he hired were required to do community service. Mr. Joswick throughout his life time served the Pulaski community in several ways besides being superintendent of schools. For example, he founded the Tri-County Medical Clinic located in Pulaski, served on the Village Board, and after retirement FX managed the Pulaski Canning Factory. One of my summer jobs was with the canning factory. Packed green beans for long hours in sweltering heat, and sometimes partied afterwards. 

Mr. Joswick taught a senior government course that reflected his educational philosophy. I missed his course because he retired before I was a senior. I still experienced his educational philosophy. In 1942, Mr. Joswick made the lapsed community newspaper part of the high school curriculum with students and a teacher in charge of the community newspaper. During most of my high school years, I worked on The Pulaski News as part of a journalism class, led by Mr. Bernard  Olenejeick. He acted more like a newspaper editor than a teacher while we were reporters.       

I also during one year, with a signed pass in my pocket, walked downtown to Pulaski businesses, convincing them to buy ads. It was an easy sale while teaching me the importance of contributing to the common good through community service. Publishing a newspaper with other students also taught me valuable skills of working as a team and how to collectively meet deadlines.

Here I am as a senior, the guy with the crew cut. We are in the back of the high school's library, probably conducting research for a history or social studies report. We could quietly converse. If we were too loud, Mrs. Schroeder, the gentle and respected librarian, would let us know. 

The Pulaski News continues to be a community newspaper and the oldest student -run newspaper in the country. The paper is produced 26 times per year and is written by students who are in an English class. During the summer, there are six part-time paid editors on staff. Editions are both in paper and on online. Follow this link for more information 

On September 28th,  Ann and I got up early for a trip to my home town, Pulaski. I was a panelist with my sister Barbara and several others from the Pulaski area. The panel was part of an event about one room schools sponsored by the Pulaski Area Historical Society. A very pleasant time with panel members and people in the audience as we shared stories. 

During the event, I mentioned the historical impact of the consolidation movement and Mr. Joswick's leadership. In response my 83 year old brother Tom, in the audience, talked about how Mr. Joswick's course influenced his life and values. Tom's life long lesson from the course is the importance of living in ways that results, to quote Tom, in "the greatest good for the greatest number." This quotation according to Tom is from the writings of Saint Thomas Aquinas (1225--1274), an Italian Dominican friar and priest, an influential philosopher and theologian.  

Tom's lessons from Mr. Joswick's course, Indra's Net, and promoting the common good are on my mind as I make decisions about the critical 2024 presidential election. My ballot also includes Congressional offices, three local referendums, and one state-wide referendum to change the Wisconsin Constitution. Tending Prospect Gardens is always a refuge and now provides one from the tense election dynamics. 

In this spirit of this blog, I will not advocate for candidates or state positions on the referendum.  However, I do encourage you to vote. I end these musings by extending a blessing as expressed in Carrie Newcomer's poem.

Blessing

" May you wake with a sense of play,
An exultation of the possible.
May you rest without guilt,
Satisfied at the end of a day well done.
May all the rough edges be smoothed,
If to smooth is to heal,
And the edges be left rough,
When the unpolished is more true
And infinitely more interesting.
May you wear your years like a well-tailored coat
Or a brave sassy scarf.
May every year yet to come:
Be one more bright button
Sewn on a hat you wear at a tilt.
May the friendships you’ve sown
Grown tall as summer corn.
And the things you’ve left behind,
Rest quietly in the unchangeable past.
May you embrace this day,
Not just as any old day,
But as this day.
Your day.
Held in trust
By you,
In a singular place,
Called now."

    

Precious Life and Well-being

Monarch From
Neighbor's Garden 

As the dog days of summer continue I start these reflections with Mary Oliver' poem ,The Summer Day.  Her poem ends with a challenging question and Dr. Richie (Richard) Davidson's research on well-being suggests some answers. Dr. Davidson is a research professor of psychology and psychiatry and the Founder and Director of the Center for Healthy Minds at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He and Center staff have extensively researched mindfulness and meditation with the result being tools that help people build skills of well-being. 

The Summer Day

Who made the world?

Who made the swan, and the black bear?

Who made the grasshopper?

This grasshopper, I mean--

the one who has flung herself out of the grass,

the one who is eating sugar out of my hand,

who is moving her jaws back and forth instead of up and down --

who is gazing around with her enormous and complicated eyes.

Now she lifts her pale forearms and thoroughly washes her face.

Now she snaps her wings open, and floats away.

I don't know exactly what a prayer is.

I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down

into the grass, how to kneel in the grass,

how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields

which is what I have been doing all day.

Tell me, what else should I have done?

Doesn't everything die at last, and too soon?

Tell me, what is it you plan to do

With your one wild and precious life? 

Dr. Richie Davidson would encourage a plan for our precious lives that includes well-being. What follows are points that I have distilled from his research. 

·        Well-being is when our lives have "greater comfort, health and happiness" (quote from online article, includes audio ) 

·        Well-being is a composite of four skills (also referred to as “pillars” and/or “constituents”) that can be learned. The skills  are awareness, connection, insight, and purpose. We integrate the four into our lives through learning and practice, and without feeling that a problem must be fixed.

·        Well-being and its four skills are grounded in the examination of traditional contemplative literature and findings from modern biobehavioral science. Data from MRI brain scans of  experienced meditators are a primary source and was the basis for applying the construct of  neuroplasticity to contemplative practices. Neuroplasticity is the brain's ability to reorganize itself by forming new neural pathways throughout life and in response to experiences. Dr. Davidson and his team found through meditation (and by inference practicing the four skills) we rewire and change our brain's neural networks in ways that ultimately benefit us emotionally. 

   

·        Awareness is paying attention to what’s happening in the present moment.  As Mary Oliver states in the poem "The Summer Day:"  I do know how to pay attention.  Davidson points out this is no easy task. He writes: "The level of distractibility in our culture today is skyrocketing, diagnoses of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are steeply rising, and the tech companies are masterminds at competing for our attention" (quote from another online article).

·        Connection is a composite of qualities that support self-care and caring for others. In the set are appreciation, gratitude, kindness, generosity, and compassion.

·        Insight is the capacity to curiously investigate and understand our thoughts, beliefs, and expectations and how these shape sense of self and perceptions of the world. Furthermore as a result of insight we better understand how an overemphasis on self (me or mine) is an obstacle to well-being.   

·        Purpose , the fourth skill, sets a sense of direction in life. We sense where our life is headed. We also are better at clarifying our values and able to ascribe meaning to our lives.

Well-being and it’s four related skills, as laid out by Dr. Davidson, may strike you as being rather complex and challenging. Dr. Davidson reminds us that we learn other complex skills through understanding and practice. I would add that Buddhist teaching about wise intention and wise effort are helpful. We start with setting an intention that can also be thought of as an aspiration. Our ambition is  to integrate well-being into our lives without setting a goal that must be met at all costs. Determination is required but efforts are gentle, free off striving, and marked with patience. Furthermore, wise effort involves recognizing that mind and heart states are not constant or forever; they arise and pass away. Yet moment by moment we continue to move forward, in this case, towards well-being.

Prospect Gardens has been an important part of my life for 15  years. I'm now evaluating how the Gardens fit into the larger purpose of my life. Tending the Gardens have contributed so much to my sense of well-being while providing opportunities to practice the related four skills. Now the Gardens are teaching me to let go and how to develop a revised plan for this precious life. The plan is still emerging.

  

Meanwhile, I celebrate the contentment and being part of a  community felt during the July 27th Prospect Gardens work session. I am also celebrating the return of the sparkling blue small rock that disappeared about a few months ago. Someone created it several years ago and I imagine it was a child. Why this gem disappeared and returned is a mystery. I offer thanks to the person who returned  the gem.

Here's the July 27th crew near the end of a longer than usual break. I always build in time for chatting. Thank you very much for your good work. 

I'm in the first row in a long sleeve shirt, despite the warm day. I was prepared to remove stinging nettles. 

To my left is Ann N. Behind Ann and me (starting on the left) is Madeline, a West High Leo Club member and a Junior, Laura V., and then Joyce. On the top row, are Gregory, Jessica, Becky, and Astrid. Ann B. took the picture.

Later in the morning Laura B., the keeper of several prairie gardens along the Southwest Path in the Westmoreland neighborhood, stopped by. As usual she was on her bike. While we chatted, I learned about a native nettle species and how the larvae from the following spectacular butterflies eat nettle: Eastern Comma, Question Mark, Red Admiral, and Milbert’s Tortoiseshell. I agree with Laura's assessment: Nettles serve a purpose! Now to learn the difference between native and non-native nettles.

The work session ended before the day's heat really settled in. Here's Jessica about to leave after her first time tending the Gardens. She and Gregory removed  many young Japanese Sumac from a section on the Regent side of the Gardens. Jessica has a Japanese Sumac on the back of the bike; hoping to transplant it.

As is customary in my posts I share pictures about the Gardens and here are six. Many plants are now at the peak stage of blooming. Yellow from native plants and pink from non-native phlox are now dominant colors throughout the Gardens. Our initial plan was for all native prairie plants. Several years ago, for a reason I can no longer recall, a few Non-native pink phlox were planted. They have now multiplied and spread. They even thrive in sections covered with rocks. 

Golden Soldier Beetles (if you look closely) busy pollinating a prairie coneflower. 

Joe Pye Weed in full bloom. Another native plant that attracts pollinators, including bees.  

Top of a Cup plant. These are self-seeded from a neighbor's yard. They are thriving and spreading along the Fox side of the Gardens. It's always a pleasure discovering what plants find their way into the Gardens. Less pleasurable, is noticing those we plant and that don't thrive. For example, the Gardens once had several patches of vibrant red Cardinal plants. Now only two plants remain on the Regent side and you really need to look for them. 

Black Eye Susan  (yellow) and purple Asters. These migrated from another section of the Gardens. I'm somewhat surprised by how early the Asters are blooming.  Perhaps a sign of an early autumn? 

  

More Black Eye Susan, and Culver Root (gray blossoms). The tall broad leaf plant not yet in bloom is a Jerusalem Artichoke also known as Wild Sunflower. The tubers are edible. There will be many. 

The Elderberries are ripening and some are ready to pick. Another sign that summer's pace has quickened. June, who lives near the Gardens, harvests the berries and makes tasteful jams and jellies. 

 Elderberries must be cooked first to safely remove the lectin and cyanide (toxins). Raw elderberries have a bitter, tart flavor, but cooked they taste quite different. Raw berries are also mildly poisonous. .

I end these reflections with another Mary Oliver poem and a wish for you. The poem, to me, underscores our precious lives while speaking to us about well-being. 

When I am Among the Trees

When I am among the trees,

especially the willows and the honey locust,

equally the beech, the oaks and the pines,

they give off such hints of gladness.

I would almost say that they save me, and daily.

I am so distant from the hope of myself,

in which I have goodness, and discernment,

and never hurry through the world

but walk slowly, and bow often.

Around me the trees stir in their leaves

and call out, “Stay awhile.”

The light flows from their branches.

And they call again, “It's simple,” they say,

“and you too have come

into the world to do this, to go easy, to be filled

with light, and to shine.”

Sun Dial in Prospect Gardens.
Gift from former neighbor. 

May you be "filled with light, and to shine" as time goes by. May we meet again in person or through this blog. 

  

 

Aging and Gratitude

Given the current firestorm about the mental abilities of an aging President, aging is a timely topic. Rather than get into the thicket of President Biden's cognitive state, I will share what I am learning about the spirituality of aging. Coincidentally, on July 3rd, I co-lead a discussion about the spiritual side of aging during a monthly Going Forth meeting. Our Buddhist inspired group studies and discusses topics and issues related to aging. We are all way past retirement and several are over 80. I will soon join the 80 year old contingent.  

The initial impetus for our discussion was a question of how we feel when young individuals comment on our age or offer to help. I suggested we study two chapters from Lewis Richmond's book "Aging as a Spiritual Practice" as a framework for considering the question. Beside an author, Lewis Richmond (born in 1947) is a Zen Buddhist priest, meditation teacher, composer, and blogger.  see https://www.lewisrichmond.com/ for more information and access to his blog. 

Lewis Richmond lays out four stages of aging: (1) when lightning strikes, (2) coming to terms, (3) adaptation, and (4) appreciation. Related to appreciation  is "elderhood". Lightning strikes is when we deeply recognize that we are aging which can happen at any age; you don't need to be old. I never really experienced lightening strikes even though I grew up on a farm witnessing aging animals and death. Recognition of aging came gradually for me; more like rumbling thunder that I noticed in my late 60s and early 70s. 

Coming to terms is the stage when you find yourself comparing your current self with a past younger self, and then eventually accept aging. I didn't intensely experience this one or it was relatively short. However, I wonder how many of  you, like me still, notice the past while not longing for a return. On my daily walks, I occasionally notice young fathers with their children and pleasantly recall parenting our daughter Emily when she was young. I also may notice a young jogger and recall invigorating jogs on the beaches of the Pacific Ocean when I lived in Oregon. All this indicates that I am still in the stage of adaptation while on my way to full appreciation of aging. 

Adaptation is when we have come to terms with what we have lost, for example my knees will no longer tolerate running, and we look forward to what we still have. I look forward to my daily walks; slower than in the past, while being aware of all the beautiful flowers in my neighbors' front yards.   

The following Billy Collins' poem illustrates a high level of appreciating aging.

    Old Man Eating Alone in a Chinese Restaurant ( Poetry  vol. 190, no. 4, July/August 2007)  

I am glad I resisted the temptation,

if it was a temptation when I was young,

to write a poem about an old man

eating alone at a corner table in a Chinese restaurant.

 

I would have gotten it all wrong

thinking: the poor bastard, not a friend in the world

and with only a book for a companion.

He'll probably pay the bill out of a change purse.

 

So glad I waited all these decades

to record how hot and sour the hot and sour

soup is here at Chang's this afternoon

and how cold the Chinese beer in a frosted glass.

 

And my book—José Saramago's Blindness

as it turns out—is so absorbing that I look up

from its escalating horrors only

when I am stunned by one of his gleaming sentences.

 

And I should mention the light

that falls through the big windows this time of day

italicizing everything it touches—

the plates and teapots, the immaculate tablecloths,

 

as well as the soft brown hair of the waitress

in the white blouse and short black skirt,

the one who is smiling now as she bears a cup of rice

and shredded beef with garlic to my favorite table in the corner.

 

The old man appreciates what's happening right now which would have been impossible during his youth. Collins writes that if he wrote the poem when he was young "I would have gotten it all wrong."

Lewis Richmond says that elderhood is an innate capacity but that "in today's media-saturated, youth-oriented society the role of elder has entirely vanished." Yet he encourages us as to practice being an elder as we age. Elders don't intentional teach; rather as an opportunity arises, they share through examples from their lives.

My older brothers and sisters benefited from our Grandma Julia being an elder. She lived with us on the family farm and died when I was seven. My 84 year old sister Barb still talks about the impact of the loving relationship that she had with Grandma Julia. My sister Theresa and my brother Tony learned to raise vegetables by gardening with her. Grandma Julia imparted what she knew about gardening and life in general through example and based on her experiences.  

 Here is Grandma Julia at my brother Joe's December 31, 1949 wedding. She's next to the bride Sylvia and behind the bride is Joe and next to him is my brother Leo. The short ceremony was in the chapel of the monastery. Sylvia was an Episcopalian and a member of the Oneida Nation. Marriages involving non-Catholics could not be performed in the church next door.      

What is remarkable about this slice of family history is Grandma Julia's presence at the ceremony. Grandma showed her Grandsons that she accepted Sylvia despite the Church's warnings about close relationships with non-Catholics. 

When opportunities arise, I practice elderhood with youth from West High's Leo Club (sponsored by the Lions Club) or young adults from Operation Fresh Start (OFS) as we tend Prospect Gardens. For example, once with an OFS crew I happened to mention that I do Qigong. A few expressed an interest. I offered to lead Qigong during the break and several joined me. OFS supports youth ages 16 to 24 to achieve self-sufficiency through education, mentoring, and employment training.

Lewis Richmond's book offers tips on incorporating spirituality into aging after discussing elderhood and the four stages. Each chapter ends with  "Contemplative Reflections." He also links spirituality with recent research about healthy aging in a section entitled " Contemplations On Aging."  He discusses six research based actions for healthy aging: managing stress, spending time in nature, religious and spiritual involvement which includes meditation, service to others, diet, and flexibility. Flexibility is the ability to adjust and adapt to the inevitable emotional and physical changes we experience as we age.  

My aging life continues to unfold and on the horizon is letting go of being the crew chief for Prospect Gardens. In the meantime, I am grateful for those who helped care for Prospect Gardens during June. 

On June 6th, while I was at the dentist starting a procedure for getting an implant, an OFS crew cared for the Gardens. Here's the five youth and their supervisor, Taylor. Top row starting on the left is Chris, Brandon and Javion. Bottom row starting on the left is Ka'Liyah, Taylor, and Desiyah. Not pictured is Danny, a new supervisor undergoing training.

Maddie Dumas, Storm Water Vegetation Coordinator, City of Madison Engineering Division, provides access to the OFS crew. Thank you Maddie.  

I  missed being with the crew. Percy, a long time volunteer, substituted for me. Thank you Percy and thank you OFS youth. I look forward to working with you in the future.

  Here's the crew removing Bishops Weed on the Fox side of the Garden. It's our nemesis with a tenacious life span, For now, it's been knocked back. 

On June 27th, six volunteers joined Ann B., my wife, and I for another collective effort at maintaining Prospect Gardens. All are returnees. Thank you for your continued generosity and support. 

On the first step is Becky (with the hat) and Meg (orange cap). Percy is to Becky right and Ann N. is next  to Percy. Behind Becky and Meg is Joyce. Top row is me, chewing a cookie, and Gregory. 

Ann B. took the picture, provided the treats, and did her fair share of weeding. Thank you Ann for your continued support during these last 15 years of tending the Gardens and for being at my side while I age.

Here's pictures of the June 27th volunteers:

Percy working on the Regent side. The Purple Poppy Mallow are in full bloom in the section that Percy weeded. A wonderful plant that bees like. 

Sorry to report that the expected abundant cherry crop became diseased causing the cherries to rot. The birds still enjoy the cherries.   

Becky pausing from weeding on the lower slopes of the Regent side section. Plus thinning some of the aggressive Jerusalem Artichoke.  

  Here's Meg who worked along with Becky on the Regent side. Ann N. (sorry no picture) also pitched in.

Here's Joyce weeding on the Regent side. She also helped plant some Obedient plants and others I bought a few months ago. They were small seedlings that I kept on my deck until they reached the desired height. The recent frequent rains will help them survive.

Last but not least, Gregory with a large bunch of creeping purple bell flowers. The blossoms are pretty and yet this plant is very aggressive. Gregory liked the blossoms and took the bunch with him.  Goes to show you: one person's weed is another person's late June bouquet. 

Thanks to all this season's volunteers the Gardens will continue to flourish. As July unfolds more plants will bloom. Here are pictures of  four of my favorites now blooming: Wild Bergamot, Purple Cone Flowers, Dense Blazing Star, and the non-native Beebalm . 

Seasonally Prospect Gardens, like our lives, goes through different stages. I especially enjoy July and August when many plants are in bloom and color is at its peak. In October, we prepare the Gardens for the inevitable winter. Yet even in winter the Gardens have a stark beauty. 

Please come visit the Gardens. Contact me if you want a tour or want to volunteer. The Gardens border the Southwest Path at Prospect  Avenue and if on the bike path, about a half mile west of Camp Randall. 

I close with this picture of an old burr oak and a poem reflecting Lewis Richmond's stage of appreciating aging. 

I  visit this burr oak in Vilas Park (on the bike path) overlooking Lake Wingra and near Vilas Zoo. A plaque states that the oak is with us since 1787, the year the Constitution was signed. Sometimes, I lean against the old tree, my back feeling the roughness of the bark and the tree’s strength. I imagine what the oak has witnessed and marvel at how it has aged so gracefully.

I Am Not Old (Samantha Reynolds)

I am not old…she said
I am rare.

I am the standing ovation
At the end of the play.

I am the retrospective
Of my life as art

I am the hours
Connected like dots
Into good sense

I am the fullness
Of existing.

You think I am waiting to die…
But I am waiting to be found

I am a treasure.
I am a map.

And these wrinkles are
Imprints of my journey

Ask me anything.

 

Community, Blessings, and Generosity

About a month ago I received an email from my friend Jeanne with a link to 20 books about trees. The NPR recommended books honored Arbor Day.  I celebrated the holiday as a youngster at Polandi, the one room school, about two miles from our family farm. Under the direction of our teacher, Ms. Falkowski, we planted a tree near the school. A small class jar with my name and the names of my fellow classmates was buried with the tree. The jar full of names represented our shared connections as a community.

I plan on reading one of the books on the NPR list and learn more about how trees support and communicate with each other. In other words, trees are communities rather than solitary beings. A book by Suzanne Simard, a professor of forest ecology at the University of British Columbia, is intriguing. In "The Mother Tree", Simard writes about how trees in a forest are linked to each other through older trees, she calls a "mother" or "hub" tree. Seedlings link into the network of the old trees and benefit from shared resources. Furthermore, the old trees, according to Simard, " pass a little bit of carbon and nutrients and water to the little seedlings, at crucial times in their lives, that actually help them survive." Here's the link to the NPR list 

Here's a picture of the canopy of a huge old tree that toppled over in a storm a few years ago. The once soaring canopy is close to the ground and within an easy touch. The old tree lies horizontally with its massive trunk just above the water line of Lake Wingra. Some of outer roots of the old timer are exposed but many are encapsulated into a large vertical ball of soil that is at least 5 feet tall .  

What amazes me is that the tree is still alive and producing seeds. Maybe this is one of Simard's "mother" trees that keeps on supporting its community despite being injured. The tree is a lesson for me: keep on contributing despite the challenges of aging. 

Rituals and ceremonies are important community builders. Our church, First Unitarian Society, held the annual Flower Communion on Sunday, May 19th. Originally created in 1923 by Unitarian minister Norbert Čapek of Prague, Czechoslovakia, the Flower Ceremony was introduced to the United States by Rev. Mája Čapek, Norbert's widow in 1940. 

  

In this ceremony, everyone brings a flower and places it in a shared vase. The congregation and minister bless the flowers, and they're redistributed. Each person takes home a different flower than the one they brought. Bringing and exchanging flowers increased my sense of belonging to FUS while affirming that each of us is unique, and yet together our diversity benefits FUS and our society. 

On May 11th,  I walked across the street for the 8 o'clock blessing of  Lake Wingra. The ceremony is also Wingra Boats' season opener. Thomas Redbird and his family led the ceremony which included the Little Thunder Singers. 

The Redbird Family are members of the Water Spirit Clan of the Ho-Chunk Nation. The day was already warm with a blue clear sky. In his opening remarks, Thomas commented that on a day like we were having, water spirits come out of the lake to play on the beaches and you can see them. 

 Thomas led us in a tobacco ceremony and conducted a lake blessing to honor and practice respect for the natural world. Tobacco, for the Ho-Chunk, has sacred qualities. I lined up with other members of the audience and slowly approached Thomas. With my left hand I took a pinch of tobacco from Thomas' extended left hand and put my offering into a bowl held by another man. After everybody made an offering, the two men took the bowl to the end of the pier and scattered the tobacco into the lake while offering a blessing. We remained in respectful silence. The ceremony ended with the Little Thunders Singers singing about friendship to the beat of the ceremonial drum. 

The blessing of the Lake Wingra reminds us that our communities extend into and are part of the natural world. Joy Harjo's  poem "Remember", stresses this point. Joy Harjo is a member of the Mvskoke Nation and a poet, musician, and playwright.

Remember 

Remember the sky that you were born under,
know each of the star’s stories.
Remember the moon, know who she is.
Remember the sun’s birth at dawn, that is the
strongest point of time. Remember sundown
and the giving away to night.
Remember your birth, how your mother struggled
to give you form and breath. You are evidence of
her life, and her mother’s, and hers.
Remember your father. He is your life, also.
Remember the earth whose skin you are:
red earth, black earth, yellow earth, white earth
brown earth, we are earth.
Remember the plants, trees, animal life who all have their
tribes, their families, their histories, too. Talk to them,
listen to them. They are alive poems.
Remember the wind. Remember her voice. She knows the
origin of this universe.
Remember you are all people and all people
are you.
Remember you are this universe and this
universe is you.
Remember all is in motion, is growing, is you.
Remember language comes from this.
Remember the dance language is, that life is.
Remember.

On May 18th, the spirit of community, blessings, and generosity  continued as 13 volunteers plus Ann and I tended Prospect Gardens. Volunteers, some for the first time, gave of their time and without expecting anything in return. According to Buddha's teaching, generosity freely given without expecting a return is the highest form of generosity; earning much merit and a lot of good karma.

Pictured ( starting on the left, bottom row) are Peggy, a first timer, and Madeline, a West High Leo Club member and a returnee. Bruce is sitting on the third step and he is a newbie. Behind Bruce is Gregory, a veteran volunteer and to his left is Meg, another first timer. Sitting next to Meg is Laura who has volunteered since the start of Prospect Gardens. Top row is me and next to me is Gaon and then Rajeev. Gaon and Rajeev are West High Leo Club members and are faithful returnees. 

Coming later were Ann N., Cindy, Jim, Alice, and Sheila. Cindy recently moved to Madison from Nashville and is a first time volunteer. Ann N., Jim, Alice and Sheila are veteran volunteers. Ann B., my wife took the picture. She once again provided the treat and made sure we took a break. I have a tendency to forget about time as I get engrossed with the task at hand.

I extend a hearty "thanks" to you all. Blessings to you. You all will be welcomed upon your return.

Bruce, Gaon, and Rajeev share some moments during a break. Thank you Bruce for offering to return and trim back that one bush planted 15 years ago when the Gardens were started. Its been overdue for a trim. 

Gaon and Rajeev... take note that the area with day lilies you two so diligently worked on has been replanted. A few days after the work session, Percy, another veteran volunteer, and I replanted the area with a variety of native plants that Percy provided. Thank you very much  Percy. 

Cindy, Shelia, and Alice weeding the raspberry patch and preparing it for mulching. Cindy and her husband are busy revitalizing the flower beds of their recently purchased home. 

Shelia has a wonderful flower garden in the space between the sidewalk in front of her house and the street. Sheila came with a clump of  bee balm for the Garden-- thanks a lot.

Meg, Madeline, and Peggy working on the ever challenging and persistent Bishops Weed. Unfortunately the Gardens have an abundance of Bishops Weed. At least it provides ground cover. I'm trying to be positive.

Pulling Bishops Weed keeps it from seeding. We need a longer term approach. Percy mentioned putting in native plants that can out compete Bishops Weed. 

Gregory caught in the action of weeding. That's quite an handful!

I couldn't resist including this being who greeted me on a visit to the Gardens after our work session. She/he appeared walking softly (as only cats can do) through a patch of plants, sauntered onto the steps, laid down in front of me, and insisted on a belly rub. The result was a relaxed cat and for me a reminder to pause and savor the moment. 

Here's three plants that grace the Gardens as spring transitions into summer. The plants are at their peak. 

A native columbine that continues to propagate itself. Last week I transplanted a columbine from Giri's front yard. His yard has many splendid columbine. Giri offered one as an experiment. A Google search revealed transplanting columbine is risky and seeding is a much better method. Thanks Giri for the offering and for potting up the plant. 

The spiderwort, easy to grow, always returns in the spring, and is pleasant to the eye.  A near perfect plant.

I realize that the daisy is an aggressive plant and is considered by many as an invasive. So far the daisies, you could say, are behaving themselves while adding a feeling of lightness to Prospect Gardens. Plus I like the way they sway in the wind.

The summer solstice is approaching and Memorial Day has  officially marked the start of  the season. Summer with all its potential blessings await. In the spirit of community, I share this poem by Ronald Wallace, Emeritus Professor of Poetry, UW Madison.

 Prayer for Flowers 

Show me the disguises of coral root 

That I may go unnoticed among enemies.

the tenacity of columbine

that might thrive in the unlikely place.

Teach me to climb higher than envy,

to trust my own colorful seasons. 

Let the wind move me; let me keep my roots.

Like a pitcher plant, let me store up rain against

the dry season, surviving with patience 

whatever comes along. 

Show me the wind's song through lupine

that my blue days may be filled with music.

Teach me the persistent delicacy of glacier lilies

that I might endure winter's cold, heavy foot. 

And, at the end time, 

neither stiff-lipped nor trembling, 

let me go up, like bear grass, 

in a puff of smoke.

Alleluia

May it be so

Amen

Shalom

salam alaykum (Islam: Peace be upon you)

Hatak (Ho-Chunk: Peace)