New Beginnings & Letting Go

Each December holiday season Peg, a friend, gives Ann and I an Amaryllis. Now resting on my desk, this native plant originates from the Western Cape region of South Africa.  An Amaryllis symbolizes strength, beauty, pride, love, resilience, and determination. The inevitable fading blooms remind me of the unfolding life cycles of beginning and endings intermingled with letting go. Once again I am in the midst of one of  these cycles as my Prospect Garden's Crew Chief  role ends. 

The geode next to the Amaryllis reminds me of the Pacific Ocean and the many cycles of new beginnings and endings in my life. Besides Wisconsin, these cycles have unfolded in several different states. Ann and I lived in Portland, Oregon (1976-1980); in Bloomington, Indiana (1980-1983) where I earned an educational doctorate in 1983 from Indiana University; and in Andover, Massachusetts (1983-1986). I joined a non-profit educational consultation firm in Andover and Ann was a social worker serving adults with developmental disabilities for the state.      

Our daughter Emily was born in nearby Lawrence, MA in 1984. In 1986, we returned home to Wisconsin and lived on Keyes Avenue, near Prospect Gardens, for 30 years. Without going into details, during those 30 years life continued unfolding for Ann, Emily and me. In 2016 we sold our home and moved into our current apartment. 

John O' Donahue's poem aptly describes these cycles of beginning and ending, along with letting go. 

For a New Beginning

In out of the way places of the heart
Where your thoughts never think to wander
This beginning has been quietly forming
Waiting until you were ready to emerge.

For a long time it has watched your desire
Feeling the emptiness grow inside you
Noticing how you willed yourself on
Still unable to leave what you had outgrown.

It watched you play with the seduction of safety
And the grey promises that sameness whispered
Heard the waves of turmoil rise and relent
Wondered would you always live like this.

Then the delight, when your courage kindled,
And out you stepped onto new ground,
Your eyes young again with energy and dream
A path of plenitude opening before you.

Though your destination is not clear
You can trust the promise of this opening;
Unfurl yourself into the grace of beginning
That is one with your life’s desire.

Awaken your spirit to adventure
Hold nothing back, learn to find ease in risk
Soon you will be home in a new rhythm
For your soul senses the world that awaits you.

Now once again I am aware of John O' Donahue's message as I retire from being the Prospect Garden's Crew Chief. Ryan Burbach and Becky Andresen are the new Crew Chiefs. Thank you Ryan and Becky. Both are current volunteers. They already met and laid out plans for 2025. I will be a consultant this season and am now helping with the transition.  

Here's Ryan pulling bindweed during a recent work session. He lives a few blocks from the Gardens. Ryan is committed to doing his part in maintaining the Gardens which he considers to be an important neighborhood asset. His career in public health that included several years in South Sudan makes him skilled in supporting human relationships and managing relationships among organizations. 

Ryan returned from abroad earlier in July 2024. He was born and grew up in Fond Du Lac. Ryan and his wife are expecting their first child this month.

Here's Becky removing Jerusalem Artichokes. This imperialist plant has  spread throughout the Regent side of the Gardens and needs to be periodically removed. The artichokes (seeds) are edible but not too tasty. Visit the Gardens in the autumn if you wish to pick and try them. Bon Appetit! 

Becky is a frequent user of the Southwest Path and often passed through Prospect Gardens before she began volunteering in 2023. Becky completed the Wisconsin Master Naturalist program sponsored by the UW-Madison Division of Extension. She also has recruited and supported volunteers in one of her jobs.  

Ryan and Becky, working as a team, usher in a new Prospect Gardens cycle. The Gardens are in good hands with Becky and Ryan taking the lead, while still depending on the continued involvement of other volunteers. I am now updating lists of potential volunteers. If you are in the Madison area and have not received my recent email, please contact me if you want to volunteer. I will be happy to add you to the lists being forwarded to Becky and Ryan.

Here are pictures depicting historical points in the transformation of a once weed infested space into a community asset that benefits humans, birds, butterflies, and small mammals. 

Prospect Gardens originated with Ernie, a neighbor, and I haphazardly spreading seeds. I recommended a plan but Ernie didn't want one. Little did I know that I joined the worldwide movement of Guerrilla Gardening, as I learned from reading a book. Some true Guerrilla Gardeners, but not Ernie and I, toss Christmas tree ornaments filled with seeds into abandoned lots. Ornaments shatter and seeds are dispersed. 

The planned phase began on a faithful day in early summer 2009. Sandy Stark, the Crew Chief of Glenway Prairie, where I was volunteering, told me that I should meet Steve Arnold because he wanted to do something at the Prospect site.   

As I descended the steps to the Path, on my way to work, I noticed a couple walking towards me. I overheard the man commenting how the site was such an eyesore and that something should be done. I called out in response saying that I agreed and what did he think could be done. 

We met at the bottom of the steps. After Steve introduced himself and his wife, Peg, I joyfully exclaimed that the stars were in alignment because we finally met as Sandy recommended. We agreed to meet again.

We met at the then Macha Tea House on Monroe Street (now physical therapy offices) to discuss ideas and exchange information about the Neighbor Grant Program, a possible funding source. In the Spring of 2010 Steve, with my input , wrote and submitted a grant through the Regent Neighborhood Association and with the Dudgeon Monroe Neighborhood Association's support. The city required a plan which was developed by Peter Nause, Landscape Architect, (Second Nature Landscapes) who then lived in the neighborhood. 

In May 2010 herbicide was applied to remove thick vegetation on some of the sections along the Fox side of the Gardens. Peter's plan called for shrubs as the backbone of the Gardens and lots of  native plants. Peter purchased the shrubs and seeds with grant funds. 

With Peter's guidance planting began during early August 2010, on the Fox side of the Gardens and in a section east of the steps on the Regent Side. The difficult task first required removing rocks and creating beds filled with new top soil. Here's two of the many volunteers on that faithful August 28th planting the shrubs. 

As May 11, 2011 unfolded Dorrie, a neighbor, started painting the mural: a bike on the concrete slab and silhouettes of path users along the tops of the ramp walls. A West High School art student created the silhouettes depicting Path users. 

The mural has held up quite well. Dorrie touched up the mural before she moved to Sacramento in 2021. Could be time for another touch up or if anybody comes forward, a new design? I gladly leave this matter to the new Crew Chiefs, Becky and Ryan.

On June 7th, 2011 areas west of the steps into the Regent Neighborhood began development. The stimulus was Graham's Boy Scout project to earn Eagle Scout status. I assisted Graham in developing a plan for the section. 

Graham, his Boy Scout Troop, and several fathers arrived in pickup trucks. Along with other volunteers this Regent side section was cleared and planted. A father with a chain saw was disappointed that there were no trees for removal.

Also in the summer of 2011, the area in front of the arborvitaes on the Regent side was cleared and first planted with rye oats to enrich the soil. The following summer native plants were planted. 

Several years later Laura, a long time volunteer, and I expanded the Gardens, covering the west area between the arborvitaes and the utility pole. We really never intended to expand the Gardens to the utility pole. As we worked and talked one of us said let's go a little further. As a result the Gardens reached its current size, about 1600 square feet.  

During late summer of 2011 the Hosta Garden began, starting with hosta that I saved from a neighbor's curb. The plants were removed from the front yard garden. I just could not allow them to go to the land fill. Over the years, Regent and Dudgeon Monroe neighbors donated the remaining hosta plants. None were purchased. 

Here's Joyce applying mulch in 2012. Joyce was one of the first volunteers and still continues. The summer of 2012 was a critical year for the Gardens because of the drought. Daily temperatures in July hit 100 degrees. Daily watering saved the Gardens with water provided by two neighbors.  As July unfolded, we decided to cut back on watering.  Heavy and healing rain soaked the Gardens in the middle of July.  Hallelujah!

Here's Steve and I mulching the raspberry patch before the healing rains. I had shingles. The drugs I took made the pain manageable. The mulch felt soothing to my body and the smell was so pleasant. Perhaps another therapy for shingles? 

A year later, July 14, 2013, the area to the left of the stairs to Fox Avenue, was cleared and sedges planted. My idea was to replicate a flowing river similar to the sedge created river at Allen Centennial Gardens, 620 Babcock Drive. This UW Madison garden is a favorite and worth a visit. I often ate my bag lunch in this garden when I worked on campus, a short walk from my office on Henry Mall.  

Claudia, a then frequent volunteer, helped me plant the sedges. We dug into a patch of  black, gooey soil. I thought that maybe  it was coal dust deposited by a neighbor before the Path  existed and when trains rumbled through the neighborhood. So far, digging into the unknown soil seems not to have harmed Claudia and me or the sedges.

Since 2013 other changes in the Gardens have been made. In 2014 a small garden honoring the life of Steve's wife was installed on the Regent side. Friends provided funds and helped plant the purple poopy mallow (winecups) and a cherry tree. The purple poppy mallows continue to thrive. The cherry tree despite a damaged trunk continues to produce fruit. 

During August 2016 the four colorful bird houses were installed. Nick, a nearby neighbor, and his son, Soren, built them. During the first season a wren considered moving in. Now sparrows are the occupants.

In 2018 Bob, then a frequent volunteer and crowned "mulch king" (he loved mulching), and I transplanted grasses from what was the site of Associated Bank on Monroe Street and now an apartment building. As we were digging up these "free for the taking" plants, the demolition crew arrived and told us to hurry up. 

We planted the grasses on the steep slope just east of the stairs to the Regent Neighborhood. Before planting, we created small beds and filled them with new top soil. Our efforts helped stabilize the area during heavy downpours. 

During the height of the Pandemic for nearly two months in 2020, I kept a daily journal for the Wisconsin Historical Society which included some references to Prospect Gardens. No group work sessions were held. Instead, I created a Google Group of potential volunteers and posted pictures or videos of tasks. Individuals completed tasks and reported the results. Weeding and some mulching were the primary tasks. Prospect Gardens survived the Pandemic. 

In April 2021, Hanna who lives next to the Gardens surprised us with this shed to house garden tools. A wonderful gift that keeps on giving. 

Shortly after the shed's installation, I transplanted hosta that Hanna didn't want and that bordered her garage They are now along the tree line bordering Hanna's property and the existing hosta garden.  

Recent projects included replacing yellow Ditch Lilies with native plants, starting on the Fox side. Last season, with the help of Percy, another long time volunteer and Master Gardener, native plants replaced some Lilies on the Garden's Regent side.  

The hard work of volunteers is a major reason why the Gardens have thrived during these fifteen years. For several years, Edgewood College students and students from UW Madison pitched in. 

More recently (including the 2024 season) West High School students from the Leo Club have been faithful volunteers. Their youthful energy and work ethic are always appreciated. Here's Rajeev(yellow shirt), Club President, and his friend, Gaon, another Leo Club member, are putting up the orange snow fences. Thank you Rajeev for being my contact and for encouraging club members to volunteer.  

A special thank you to all volunteers throughout the 15 years. I am especially grateful to the following who in the last two years volunteered more than once and are not already mentioned in this post:  Gregory, Shelia, Marcel, Alice, Jim, Astrid, Nick U., and Meg. 

Over the years close neighbors, besides Ernie, have lend a hand. Dianne and Ken have been big supporters of Prospect Gardens with their work in the Gardens, lending their wheelbarrows, water, and overall just keeping an eye on things for us. Thank you Dianne and Ken.

Jim and Patricia, from the Regent Neighborhood and live next to the Gardens, are also very strong supporters. I always enjoy talking to both. The couple provided access to their water, as they did during the 2012 drought. Their wheelbarrow comes in handy too. Patricia and Jim donated a forsythia and two Rose of Sharon. Thank you, Jim and Patricia.

Hanns from the Regent Neighborhood volunteered for several years before leaving Madison. I so enjoyed his sense of humor. He loved my wife Ann's homemade lemon bars and maintained that's why people volunteered. 

 Marcia and Jim, former Regent residents living near the Gardens, were likewise strong supporters. They tended a section on the Regent side, weeding and mulching. Thank you. They moved to Appleton a couple years ago to be near their son. I miss them. 

Also missed is Loren. Loren volunteered for several seasons before dying of cancer in 2020. He courageously returned to help after several complex treatments, including stem cell infusion. I enjoyed our chats and stories about his long distance trips in his mini-car.    

Friends over the years have also volunteered. Thank you Jody for helping out for several seasons. She is now busy doing final edits of her book. Many individuals have volunteered once. These one-timers are always welcome.

Twice a year Maddie Dumas, Division of Engineering's Green Space Coordinator, provides crews from Operation Fresh Start (OFS).  More helping hands from young adults to tend the Gardens. OFS has programs that  supports young adults "on a path to self-sufficiency through education, mentoring, and employment training." Thank you Maddie and thank you, OFS crews. See https://www.operationfreshstart.org/  for more information about OFS. 

Another thank you is to John Toso from City Engineering and his crews. After each work session I contact John. A crew promptly picks up plant material from a designated area on the Fox Avenue side. The crew always does a thorough job leaving nothing behind.    

The two neighborhood associations that the Gardens straddles provide support and funding. Thank you board members of the Dudgeon Monroe and Regent Neighborhood Associations. Special shout outs to Ron Rosner, Regent Board Member-at-Large, for facilitating communications with the Board and Sandy Stark, Dudgeon Monroe Board Member and co-chair, with me, of the Southwest Path Committee. Sandy has, throughout the 15 years, provided support and advice to me and others caring for prairie gardens along the Southwest Path. She is now a neighborhood friend. 

During the work sessions at Prospect Gardens, usually held once a month, we always have some fun talking with one another. We especially enjoy a break with treats provided by Ann B., my wife. I refer to Ann as our Union Steward who always ensures we take a timely break. Ann also is a valuable work crew member; plus keeps me from working too long. Thank you Ann, for being at my side during my fifteen year tenure as Crew Chief.   

Here's Ann N.(on the right) and Laura (both are long time volunteers) during a break. Ann N. has donated columbines and peonies from her backyard. Another neighbor, Giri, has also donated columbines in an effort to replace many that have disappeared from the Gardens. Thank you for these gifts.

Being Crew Chief of Prospect Gardens has brought me much joy and now it's time to move forward. Speaking of new beginnings here's a  second grade picture of me in my bib overalls. My wife, Ann, suggested I include it in this post because she thinks I look cute. Marilyn (in the picture), along with Nora, were my only grade level classmates for six years. Polandi, the rural one room school that I attended, had a total of 23 students when I was in the second grade.

Bib overalls were common and when nostalgia arises, I would like to have a pair.  But not so much that I really would get a pair! I look back on this picture well aware of all the beginnings and endings I have experienced and look forward to more. I end with this Danna Faulds message about life. 

Allow

There is no controlling life.

Try corralling a lightning bolt,

containing a tornado. Dam a

stream and it will create a new

channel. Resist, and the tide

will sweep you off your feet.

Allow, and grace will carry

you to higher ground. The only

safety lies in letting it all in –

the wild and the weak; fear,

fantasies, failures and success.

When loss rips off the doors of

the heart, or sadness veils your

vision with despair, practice

becomes simply bearing the truth.

In the choice to let go of your

known way of being, the whole

world is revealed to your new eyes.

Presence: Balancing Joy and Sorrow

 We Madisonians continue to process another school shooting,  potentially shattering the hopes of this Holiday Season.  As with other school shootings, once again, I feel powerless, sadness, and compassion for all those impacted by what unfolded within Abundant Life Christian School, while I was strolling along Monroe Street enjoying the many inflatable Santas. This one is the tallest, towering over the small ranch  home. There are at least 75 inflatable Santas, including one on the deck of our apartment installed by the owners of our building. 

Processing my emotions lands me in this virtual space where I reflect on presence while balancing joy and sorrow.  Again I turn to poems for solace and this one by Jack Gilbert is helpful.

 A Brief for the Defense

Sorrow everywhere. Slaughter everywhere. If babies

are not starving someplace, they are starving

somewhere else. With flies in their nostrils.

But we enjoy our lives because that's what God wants.

Otherwise the mornings before summer dawn would not

be made so fine. The Bengal tiger would not

be fashioned so miraculously well. The poor women

at the fountain are laughing together between

the suffering they have known and the awfulness

in their future, smiling and laughing while somebody

in the village is very sick. There is laughter

every day in the terrible streets of Calcutta,

and the women laugh in the cages of Bombay.

If we deny our happiness, resist our satisfaction,

we lessen the importance of their deprivation.

We must risk delight. We can do without pleasure,

but not delight. Not enjoyment. We must have

the stubbornness to accept our gladness in the ruthless

furnace of this world. To make injustice the only

measure of our attention is to praise the Devil.

If the locomotive of the Lord runs us down,

we should give thanks that the end had magnitude.

We must admit there will be music despite everything.

We stand at the prow again of a small ship

anchored late at night in the tiny port

looking over to the sleeping island: the waterfront

is three shuttered cafés and one naked light burning.

To hear the faint sound of oars in the silence as a rowboat

comes slowly out and then goes back is truly worth

all the years of sorrow that are to come. 

Gilbert's poem exemplifies practicing presence, meaning that you are keenly aware of what you are thinking, experiencing and feeling in any particular moment. Gilbert acknowledges the suffering inherent in the human condition while encouraging us to "accept our gladness in the ruthless furnace of this world." Gladness may be as ordinary as the faint sound of oars of a rowboat gliding across a bay. Kahlil Gibran (1883-1931), Lebanese poet, philosopher, and artist, also teaches us that joy and sorrow are inextricably connected. In the poem On Joy and Sorrow. He writes:

Some of you say, "Joy is greater than sorrow," and other say, "Nay, sorrow is the greater." But I say unto you , they are inseparable. Together they come, and when one sits alone with you with you at your board, remember that the other is asleep upon your bed.

During the December 15th service at our church (First Unitarian Society of Madison) Rev. Kelly Crocker, one of our Senior Ministers, spoke about presence. Here's access to the service. Kelly's message starts at 42 minutes into the service.  Kelly was at her authentic best; speaking from the heart, telling stories from her own life, and referring to several sources. Here's a few of my salient takeaways from her message entitled The Present of Presence .Text in quotes are Kelly's words.

• Being present to the here and now is the wisdom of every spiritual teacher and "every wise one throughout time." 
•  Dogs know how to "be filled with presence, to not be consumed with dread about the future, and as far as we can understand, they don’t seem fixated on what happened yesterday."  Human beings on the other hand "struggle with cultivating an awareness of presence."  We are easily distracted by our phones, jobs, worries, emails, social media, and the incessant flow of news. 
• Being aware of our internal selves changes our relationship with the world. For example, when we walk mindfully in nature the experience changes how we see nature.
•  Learning to be present also sensitizes us to how others are perceiving the world or as Kelly stated:  "Becoming aware of our own selves, we are able to notice the subtle expressions on the faces of those we love. We notice when a dear friend says she is okay, but something else is stirring beneath the surface."
• Presence requiring deep listening. Kelly told the story of how her son Sam as a young child  taught her the importance of deep listening. Kelly was distracted while Sam was trying to tell her something important. Sam eventually told Kelly she was not listening. Quoting Kelly: ... his tiny hands were on either side of my face, staring into my eyes and saying “listen, I want you to listen. Listen with your eyes, mommy." 

Kelly's point about listening reminds me of John Fox's poem, When Someone Deeply Listens to You.

When someone deeply listens to you

it is like holding out a dented cup

you’ve had since childhood

and watching it fill up with

cold, fresh water.

When it balances on top of the brim,

you are understood.

When it overflows and touches your skin,

You are loved.

 

When someone deeply listens to you,

the room where you stay

starts a new life

and the place where you wrote

your first poem

begins to glow in your mind’s eye.

It is as if gold has been discovered!

 

When someone deeply listens to you,

your bare feet are on the earth

and a beloved land that seemed distant
is now at home within you

Kelly near the end of her message pivoted to a column by Perry Bacon entitled Don’t Doomscroll About Trump, Do These Five Things Instead. The second recommendation was to join a Unitarian-Universalists congregation. Bacon attended a UU congregation in Louisville, KY.  He was impressed how people engaged in politics in practical ways and created a space for sharing and actively discussing their values and ideals that they felt had been rejected by their fellow Americans. Congregants were canvassing in opposition to a proposed state constitutional amendment to create a school vouchers program, The amendment failed. Here's access to the column

Our UU values include inclusion, equity, working for justice, and honoring and protecting the marginalized. Kelly expanded Bacon's recommendation by encouraging the congregation to be aware of our Unitarian values and to let the world know of our presence. Our UU presence is now very important . Quoting Kelly: Can we agree right now, the world needs our presence and our loving attention? That so many in the world are counting on us? And they need us to yell “keep going! Keep going!"

Kelly suggested that a simple way for UUs to remind themselves of our values and the UU presence is to wear a chalice pin. This one is just one of many designs. Wearing a pin is a helpful reminder of the UU values, offers opportunities to share these with others, and broadcasts our presence. So, if you are a UU, wear a chalice pin.  Another option is to select or create and wear a symbol that represents your core values. 

Cultivating presence can be challenging. My daily meditation and Qi Gong offer opportunities to be present with what is unfolding in the moment.  Influenced by Buddhism, I pay attention to bodily feelings, another pathway into presence. Anne D. LeClaire in her book Listening Below the Noise writes about how her life has been transformed by being total silent while doing her tasks on the first and third Mondays of each month. How to practice presence is popular on the Web. A quick search lead me to Calm.com and an article which provides 9 tips for cultivating presence. Click here for access to the article 

Here are three pictures associated with when I was present. Sometimes further reflection happened while writing this entry.

I saw this inflatable menorah, a block from our apartment, while on my daily walk. I felt happy that the menorah was present, representing a different story from that of the jolly plump Santas along Monroe Street. Seeing it also reminded me that there are other Holidays besides Christmas. Hanukkah starts on December 25 and ends on January 2nd, 2025. A Jewish temple is a half block from our apartment. Kwanza is from December 26th through January 1, 2025. 

Our modern day Santas represents a different story from that of St. Nicholas, the distant ancestor of today's highly commercialized Santa. It is believed that St. Nicholas was born sometime around A.D. 280 in Patara, now in modern-day Turkey. He was a thin man with a trimmed beard. 

St. Nickolas was admired for his piety and kindness. He gave away all of his inherited wealth and traveled the countryside helping the poor and sick. Supposedly St. Nicholas saved three poor sisters from being sold into slavery or prostitution by their father.  He provided them with a dowry so that they could be married. 

In 1881, political cartoonist Thomas Nast created the first likeness that matches today's image of Santa Claus. His cartoon, which appeared in Harper’s Weekly, depicted Santa as a rotund, cheerful man with a full, white beard, holding a sack laden full of toys for lucky and well behaved children. He gave Santa his bright red suit trimmed with white fur, North Pole workshop, elves and his wife, Mrs. Claus. Here's access to a detailed history of Santa Claus

While walking near the west end of  Edgewood Drive behind Edgewood college, I noticed the sun sitting over Lake Wingra. My attention turned towards two ice boat sailors immersed within golden hues that shimmered across the ice  One sailor was up and glided across the newly frozen lake; the other down trying to get up. The Lake groaned as I silently watched with awe the beauty of this moment. I felt connected to the Lake and the sailors, while feeling grateful for living in my neighborhood with its close access to nature.

About a week ago I was walking home on the Southwest path on a cold, calm, and sunny day. I felt grateful for the warm sun on my face and the lack of any wind. 

Another walker alerted me before I sighted this regal and calm  hawk. For a few moments I watched and then fetched my phone with its magic camera. After taking the picture, I looked at the image and turned my gaze up at the pole. The hawk was gone. I continued walking feeling peaceful and connected to a space bigger than me.

Prospect Gardens always offers opportunities to cultivate presence, even during winter. Here's three pictures of plant remnants I saw on my walk through the Gardens during our first recent significant snowfall. Included are Eckhart Tolle's observations about presence. Eckhart Tolle is a popular spiritual teacher and author of the New York Times bestseller, The Power of Now.

I sometimes ask people, 'Can you be aware of your own presence? Not the thoughts that you're having, not the emotions that you're having, but the very presence of your very being?' You become aware of your own presence by sensing the entire energy field in your body that is alive. And that is the totality of your presence.

 

  

When you take your attention into the present moment, a certain alertness arises. You become more conscious of what's around you, but also, strangely, a sense of presence that is both within and without.

When you wash your hands, when you make a cup of coffee, when you're waiting for the elevator - instead of indulging in thinking, these are all opportunities for being there as a still, alert presence. 

 I close with this picture of our Christmas tree and a quote from Rumi, a 13th-century poet, Islamic scholar, theologian, and Sufi mystic. He was born in what is now Iran. 

 If everything around you seems dark, look again, you may be the light.

May we all be the light during these Holidays in the midst of joy and sorrow. 

 

 

     

Election Aftermath: Good Intentions, Interdependency, and Peace

During the afternoon before the critical 2024 election, when I was cautiously optimistic about Kamala Harris being president, I visited one of my favorite places in Madison, the University of Wisconsin Arboretum. I was hoping to add a jingle to an interactive outdoor sculpture entitled "Good Intentions", designed by UW–Madison art student Mariah Skenandore. It's on display in Longenecker Horticultural Gardens through November 18.

The interactive sculpture is co-created by visitors who obtain a jingle from the Visitor Center and place it on the designated tree. When hanging the jingle you keep a good thought, prayer, or intention in mind. The jingles move with the wind releasing the projected thoughts, prayers, and intentions into the world and beyond.

A dance of the Ojibwe people inspired the sculpture. The dance involves a dress with 365 jingles and each jingle holds a prayer or good intention. During the dance, the jingles strike each other sending out what are considered healing prayers and intentions.

All the 365 jingles were taken and on the tree. I still enjoyed the sculpture with its red ribbons and silver jingles. I offered the following good intentions to all beings: 

"May all beings everywhere be safe and protected.

May all beings everywhere live their lives with ease.

May all beings everywhere be healthy and strong in mind, body, and spirit.

May all beings everywhere be happy." 

The "jingles" hardly moved in the calm air. As I turned to leave the tree, I once again noticed the blooming lilacs, which I saw for the first time a few weeks ago. Yes, lilacs still blooming in November. Wondering why? The short story is that a blight in spring, plus unusual weather, as a friend stated, caused the lilacs to be drunk, thinking it was spring again in the warm autumn. For a more scientific explanation go here.  

I just about finished reading Suzanne Simard's book "Finding the Mother Tree, Discovering the Wisdom of the Forest." It's a good example of the power of intentions coupled with action. Suzanne was born and spent her childhood in the Monashee Mountains of British Columbia. Her family for generations were small time loggers as she grew up in the woods with a lake near her home. She eventually earned a forestry degree from the University of British Columbia and a doctorate in forestry from Oregon State University.

As one of the first woman scientist in forestry, the young Suzanne began challenging predominant forestry practices that viewed trees as independent from all others and who competed for  resources with all other trees and plants. Her early research showed that trees were interconnected through an underground  network, that included fungi, was not popular with policy makers within forestry. She was considered naïve. Nevertheless, Susanne persisted following her intentions by observing the forests and doing peer reviewed scientific experiments. Years later and now it is widely accepted that trees are interdependent and form complex and cooperative communities. Interdependency is now widely recognized as the hallmark of a forest with trees and plants connected through underground networks. At the center of the networks are Mother Trees who are major contributors to the health of the entire forest. Even when dying, Mother Trees send out important carbon to nearby offspring. 

The book's lessons of intentions and interdependency apply to our lives. Especially now, I keep these lessons in mind as I try to absorb the enormity of a second Trump administration . For now my intention is to gain emotional balance when fear and grief arise in me.  The following poem by Alfred K. LaMotte helps me. It reminds me to be grateful that I am part of a marvelous interdependent world.  

Election 

I voted.

I voted for the rainbow.

I voted for the cry of a loon.

I voted for my grandfather’s bones
that feed beetles now.

I voted for a singing brook that sparkles
under a North Dakota bean field.

I voted for salty air through which the whimbrel flies
South along the shores of two continents.

I voted for melting snow that returns to the wellspring
of darkness, where the sky is born from the earth.

I voted for daemonic mushrooms in the loam,
and the old democracy of worms.

I voted for the wordless treaty that cannot be broken
by white men or brown, because it is made of star semen,
thistle sap, hieroglyphs of the weevil in prairie oak.

I voted for the local, the small, the brim
that does not spill over, the abolition of waste,
the luxury of enough.

I voted for the commonwealth of the ancient forest,
a larva for every beak, a wing-tinted flower
for every moth’s disguise, a well-fed mammal’s corpse
for every colony of maggots.

I voted for open borders between death and birth.

I voted on the ballot of a fallen leaf of sycamore
that cannot be erased, for it becomes the dust and rain,
and then a tree again.

I voted for more fallow time to cultivate wild flowers,
more recess in schools to cultivate play,
more leisure, tax free, more space between days.

I voted to increase the profit of evening silence
and the price of a thrush song.

I voted for ten million stars in your next inhalation.

Another intention that helps me cope is to cultivate peace which is not always easy to feel. Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer's poem provides some helpful hints.

Toward Peace (June 10, 2024)  

Perhaps some part of me still believes
peace is a destination,
a place we arrive, ideally together.

I notice how shiny it is, this belief,
like a flower made of crystal,
beautiful, but lifeless,
 
devoid of the dust and scuff
that come from living a real day.
Meanwhile, there is this invitation
 
to grow into peace the way real flowers grow—
in the dirt. With blight and drought,
beetles and hail.
 
Meanwhile this invitation
to live in the tangle of fear and failure,
to be humbled by my own inner wars
 
and wonder how to find a living peace
right here, the peace that arrives
when we take just one step through the mess
 
toward compassion and notice
as our foot rises our heart also rises
and in that lifted moment
 
still scraping along in the dirt,
there is a peace so real we become light,
become the momentum that is the change.

Unlike the night of November 5th, for me, November 2nd was a peaceful day. Thirteen volunteers voted to continue maintaining Prospect Gardens. Here's the crew: (starting on the left and going clockwise), Marcel, Sheila, Alice, Becky, me/Jake, Gaon, Rajeev, Ryan, Gregory, and Ann. N., to the left of Gregory with the red pullover is Jim.  Thank you all for your good work. Not pictured are Ann B. and Laura.

This was my last session as crew chief. Becky, Ryan, and Gregory have stepped forward to form a management team. Thank you. I, like Suzanne Simard's old trees, will find ways of supporting the team.

Here are a pictures of  some of the November crew.

Rajeev and Gaon putting up orange snow fences; hopefully preventing city snow blowers from pushing snow into the Gardens. Both are seniors and members of the Leo Club. They are now busy applying to universities. This is the second year these two put up the fences. They worked so well together while exhibiting their problem solving skills. They didn't even need the ladder. 

Sheila and her friend Marcel pruned the raspberries and then cut back the upper section on the Regent side of the Gardens. The old faded picket fence is once again visible. 

Sheila and Marcel working together represent the support of both neighborhood associations. Sheila lives in the Dudgeon Monroe Neighborhood and Marcel lives in the Regent Neighborhood.

Here is another example of the long time support of residents from the two involved neighborhoods: Ann N. (with the hat) from Regent Neighborhood and Laura from the Dudgeon Monroe Neighborhood.  Both have been volunteering for years; Laura is from our original group of volunteers beginning in 2010.

They are on break which we always have. Time to talk and connect is an important part of our work sessions. 

Ryan tugging away at a vine while clearing out a Regent side section. In early summer Ryan returned to the neighborhood from working in South Sudan. He and his wife live nearby the Gardens. Ryan wants to ensure Prospect Gardens continues into the future. 

Becky and her great smile. She, like Ryan, wants to ensure that Prospect Gardens continues into the future.

As I already mentioned breaks are an important part of our work sessions. Here's Jim resting during a break when we enjoyed chocolate chip cookies, peanut butter cookies, and apples. Once again, Ann B, my wife, made sure we had treats. Thank you Ann.

I end with another Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer poem. More messages that allow life to flow through me as I adjust to the new political reality. Actions on my part in the continual struggle for justice, peace, and equality will emerge.

Because

So I can’t save the world —

can’t save even myself,

can’t wrap my arms around

every frightened child, can’t

foster peace among nations,

can’t bring love to all who

feel unlovable.

So I practice opening my heart

right here in this room and being gentle

with my insufficiency. I practice

walking down the street heart first.

And if it is insufficient to share love,

I will practice loving anyway.

I want to converse about truth,

about trust. I want to invite compassion

into every interaction.

One willing heart can’t stop a war.

One willing heart can’t feed all the hungry.

And sometimes, daunted by a task too big,

I tell myself what’s the use of trying?

But today, the invitation is clear:

to be ridiculously courageous in love.

To open the heart like a lilac in May,

knowing freeze is possible

and opening anyway.

To take love seriously.

To give love wildly.

To race up to the world

as if I were a puppy,

adoring and unjaded,

stumbling on my own exuberance.

To feel the shock of indifference,

of anger, of cruelty, of fear,

and stay open. To love as if it matters,

as if the world depends on it.