(leaving as a placeholder for some AI generated excuses for not blogging). The draft has been in my head!
Yes, with last weekend being Mother’s Day, celebrating was held here Saturday at home here that we call “Ursa Acres” or “Ursa” or just often “the universe.” There was home cooked food, family, flowers, and cards. I’ve written more than a few posts about my mom, who I am more than sure would have loved and welcomed like her own, my Cori. Mom’s photo is smiling at us both now, from the family photo wall in our dining room.
But this post is solely to celebrate the mom that I live and love, Cori, who was a heroic single parent before I met her, and whose compassionate, generous, and always on radiant love I can see shaped her daughter.
She has that same level of love too (more of the tough firm love) with her high school students, being one of those teachers who student gravitate to, because she gives so much and also, wont put up with any of your s*** (from me either). There are the crowds of previous students now out in this world, who still call, message, ask for help, share photos of their new babies.
And how did we continue the Mother’s day weekend? Well on Sunday we were both in our work jeans, hands in the dirt, swatting misquitos, out in our field planting a few hundred new trees. It was eight plus hours followed by a few more of stiff and soreness.. and pure joy.
Cori and I both say often how we do not know anyone else who would be part of this crazy dream we have to “rewild” our 16 acre rural property. We are creating a landscape by not doing certain things (cutting grass), letting the land go/grow, transplanting stuff growing on what part of the property to another, shoving poplar cuttings into the ground with the small change they might root.
We plan to turn much of the open space into a forest, here in the unlikely setting of the open Saskatchewan prairie, whe mostly trees have been cut to clear for planting, or when they are planted they are in a single line of trees on the perimeter of a house.
Our mode is never as neat as straight lines, it’s all curves and tangles.
I am again so happy to love someone who loves be back so fiercely, who is a dedicated advocate for justice and students and the environment. My mom would adore this one.
Ahh, the universe. That was our name for the feeling when we first spent time together, a place where it felt like the entire world faded to the distance, leaving us in a universe… on a porch in a suburban lot. We touch and feel that universe all the time. The photo above? That one Cori gets the credit, from one of the nights recently where we stopped what we were doing to go outside and take in the northern lights. And Cori’s keen eye caught the stars of Ursa Major, like dipper pouring light downward on us.
Greetings from our universe, it’s just pure joy to be here. I love you, Cori.
This post is for you, darling 😉
Featured Image: Ursa and Northern Lights by Cori Saas, shared with me and I bet everyone else. Since the photo was portrait orientation, it was set on a black background to better fit the featured image format, and then filled in using a bit of Photoshop Generative Fill (see I do use a wee bit of AI).
A hundred years from now people will be driving by and wondering how did that little knot of 16 acres get so many trees on it?! And why do all the critters seem to gravitate towards it? They’ll be jealous of the critters.
100 years? I want it sooner! But yes, that’s the plan.