Rewilding in Colorado
I’ve lived outside of civilization for two yrs now and while it’s a comfortable life with all the normal amenities, it’s offgrid and it’s wild! The majority of the 40 acres is a Piñon Pine, Juniper forest with many native plants showing themselves at different times of the year. Cricket and animal calls fill the air in the warm months and the wind rips through the valley on the daily.
It’s a harsh environment with extreme high temperatures in the summer and very cold temperatures in the winter. When you live in environments like this you find going with nature is the easiest way, that the plants and animals will show you how the year will be, like nature’s almanac. Different plants will be predominant each year, the earths way of saying “this is the medicine you’ll need this year.” It’s this connection that brings us back to the earth, to reconnect, to rewild yourself to your true nature. Once you become aware of how bountiful nature is you appreciate so much more of the wild side. You find words like “weeds” offensive, you look at the sky more and keep track of the moon, you know when it’s new you plant and when it’s full you fertilize. You learn the nature of water, and how it moves through the land, how it’s an unstoppable force when unleashed. You start to understand soil and why certain plants grow there, like an info tag of what is going on in the ground. When you become aware of these things going into town becomes the real chore. Like swimming against the current. It’s sporadic, unpredictable, it’s full of fake smells and moving without thinking. It’s in the past or future and never in the now. “ No room move down, move down!” It’s a mad hatter tea party and it never makes sense.
Rewilding is a gift. If you are given the chance to bring this gift into your life cherish it, embrace it, keep it safe and do your part to help it grow.