Grounded Traditions

There's a certain sense of renewal that I find from the land and the seclusion on the family Ranch. This stay has been especially sweet. I have been able to relax more deeply and feel the quietness from within. Every morning the valley is full of low hovering coastal mist but the mountains to the east can be seen above them from the ranch house. Today the sunrise turned the sky into flames above the mist.

Being present for the autumn traditions reminds me of my childhood and all the exceptional life experiences that were gifted me by the ranching lifestyle, my grandparents values and the adventure that nature provides children. I don't have the heart for hunting but I'm able to appreciate it as a ritual and the fruit of the earth that was bestowed on Dad and Aubrey this morning, a towhead buck giving his life. It provides an experience that maintains stark awareness of the life that gives itself for our nourishment and it connects us to the legacy of grandpa Del, his generations traditions that are fading from modern society. Tomorrow morning we're doing a cattle roundup to send calves to the auction. If the buck has hung long enough we can start packing the meat. I may wander through cow pastures and swamps to pick wild mushroom and edible puffball as I have twice already. Hunters and gatherers.