Why I'm a Tree Hugger

As you can see, I'm about the luckiest person in the world to get to live in what is possibly one of the most beautiful places in the world and growing more extinct by the minute--the family farm. I grew up here, built a place here in 2006, and am lucky enough to get to raise my boys here as well. My goal is to live here the rest of my life. We know our neighbors, love our neighbors, and have the best neighbors in the world! Anyone who has lived around us for less than 30 years we would consider "new neighbors," and of course we welcome them with kolaches and a warm welcome.

I take a long walk every night on our property or the nearby roads after my kids are in bed (whether it's 0 or 100 degress or even pouring rain), and am always stunned at the beauty surrounding me. No matter what a shit day I've had, going on my walk never fails to put things in perspective.

In 2006, this peaceful existence was threatened when a shady developer bought a plot of land 2.5 miles away and filed plans to put up a d/rag s*trip! I was horrified. Someone came to my door with a petition to try to block it, and I jumped on that train, got really involved, spoke in front of the county commission, met often with our neighborhood group, attended hearings at the courthouse, researched economic failures of other strips to present to the cty board, emailed the board on several occasions, prepared a speech to deliver at the hearing, and got to know all the neighbors really well. It was such a bonding experience; some people I'd known just generally from church or whatever, but we all really got to know each other after this. And such diversity in our group, too! We had gay couples, a minister, Mennonites who home school, the wealthy, the poor, the old, the young, from every walk of life. All of us brought together for one purpose: to stop this horror from happening in our backyards.

And thank heaven we did! B called me the afternoon before the hearing and said the developer decided not to present. We wore him down finally. Even one of the commissioners emailed me personally to tell me. There were some people who were FOR this horror wrecking our land, and I still feel so strongly about the issue that I have trouble not getting over it with these people, however mostly the relationships have been repaired. Still, our group now is a model for other groups trying to stop development. If I didn't work full time I would be devoting myself more to this cause which I feel stronger about than any other, on par with healthcare.

"People are more important than insects or animals," is the defense of people who have no respect for the environment. I don't get it. How is wrecking our land "for the people?" How is looking at steel and concrete supposed to be more inspiring than looking at wheat fields or grass or flowers?

Lately the big local issue is whether to save the tiger beetle. Some articles in the local paper are quoting that "economic development" (read: making developers more wealthy) is more important than a bug, and that we're "losing" $88,000 per beetle that we save by not paving over them. Let's see...would I rather spend the money on a beetle or put it in the pockets of someone who wants to force us to stare at concrete and tract homes...I vote for the beetle!

(Below is what my backyard would have looked like had we lost...)