Majestic March 2024 Almanac
Hope is … an orientation of the spirit, an orientation of the heart; it transcends the world that is immediately experienced, and is anchored somewhere beyond its horizons. Hope, in this deep and powerful sense, is not the same as joy that things are going well, or willingness to invest in enterprises that are obviously headed for early success, but, rather, an ability to work for something because it is good, not just because it stands a chance to succeed. Hope is not the conviction that something will turn out well, but the certainty that something makes sense, regardless of how it turns out.
― Vaclav Havel (contributed by Anthony Weston)
Dear friends,
If you were to walk the Streamside Trail through the woods today, you would see a very un-Springlike scene. The ground is grim with ash and devoid of undergrowth save for a smattering of Christmas Ferns. There’s the tang of smoke in the air and your steps stir up grey dust from charred pine straw. Scorched branches lay awry on the forest floor. You marvel that this burned landscape belies the quickened growth below, awakened by fire long suppressed, recalling its original nature and poised to arise.
Such is the state of about 20 acres of forest and fields, lit into new life by a carefully controlled February burn. Such a perilous process requires a community to undertake, and we had people aplenty show up and help out. Open this Almanac for a greater glimpse into this and other landmark events that are bringing us ever closer to outworking our values and visions on this land.
For example, our Conservation Easement grant application is complete, and the Eno River Association submitted it to the NC Land and Water Fund for consideration. We are prepared to commit 63 acres of waterways and woodlands into perpetual preservation because this is what our hearts tell us to do. Sadly, what we value most has been appraised for a fraction of what we paid for it, exactly because we have striven to protect large portions of this land from sprawling development and timber extraction from day one.
Hence the quote above. It inspires us to keep going; keep doing what’s most needed; keep deepening relationships with each other and the land. It’s the only thing that makes sense in a world on fire.
See you at Common Ground
