Turtle Rock Farm

God poured his being in equal measure to all creatures, to each as much as it can receive. This is a good lesson for us that we should love all creatures equally with everything which we have received from God.

– Meister Eckhart, Third Sermon
in Passion for Creation:
The Earth-Honoring Spirituality of Meister Eckhart
by Matthew Fox

It is great to have friends come and visit at the farm. There are so many experiences to share. My friend Karen came from Maryland over Memorial Weekend. On Friday evening we traveled an hour west to the Great Salt Plains to dig for selenite crystals. I have heard people talk about this for years, but had never done it myself. The digging had been closed for two years so we were fortunate that it had opened up just two weeks before we went. We had a very successful outing.

We went in the evening and also experienced the sun going out of view over the barren salt plains.

Karen enjoyed going to the garden before breakfast and picking strawberries to put on her cereal.

Several evenings we went to our neighbors to help feed the 20 orphaned kids and lambs.

On Memorial Day we traveled 40 minutes into Kansas to a “Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’ concert at the Bartlett Arboretum in Belle Plaine.

Before catching her plane, we went to the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement center near Billings to watch a weather balloon launch. This happens four times a day 365 days a year.

There’s nothing like having friends come to visit to get you out to see the local sights!

“I pay attention to what comes to my mind as I wake up.” Sage advice from Ann.

What came to Ann’s mind that morning was to put another super on the hive. What came to my mind was strawberries! During my recent four-day stay at Turtle Rock Farm, I came to relish picking strawberries in the morning. Not at the crack of dawn, mind you, but early enough to feel the cool morning breeze, the warm sun on my back; to hear the bullfrogs croaking; to see the lovely wildflowers as I walked to and from the strawberry patch.

I became engrossed in finding those juicy red treasures hanging under the leaves or nestling in the mulch. The container quickly filled with ripe strawberries, yet I found it difficult to pull away from the patch. “Oh, just a few more,” I’d tell myself, even as my mouth was watering from thinking about fresh strawberries on granola and local yogurt and my legs were letting me know that they had had enough.

Fortunately, I would hear the door open and then Ann calling, “That’s enough!” and that would be what I needed to be able to pick up the bounty and head for the breakfast table.

I’m most grateful to Ann, Pat and Turtle Rock Farm for such experiences that reconnect me to nature. The strawberries – whether on granola or in their scrumptious sorbet – tasted sweeter because I knew the person who tended the plants, I stood on the soil where they grew, I touched the plants, I picked and washed the berries. I’m grateful for that experience of connecting with all aspects of those strawberries and for feeling connected to and a part of nature.

Now that I’ve returned to Maryland, I’ll be putting into practice what I learned about and experienced at Turtle Rock Farm. I’ll be paying attention to what comes to mind in the morning. I’ll be finding ways to stay connected with nature first thing in the morning. And, lucky for me, strawberries are just coming into season here, so I’ll be busy pickin’. — Karen Ownbey