THE POWER OF THE HORSE PERSISTS... Despite and beside technology.

written by

Drausin Wulsin

posted on

March 30, 2014

download-(1).jpg

These noble beasts spent last night with us, and most of them ended up on our lawn this morning, in mischief and with calling cards, before going to work. They belong to neighbor, Ernest Martin, who is partnering with Landis Weaver to grow 15 acres of organic corn on our farm, for Landis' dairy.

We have some ambivalence about this project, due to the tilling of soil and release of carbon, but are willing to look and learn. Horse-powered tillage of organic corn on-the-farm may leave less carbon footprint than tractor-powered corn imported by diesel truck from 60 miles away. So, we will observe... In the meantime, this planting will lower Landis' cost of feed. And for us, it is certainly inspiring to witness these skilled young draftsmen at work with their beautiful animals.

009.11748d3.jpg
012.1.jpg

014beebb2.jpg017.jpg


More from the blog

Sacred Place

It is a privilege to know a sacred place, as I feel I do. In some ways, it seems sacred places are supposed to be scarce and remote, like Stonehenge, Chartres Cathedral, the Taj Mahal, or abandoned Pueblo dwellings. Large landscapes, like the desert, ocean, or mountain ranges feel imbued with the divine. Alaska, the Amazon, and the Serengeti invite a sense of awe. One travels to such places, in pilgrimage. And sometimes such places reorganize the pilgrim's sense of order, inviting disorder or change, that can be both painful and uplifting.

Big Muddy

Here is the Lower Mississippi River, 45 feet below normal pool. Over Thanksgiving, Susan and I shoehorned ourselves onto a cruise ship to learn about the lower Mississippi and its bayou. We started in Memphis and ended up in New Orleans, with stops along the way to explore river towns. This river is the third longest on the planet, providing drainage to 40% of North America. It has historically deposited silt yearly in its floodplains, producing topsoil 120 feet deep, making these soils some of the richest in the world. Vast wetland forests grew beside its banks, of cypress, oaks, and sycamores, populated by a rich array of black bears, deer, bobcats, alligators, and aquatic life. This was the legendary bayou.

Streams & Souls

Streams and souls seem to share character. They are life-giving, they are coveted, they can be impeded, they can be channelized, they can be overwhelmed, they flood, they dry up, they flow downhill, they are a force of both change and constancy, they lie at the center of a community, they will not be denied, and because of this great complexity, they attract periodic resistance. So, it seems that streams may serve as a metaphor for the journey of the soul.