Spring is the easiest time of year to celebrate the earth because burgeoning beauty is everywhere. Our connection to our 
environment is heightened. For the first time in many months there is color in our gardens and in the trees. Birds flit between branches like sparks of blue, red, and yellow. Warmth and the promise of plenty begin with the newly powerful sunshine being absorbed by Earth. Energy from a hundred million miles away is being gathered by our planet and stoking the incubator of life. As a sort of an Earth Day prayer, we like to get down on our knees, dig our fingers into the warm April soil, and feel life regenerating in our hands.
The riot of gold finches buzzing around the house distract us momentarily from the sensual feel and scent of Earth. It is the commonest of wonders but without it there is nothing. The dirt in our gardens is fueling those gold finches. The dirt is stimulating the micros that create fertility. It is nourishing and supporting the roots of our grasses.
Out here on the Great Plains the roots and root hairs of plants sometimes burrow twenty feet deep and amount to miles in total length. The mass of unseen roots is the part of our perennial grasses and make up nearly 70% of the plant’s living volume. They pump the sun’s energy into the soil. They suck carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and sequester it inside the earth. They move water from below, sort the oxygen from hydrogen, and give us the very air that we breathe.
The respirator of all the Wild Idea Buffalo ranches is the soil and the grasses that the buffalo walk upon. We take dirt very seriously out here. We work with Mother Earth to keep it healthy because the health of our buffalo and the meat that they produce depends on it. So turn you face to the April sun, breath deep, and know that you have a reason to celebrate Earth Day. It is your mother’s special day. She is watching out for you!
Celebrate with us from the Ground Up, and take advantage of our 25% off Ground Earth Day Special! Plus receive “free shipping on all packages” to your door, all at a neutral carbon footprint.
Comments 6
Lovely photos. Those butterflies must have found something really yummy.
As I read your essay and view Jill’s photos- I was transported back to a time where I placed my hands into Lyman County garden soil. I loved how it was full of insects – earthworms and sprouting seeds. I loved knowing that was organic and sustained life of every sort- the smell was clean- and how at the end of the day- I could smell sunshine and dirt as I washed up. Thank you for a moment away from the current urban world I know live in. The dirt is different here.
Good article and Great photos !!
Vive la nature et avec le printemps elle explose dans un concert de couleurs . Bravo pour votre contribution , par votre philosophie , vos articles et vos photos .
JP
Hi Dan, I just finished “Buffalo for the Broken Heart” It was to say the least, Majestic! every detail, you sent me into a world of great spirituality and gratitude. I flowed with your every word. I think I have fallen in love with you! Well your writing anyways. I’m Native American and you so, do,
have a pure heart. You are now in my heart, Thank you Dan, and I look forward to your sequel to “Buffalo for the Broken Heart”
I discovered u as a writer and rancher from a French TV program when
Gerard Klein came to visit ur ranch I since read Brendan Prairie and Buffalo for a Broken Heart.. Bravo and beautiful I was born in France but I have living in Canada for 41 years… Ths u for doing such a fabulous job.