Earth Day and a farming heritage

It's been "Earth Week" at the Kenison home. We've been working hard to care for and beautify the little plot of earth that legally "belongs" to us. We've spent several hundred dollars and (what feel like) several hundred hours tilling nutrients into the flower beds, planting new bushes, covering everything with mulch, and preparing for flowers in a few weeks. It's exhausting work for middle-aged people more used to sitting in front of computers!
My Daddy was a farmer. He knew how to work and care for his earth. He was raised on a homestead in the Uinta Basin where he learned the trade; after a few years in other vocations, he realized his dream and purchased a farm in West Mountain. He was able to work it for 5 or 6 years before an accident ended the dream. But he had passed on appreciation for the earth to his young son. I didn't follow in his footsteps, but I do love to garden and landscape, and always feel a kinship to my Dad when I get REAL dirt on my hands.
I've always loved the famous photo called "The Blue Marble," taken from Apollo 17 in 1972 from a distance of 18,000 miles away from Earth. Our planet, that seems to large to us, is really so tiny in the vastness of the solar system, and even tinier in the broader galaxy or universe. But it's beautiful, and it's all we have! I continue to grow in awe and wonder for the marvelous planet we live on, and #GiveThanks for the majesty and variety of creation. As I have the chance to explore and experience more of the earth, that amazement only grows greater. How critical it is that we care for our beautiful planet!




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