reflection on one year

One year ago today I started my new job as Stewardship Specialist at the Elkhorn Slough. Really I'm a land steward and nursery manager. My actual title doesn't explain very much about what I do. And on that first day at work I remember feeling overwhelmed. Of course. It's 1500+ acres, brand new greenhouse nobody wants to step foot inside, new faces, new place to live. All very new. I remember going back to my little room in Moss Landing and wondering if I had made the right decision . . . leaving Oakland and coming back home to a very small town.

One year later I know I made the right decision. So thankful for the quirky people who work here; all so different. The greenhouse cranks out plants. The volunteers come back time and again. The quiet times working the land. The birds and the lizards and the deer and the mice and rats and the bees. The connection to a place. It's all happening in a good way here.

It has taken a year to get a sense of this place. The plants and the soil. The paperwork and the commitments. The wind and the fog. The giant hearts. The singing maintenance man. Center of the Universe? I can't do it. I can't say it. But it is magic.