A Sense of Place

What do you love about the place where you live? Is it the little hummingbird that comes to your feeder? Or that rose you planted ten years ago that still blooms each year?

Is it the sound of the spring peepers in the marsh across the street, singing you to sleep at winter's end? Or the thunder and rain that makes the air smell so sweet?

Is it the stray cat that steals a meal wherever she can? Or the old hound dog that has been your best friend for years?

Is it the morel mushrooms that surprise you as they pop up once in a blue moon? Or the spring beauties with their pink-striped white flowers, dotting the edge of your yard?

Is it the intoxicating scent of your lilac bush as it gently swirls in your bedroom window at night? Or that annoying robin that starts to sing hours before the sun appears each morning?

Is it the northern lights that danced in the sky back in 1990? Or the Big Dipper and Milky Way that enchant you at night?

Is it the lullaby of the crickets on a hot summer night? Or the yipping of coyotes in some distant field?

Is it the paper wasp nest hanging from that branch in the corner of your yard? Or the bee hive you carefully tend?

We protect that which we know and love. A sense of place grows strong conviction and the more we get to know that place we call home, the more we will protect it from harm. Maybe we are letting people hurt the Earth and the land we love because we don't get out so much anymore. We don't know the peeper or the paper wasp or the robins like we used to.

Do you love the sand dunes? Do you love the Great Lakes? Do you love the coastal shores? Do you love the great north woods that we call Michigan? Our wild lands, waters, lakes and rivers? Our bears and moose, elk and wolves? Our geese and cranes, deer and mushrooms? Our sunsets and sunrises, our clean fresh air?

We protect that which we know and love. Where is your love? Are you willing to protect these things?