The Day a Salamander Made Me Cry

I’m laying in bed working on this website, feeling frustrated with the fresh snow, it’s April and I have inches of fresh snow outside!! I hear the kids in the kitchen, “Mom would want to see!” Elden is asleep in my arms and Ryan is trying to protect his sleep. Finally they convince him that they have to show me, and in they bring a salamander!

I could cry, I did cry, I am crying. It’s a salamander and it’s making me cry happy tears of joy. I have always loved amphibians, even as an “adult” with no children I would collect tadpoles to watch them grow. These tears are more than happy memories salamander hunting as a kid. We bought this property with zero experience and really no idea what we were doing. I truly believed we would plant some seeds, get some animals, keep everything organic, and bam clean delicious food.

Yes I really am that naive, and if I’ve lived my 37 years this way so I highly doubt it’s going to change.

Turns out the soil is dense thick clay, uninhabitable after years of compaction from tractor work. The water just flows over it, never absorbing deep. We moved here at the end of 2020, that winter we didn’t see a single bird. That spring there were a couple crows but that was about it.

Like many new farmers I am having to heal years of abuse and neglect. The soil needs so much love, and we have been working hard for 2 years. Last year the birds came back. Seeing the barn swallows build their nest was so joyous. Eloise leaves seeds out for “friend” birds and my heart bursts.  Last year we found a few frogs and I knew we were on the right track.

The amphibians are coming back!!! This is our 3rd spring here, and our first year ever seeing a salamander.  Amphibians are a sign that life is returning to this patch of land, a sign that what we are doing is a step in the right direction. It is so exciting to get confirmation from nature that we are on the right track.

Amphibians are called an indicator species.  They are very sensitive to changes in the environment and very sensitive to toxic chemicals.  Their return means that our efforts have already made a positive impact. We made the world, our world a little tiny bit better, and the amphibians are back to say thank you.

As we heal the soil, the wildlife will come back. As the wildlife comes back we will have new challenges, and so it goes on the farm.

Have a happy healthy hippie day.