I love exploring my farm Maggie. She is a tree farm and she has been in my family for 140 years. Why the name Maggie? Because she is majestic and magical.
In 1868 my great great great great grandmother Martha A. Maupin, who had crossed the Oregon Trail 18 years earlier, moved to a farm in the Kellogg area of Oregon.
Martha passed it on to her son Cap whose great nephew, my great grandpa, Eugene Fisher purchased it from him. Eugene died in March and passed it on to my grandma who will pass it to my mom who will pass it to me.
There are a variety of terrains, plants, and animals on her. Some of the terrains are riverfront, a small canyon, creeks and a geologically unstable area full of large crevasses. Some of the animals are elk, deer, black bear, cougar, bobcats, coyotes, foxes, beavers, otters, salamanders, frogs, lizards, centipedes, snakes, scorpions, eagles, great blue herons, and kingfisher. Some of the plants are oaks, Douglas firs, maple, and the dreaded invasive species scotch broom.
I once thought I killed a salamander there. I found him under a rock. He was a nice find and I wanted to show him to my grandpa. So I went to the barn used to store chemicals, got a coffee can, and filled it with dirt. Then I put the salamander in and showed him to Great Grandpa Eugene. Then the amphibian stopped moving and I thought the chemicals had killed him, but then he moved and he had just been playing dead.
I wrote these haiku on Maggie:
Resting in my hand
A salamander, yellow underside
Spring rain
A slug
Too close to my garden
Grandma remarks
Centipedes
crawling up and down
How many legs do you have
1 comment:
Hey Alex, This is your grandma Marcia writing to you. I love your essay. It brought a big smile into my heart and onto my face. It is so inspiring. I look forward to visiting you on "Maggie" Farm.
Your haiku is really beautiful. Look forward to reading more of it.
I love you, Grandma Marcia
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