To say this summer was hard, would be a true understatement. There were many casualties and those of us that survived are left to find a silver lining among the suffering. For me, this summer was a time of release, reflection, and renewal. I didn’t escape unfazed, but with a deepened sense of gratitude.

The opportunity to usher in natural life is a gift. And, as with all gifts, there is a great responsibility – stated or implied. Growing is no longer an option. I grow for my ancestors whose blood soaked the soils I cultivate. I grow to continue the legacies of the heritage and heirloom plants Big Ag tries to bury. I grow to carry out the honorable instructions to use my gifts and dreams for good. I grow as an eternal expression of gratitude. I grow to reciprocate the gift. Ashe.