June 10, 2022

**Wild Mignonette (***Reseda lutea)* in bloom. Reseda is Latin meaning “to soothe.” *Photo Credit Lauren Ruhe.*

On Sunday the sun came out. As we scouted the fields, making our lists for the week, Brad and I came to the full row of Wild Mignonette. Actually, we heard it before we saw it. Humming and alive with insects, the 160 foot bed of plants are stunning right now. I know it's bloom season because my nose tells me so. Reseda lutea has a very shy fragrance, and only in the right conditions - warm sunlight and a critical mass of open flowers, can one catch the gentle vanilla-citrus aroma wafting in the air.

I stood there, near the 4 foot tall blooms, and watched the insects work. Of special delight was the sheer diversity of pollinators. Often, in a patch of single-variety blooms, you find a specific type of pollinator. The bumblebees love comfrey, the honeybees love crimson clover and mustards, the native bees congregate at the oregano and figwort.

But here, here at the Wild Mignonette, we saw a veritable who’s-who of pollinators, all going about their missions, with no animosity, no running into each other, no conflict or resource hoarding. It was just a well-played, improvisational symphony. An awesome moment that absolutely none of us had rehearsed.

After a long, reverential pause– a pause full of joy that we had grown these plants from seed, tended them carefully, transplanted them out here, watered and weeded until they were big enough to take it from there- I said to Brad, “Doesn’t this make you feel good? Our little act of generosity took hold in the world. We planted and tended and loved, with no expectation of return or payment or harvest of any form. This reminds me that sometimes, it’s possible to get it 100% right.”

On Wednesday, at Fruit Valley Elementary, we met up with Miguel Sosa, a local chef Brad and I had asked to support our Farm to Heart program by attending our CSA pickups. His role was to be a role model for the kids in our program, while helping to explain and extol the goodness of seasonal vegetables and inspire families to try new ways of eating our produce.

At one moment, Miguel described to one of our mothers, (a fabulously good cook in her own right), the way he dresses kohlrabi with lime and chilies. The conversation in Spanish continued to flow back and forth, Miguel teaching and learning, and our mother learning and teaching too. One asked, “How do you cook the beet greens?” Then the other asked, “How do you cook your beets?” Meanwhile, our Farm to Heart families came in a steady stream around them, picking up their vegetables. Big smiles, welcoming greetings, words of thanks and gratitude floated around the room.

I stood back, recognizing that familiar warm glow of light in my heart.

I thought, “Yeah. Sometimes it’s possible to get it 100% right.”

These moments? These are what I love most about land and community stewardship. When all the planning and working, all the tending and loving, all the careful attention and seeding of encouragement, all this germinates, bursts forth and blooms into something more vibrant, connected, and beautiful than I ever could have hoped for.

We get it 100% right when we don’t hold too tightly to the outcome. We get it right when we focus on the integrity, the intention, the love in every act of the work itself.

Don’t get me wrong. Nothing is ever perfect. Nothing is ever fixed forever. But that is simply what makes any success all the more precious – the sheer audacity that the amazing Mignonette blooms, the unbelievable symphony of pollinators, the universal languages of gratitude and joy – sometimes it IS possible to get it 100% right.

It’s good to remember this, and in fact it’s imperative that we don’t forget.

It’s imperative we speak up and share the moments that set our hearts aglow.

Notice the good. Celebrate the beautiful. Applaud the kindness. May such precious times spread and flourish.

All that we ultimately have to give is attention and devotion. ~AJ