The 1960’s hosted the “Back to the Land” movement with communes, Fox Fire Books, Acclimatization, New Games, Folk music, power to the people, widespread introduction of recreational marijuana and discussion of social issues with passion and action.
This past weekend I time travelled back to 1969. Four of us armed with mellifluous guitar, sparkling banjo, gliding dobro and a thundering elephant-sized bass fiddle arrived on a quiet forested quarter on the north side of Alberta’s McCloud River. White-tailed deer scampered across our path, Western Grebes cackled from the wetlands and the dogs greeted us along the aspen-lined gravel road leading in to a little bit of paradise. Brian and Jan hold down this 120-acre wood and pasture mix across flower beds, large fenced garden, wine, beer, and rum making stores, deck and hilltop view out across the forest. It was here that we spread out on the shady deck to take our rest and talk about the issues of the day.
We were there ostensibly to play music in preparation for an upcoming bluegrass festival to which our participation was requested. Given that we haven’t played together for 18 months it was also a fun reunion of us rusty pickers who make up the Morningside Bluegrass Band. And as the infomercials bark: “But wait! There is more!”- we actually took off our shoes and and set a spell too; three days worth in fact.
First off, Earth Mama Jan continually dredged up homemade salsas, jelly from the Saskatoon bush by the deck, garden vegetables from the massive (tractor-tilled) garden, and farm fresh eggs from the neighbor’s chickens.
Brian man-handled the charcoal grill with aplomb delivering marinated short ribs and steaks that we chased with his homemade wine, rum, beer and home-squozeled apple juice.
I found myself humming that old Woodstock tune “Gotta get back to the Garden . . . “
One very nice surprise was that our brains held tightly to what we had learned in previous years as confirmed by playing non-stop, without music for six-hour stints recalling our parts, words, timing and endings.
Or, turn on your speakers and click on a bit of improvisational swang music from the Shoppery.
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/0ezvuj1p0vadp9i/AAAJmR_YbRAfSR1VZtx0FtmEa?dl=0
Each day we took time to get some light exercise via mountain bike ride, canoe paddle on the slough, or an hour of forest walking with the dogs in the cool of the day on the trails Brian and Jan mow annually. We saw moose tracks, whitetails scattering ahead of us, and shady temples of old growth aspens. We marveled at a few of Brian’s favorite oddities like the medicinal Chaga fungus he harvests from a couple of birch trees and the genetically malformed spruce tree that creeps and spreads horizontally like a bath mat.
The land speaks to these two successful back-to-the-landers. Brian, who retired as a reformed worker in the oil patch is now a student of the environmental effects of development proposals and is a pretty good opponent of destructive development. Though Jan, as a retired endangered species biologist, might complain about human over-population and the earth burden we bring, she is also helping with community gardens in town and developing housing for the homeless in the rough and tumble oil town of Edson 30 km down the road.
Letting cleared land return to woodlands is an anathema to most homesteaders and ag folks who worked so hard to clear it, but a forest resurgence fits with the land ethic Brian and Jan have settled on.
Having tended this quarter section for well over a quarter century now, they know what they want from it and it is not primarily profit, rather, they want environmental quality and a peaceful existence. Thus, they no longer need to wring the land like a sponge to collect a few dribs and drabs of income.
It is easy to see the positive land changes that come from a gentler treatment and the landscape-scale recovery process. The sprinkling of flare stacks once obvious are no more; there are fewer people throughout the forest, the compressor station a few km away is shuttered and no longer produces the low distant hum; and the constellations pop to visibility in the inky night sky. The wildlife has seeped back in; cougars, black bears and the occasional grizzly wander through, drawn no doubt by the abundant deer, moose and elk repopulating this forest/agricultural fringe. Water is back so the wetland is rife with nesting waterfowl, rails, loons, shorebirds and raptors. The landscape, once sliced and diced, is actually improving now as the seismic cutlines grow over; the road network and pipelines will see some abandonment and de-mobilization; and the trees that were clear cut at one time have returned with a vengeance. This land is paradisiacal to visit and just be in.
The 60-year old Quonset hut that still sees duty for tractor re-builds, potting shed, cold room for fall harvests, welding shop, and winter storage. Today, it was our musical escape venue as Brian dubbed it the “Grand Ole Shoppery”.
The arched self-supporting roof creates dual parabolic roof lines and abundant space for musicians (and dogs) to settle in on the cool concrete floor to play music all day both uninterrupted and uninterrupting! It was easy to drift into the wee hours. Cool in the day and warm in the night. What a joy!
There have been some great drag-up congregations of pickers in a makeshift gypsy camp on the land too. Click the link below — music starts 40 seconds in.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/pf44ca72ikp0bfg/Learning%20Place%20to%20hide.MP4?dl=0
While the land takes on its new character, the living, hosting and welcome we received comes as a great gift to us. Clearly, the mowing, straightening, effusive flower beds, bunkhouse bedding, home-grown cuisine, well-graded road, shop, high-test beverages, wireless connectivity, trails, and lodging are the product of months of work each year. This bucolic setting holds none of the fru-fru pretension affected by some commercial B & Bs; this the pragmatic and aesthetic Jan and Brian live. Here, a wood shed actually holds wood for home heat, not as some visual mood-enhancing prop.
All we really have to offer in return is appreciative conversation, some music, a deep appreciation that there are retirees who focus their efforts on actually stewarding an environment My only two hopes are that we can do this again and maybe reciprocate some day. This was a very special weekend and something tells me the festival performance will be anticlimactic to the practice session. Thanks Jan and Brian!
