09/01/2026
“Nature will take back what is hers.”
- Proverb
I am so astounded at the sheer scope of nature and our small little place in it.
As a farmer, I watch nature, I play with her bounty, I seek to learn about the intricate web of her, the microscopics of her being.
I also try to tame her. I build fences, chop trees, and try to cultivate her. I fight her creatures great and small. I get frustrated by her stubbornness to conform to my needs.
Every morning and every evening I sit or stand on my porch and admire this little slice of nature I have to call mine. I may live walking distance to the beach, to tourists, restaurants, and little shops- but nature is still so alive here.
Today a bobcat drank from my pond and sauntered out and across the dahlia field. I was lucky enough to come outside at the perfect moment. It walked the path my groundhog ran earlier today- frantic to get away from me unseen. Not this cat- the bobcat stopped, took an uninterested look at my chicken coop and kept sauntering. Then it spotted me, following it. We made eye contact and it ran. But God it was beautiful and so wild looking.
My first thought was fear for my cats. They work on this farm just like I do and I saw how big this creature was.
I studied wild cats in college and never in my life had I seen a bobcat in Maine, in the wild. I know they are here, I just hadn’t been lucky enough.
This is my second sighting this week. One ran out in front of my car last week on a very busy street. I thought Wow! They are still here. Then the awe settles in. These gorgeous wild cats living right here on my property. Surrounded by the highway, construction, mono-cultured properties, yet they live on.
I’m stilled worried for my cats but I’m so grateful nature hasn’t thrown in the towel on us yet. I am so grateful to have this little wild space to let nature thrive.
