Our Names are Written in the Land

We went to an outdoor gathering this weekend, held at a home that overlooks a small glen with the Cub River running through it. I couldn't believe how beautiful it was as I looked out over the green pastures below, spotted with horses and their colts, sheep with their lambs, and a few llamas. As I looked further at the rolling foothills covered with a kaleidoscope of green, and then to the mountains beyond, I couldn't think of a more peaceful setting. It reminded me once again of what Ireland must be like....that IS why I moved to Utah, because Sardine Canyon reminded me of the Ireland of my dreams. I've always thought it odd that, after moving here, I found out Utah was a desert land! I hope that each of you have discovered the beauty of your land and that you embrace and explore it.

I just read a book, "Sarah, Plain and Tall," and in it a woman comes from Maine to live on a farm on the prairie. The book (and movie) tell how she learns to love her new husband and his children, and finally, the land. During an especially harsh summer under drought conditions, she goes back to Maine with the children until the situation improves. Her husband stays on the farm because, "his name is written in this land, " and he will not leave it. When rain returns to the land, she returns to continue her life with her family. The first thing she does when she returns is to get a stick and write her own name "in this land," signifying that she, too, will never leave it again because it is now part of her. I love that story, and as I and my daughters have left our home land for new territory with our husbands, we must come to a time when we write our name in the land and take it for our own.