I begin this first column of the new year by saying “thank you” for continuing to read my Sunday musings. This January begins my sixteenth year of submissions to our hometown paper. Morris Raphael began this space in The Daily Iberian with his weekly column, Bayou Browsing. He wrote of events and happenings around town, both past and present, with decorum and expertise. I am totally humbled to have made a contribution, albeit very different from his content, to The Daily Iberian and its readers for this moment in time.

The new year snuck in with humidity, mosquitos and red geraniums blooming profusely at my back door. It was an odd start of winter with curses of COVID lurking, horrific fires in Colorado and Lafayette, and red tomatoes on a renegade tomato plant that emerged from a compost heap. My hens, sort of, knew it was December though, they mostly quit laying as the winter equinox emerged and the days became shorter … they understood. But much of nature seemed confused with warm weather and air conditioners on and people last minute Christmas shopping in shorts. It was odd.

I think about nature always and write about it often; it is both my sanctuary and my concern. While I have no scientific background or education in the matter, I am, and have been for all of my life, an observer, dare I say, a keen observer. I worry about the decreasing habitats for our wildlife and the normalization of the heavy use of chemicals in our food supply, while I appreciate the colossal challenge to supply housing and food for our ever-growing population. I do know that all of the above comes with a price to our environment. Anyway, as I said, I am not qualified to be more than an observer … I have no solution, therefore I have no effective “voice.” I can, however, take good care of my small space, I can try to be a better steward. In this new year, I plan to grow more of my own food, plant only native, leave the meadow, leave the leaves, consume less and be more aware. It is only me and something small but as Pete Seeger once wrote, “The world will be solved by millions of small things”.

While I am in this somewhat of a “negative” slant with this writing, and I apologize for this adverse vibe, I would like to interject something positive … we all have a lovely small town in which to live and raise our families and spend our energy and time. I am writing this at the beginning of 2022 to appeal to all who may be reading this, to do the small things to make our space on this gigantic sphere work in harmony, to make it the best it can be, to be the solution to a problem that is before you. There are numerous names I could list here that are committed to doing just that, community conscious people that are trying to make our hometown the best it can be. I appreciate their efforts, I hope to also be, however small, a contributor, not a complainer … that is my new year’s resolution. To quote Pete Seeger again, “It’s been my belief that learning how to do something in your hometown is the most important thing.”

The Full Wolf Moon will rise on January 17 and, on January 13, Skip and I may have a grandson; I may discover another chamber of my heart that houses even more love than I knew possible. I may discover, yet another reason, to take care of all that I can, to do my tiny part to make the whole a better place. Best wishes for 2022 … bloom where you are planted and, perhaps, plant where you live.

PAM SHENSKY is a wife and mom to five.