Badger Woods

When Thomas Gale and Cornelius Gilmore came to Steuben County in the 1830’s, they wrote about the forests, prairies, and crystal-clear water resources. It was a place of beauty, and they both knew they had found home. We are the recipients of their journey as we still have, almost 200 years later, one of the most naturally beautiful locations in Indiana. Pokagon State Park is one of our treasures and this spring was home to hundreds of blooming redbud trees. It was a magnificent site. We value our lakes and streams and strive to keep them clean along with our farm fields. Beauty lives all around us.

Within the next couple of weeks another source of great beauty is ours for simply a quiet walk, a click of the camera and the solitude of peace. I am speaking of the blooming of the field of lupines, known as Badger Woods, out by Anne Lake. Some of you have traveled there and know of which I speak. I first heard of Badger Woods a few years ago from Aimee and Nate Simons. It was the brainchild of Blue Heron Ministries as they took a dry, barren 13 acres in 2008 and decided it was suited for the planting of lupines. It is a not a secret, yet to many it is still unknown.

Lupines are thought to go back 2,000 to the Egyptians. They are typically known as legumes. They grow in well-drained soil and are deer-resistant and great pollinators! Their mythological purposes are said to bring imagination, creativity and renewal into play.

My bookshelf houses two wonderful books about these lupines. Most of these books are on the public library bookshelves, and maybe your own library! Tomie DePaola wrote, “The Legend of the Bluebonnet,” in 1983. This legend tells of the draught in Texas and the chief of the Comanche tribe telling the folks that they need to give up something they love for the gods to smile down upon them and bring the rain. They built a bonfire for these sacrifices. One of the children took her favorite cornhusk doll with blue ribbons to the bonfire to sacrifice for her village. That night the rains came and then came the bluebonnets, bold and blue in the Texas sunshine. It is a lovely children’s book about love and sacrifice. The bluebonnets hold a special place in the heart of all Texans…partly due to the legend and the beauty of the bluebonnets. Traveling to Texas during the spring brings all this beauty to the traveler.

In 1982 another book was published about the beauty of the lupines. This book, “Miss Rumphius,” was written and illustrated by Barbara Cooney. The story is taken from a true story and the life of Hilda Edwards Hamlin who planted lupines along the coast of Maine. In the story a young girl is challenged by her grandfather to “do something in your life to make the world a more beautiful place.” This book is charming in words and in art and is one of my favorite books to share with my grandchildren. They ask for this story over and over. I have owned several copies of this book as I often given them away…right off my shelf.

Sometimes beauty is difficult to express in words. It can only be experienced. We are so fortunate to have this beauty right out our front doors or just a few miles away. Our streets are tree-lined with the blooms of spring, our parks bring tourists from everywhere, yet here we are. Each stage of spring brings new beauty. My own backyard moves quickly over the spring weeks from the hundreds of daffodils in my garden to my beautiful crabapple trees out front. My pink dogwood is full of blossoms this year and tulips are still opening during the morning light.

Badger Barrens will become a place of amazing beauty within the next few weeks with special thanks to Blue Heron Ministries and their vision for providing this for all of us. When you go there, go quietly. Take one of the books mentioned or a poem…or a prayer. Take your walking stick to navigate the path. Take your kids or grandkids or friends. Tell them stories. Sit on one of the Aldo Leopold benches and appreciate the beauty of this world. Leave nothing but footprints and take nothing but memories. Remember to add to your own life, “do something in this world to make it a more beautiful place.”