Bluestem Meditations
Quiet Hour at Bluestem. Every Friday at noon.
Join us for a period of quiet reflection in nature. An hour of time to pause in our care for the land and to practice presence with one another on it. We attend to this reverent space where each of us is known, valued and cared for. Bring a camp chair, cushion, blanket, yoga mat, or sit on a cedar bench in the Sanctuary. Grab a self-guided meditation from the Barn and meander through the pathways using your senses. The quiet hour is open to the spirit of those gathered in it.
Laying Jingle to rest
Future chestnut eaters
Woodland gravesite
Feb 2024 Preparing a gravesite
Nov 2023 Burial service
July 2023 Bluebird babies
April 2023 Bluestem Pond
March 2023 Grassland Burn
January 2023 Grassland Prairie
October 2022 Natural Sanctuary
November 2022
Daisy's burial plot
October 2022
Trailbuilding by Volunteers
September 2022
Grassland edge
June 2022 Moss in the woodlands
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A Community Conservation MilestoneTen years ago, we set out to research and imagine a conservation cemetery for the Triangle, where natural burial would be integrated with the conservation of land.
Read the full reflection by Heidi Hannapel. Nature Has Always Given Me SolaceAs a Queer person growing up in rural North Carolina, I always felt like an outcast from society.
Read a poem by KAM. A Future for American ChestnutsI am grateful to Bluestem for the willingness to give a safe, long-term home to these young, 2nd year seedlings in the hope that not only I, but everyone who visits and cares for Bluestem, will have the opportunity to watch these trees grow into giants.
Read more by Cameron Prybol. To the Bluestem Volunteers on April 10Our father asked for only his family
at his graveside, so we were six. You were five. Read more by Laura Prange. Birding to BluestemWhen something happens that dramatically enriches the quality of your life it’s magical. When that special something serendipitously happens when you are newly retired, engaging in hobbies you have longed to explore post work-life, and reflecting on the purpose of your life henceforward, it is life changing.
Read more by Marie Cefalo. Serving on the Burial CrewI was really uncertain what closing a grave might be like.
What I observed however was a beautiful transformation, as the family opted to cover the site almost entirely on their own. With each shovel of dirt, slow murmurs turned into stories about their father, jokes being given, communion being built. What was once visible grief was being replaced by stories celebrating their loved one. Read more by James Gartrell Monitoring the BluebirdsEastern Bluebirds typically nest from March till August.
Their nests are 1-4 inches tall and made from neatly woven grasses or pine needles. They lay 4-6 powder blue eggs that are 1-4 inches tall. Motivation for monitoring the boxes includes removal of sparrows, starlings, paper wasp nests, and mice. Identifying the species of nesting birds allows the Bluebird society to not only track bluebird populations but also other native bird species. Read more by Caroline Ray Present and FutureAs we age, my wife and I have been thinking about our final resting place. For me, traditional end of life alternatives were not appealing. I wanted my body to go back into the cycle of life -- to feed other life. I did not want it pumped with chemicals and buried in an indestructible vessel or burned to add to the growing concern of global warming.
Read more by Steve Gartrell Early SaxifragesA rest
Burning of the fields This darkness Black ash attracts the sunlight Awakening green plants below To sprout and be fed so well Read more by Emily Stewart Closing the Circle,
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Writings on nature and experiences at Bluestem are welcome.
They are reviewed by community members and posted to this page.
Send submissions to Bluestem Meditations.
They are reviewed by community members and posted to this page.
Send submissions to Bluestem Meditations.
In the Poem Box at Bluestem
Love After Love, Derek Wolcott
The Economy of Days, Michael S. Glaser
Quilts, Nikki Giovanni
Floodwood Pond, Danny Dover
Eagle Poem, Joy Harjo
absence. displacement, Etel Adnan
Meadow, Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer
We Are of a Tribe, Alberto Ríos
What Begins, Danusha Laméris
In Any Event, Dorianne Laux
A Prayer for The Unknown, Cole Arthur Riley
Love Poem, Linda Pastan
Kindness, Naomi Shihab Nye
America, I Sing Back, Allison Adelle Hedge Coke
When Great Trees Fall, Maya Angelou
Gloria Mundi, Michael Kleber-Diggs
In the Fields, Jake Skeets
June Night, Sara Teasdale
Field Mark 6: Love Handle, J. Drew Lanham
Instructions On Not Giving Up, Ada Limón
Three Times My Life Has Opened, Jane Hirshfield
A Tribute to John Blackfeather Jeffries
Family Ties, Philip Martz
Essential Gratitude, Andrea Potos
The Peace of Wild Things, Wendell Berry
Excerpt from Who Will Be the Messenger of This Land, Jaki Shelton Green
Talking to Grief, Denise Levertov
The Sensualist, Jamie Hysjulien
The Economy of Days, Michael S. Glaser
Quilts, Nikki Giovanni
Floodwood Pond, Danny Dover
Eagle Poem, Joy Harjo
absence. displacement, Etel Adnan
Meadow, Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer
We Are of a Tribe, Alberto Ríos
What Begins, Danusha Laméris
In Any Event, Dorianne Laux
A Prayer for The Unknown, Cole Arthur Riley
Love Poem, Linda Pastan
Kindness, Naomi Shihab Nye
America, I Sing Back, Allison Adelle Hedge Coke
When Great Trees Fall, Maya Angelou
Gloria Mundi, Michael Kleber-Diggs
In the Fields, Jake Skeets
June Night, Sara Teasdale
Field Mark 6: Love Handle, J. Drew Lanham
Instructions On Not Giving Up, Ada Limón
Three Times My Life Has Opened, Jane Hirshfield
A Tribute to John Blackfeather Jeffries
Family Ties, Philip Martz
Essential Gratitude, Andrea Potos
The Peace of Wild Things, Wendell Berry
Excerpt from Who Will Be the Messenger of This Land, Jaki Shelton Green
Talking to Grief, Denise Levertov
The Sensualist, Jamie Hysjulien
