I’ve been lucky to spend a week on the Gunflint Trail, in a small cabin that happens to be for sale. While there, a real estate agent stopped by, and gazing toward the lake, made apologies for the swamp-like shore and made assurances that something could be done. I looked at the same landscape, admiring its perfection, and cringed at the thought of a flattened, sterile lawn.
The wildlife I’ve encountered just a few yards from the trail surprisingly surpasses my years as a BWCA guide. I attribute this fortune of nearly intimate meetings with moose, otter, fox, rabbit and loons to the wild beauty that surrounds the cabin. If there ever was lawn, it has naturally reverted to its wild native self. Are there mosquitoes? Sure! But there are also bats, birds, frogs and moose!
This yard is a bit wilder than many, but it is obvious that it is appreciated by the “natives.”
Even though we live on the edge of wilderness, I hope that our green spaces will be welcoming and safe for all creatures, managed a bit more like the natural world, without chemicals, rich with diversity, food for wildlife and humans and plenty of organic matter in all stages of life, death and decomposition. Whether we are in the city, a small town like Grand Marais or at the edge of wilderness, I think it would do all of us some good to reduce our tidy lawns and accept a bit of the wild in our landscapes.
Elise Kyllo
Grand Marais
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