Northern flicker, eastern meadowlark, white-throated sparrow, black-capped chickadee - as we ambled on our morning walk around the Loop, we heard these birds and sixteen others, identified by the Merlin Bird ID app.

I scarce use my phone when I go coddiwompling, but the bird ID app has been worth the exception. It helps to "give me new ears" to hear songs I might not otherwise notice and train my brain to identify them. I love that our homestead has become a sanctuary for our feathered guests.

When we first moved here over 20 years ago, things were very different. What has now become our homestead was an empty pasture, mowed each year by a neighbor to keep the brush down.

While that was functional, it was also a monoculture of sorts, dominated by tall grasses. Now the same area has ponds, brush, light woods, prairie pockets, marshy bits, gardens, orchards, gravel patches, and more. The wildlife has responded, presenting us with a greater diversity of life each year. It is a wonderful blessing, and one of my favorite parts of homesteading.

Other things have changed in the last 20 years, too, and some of them not for the better. I invited our neighbor to stop by for a chat and some eggs after he noticed that the duck patrol had gone AWOL while he was out checking his bluebird houses. (Those feathered mischief makers had snuck around the fence along the property line and were headed into the nearby wooded swamp.)

As we were visiting, I mentioned that my husband was thinking of taking a position on the town planning commission. I'd heard at the annual town meeting this week that they needed people, in part because this neighbor was stepping down as chairman. (I currently serve on the Zoning Board of Appeals.)

The neighbor sighed, and for the first time I've known him, he visibly carried the full weight of his many years. He gestured, his right hand reaching with its pinky finger bent outward from an old farm injury that never did heal quite right.

He recalled how years ago, when the town hall meetings were still held in a one room schoolhouse, that there would be arguments where the disagreements were so heated that they would joke that the farmers faces would be as red as the pot bellied stove that heated the building. And still they would talk, and work things out person to person, and live in the community amicably after.

Now, things were different. Last fall there was a disagreement, and instead of talking things out themselves, landowners came with a lawyer, and the township had to have a lawyer present, too. He hesitated to share details, but he said it was like being attacked by an angry mob. After that, he'd had enough.

I've heard many versions of this story play out at various scales around the nation. Outsiders come into a community and bully the local population. It saddens me that people have lost respect for one another, and respect for local traditions. I don't know how we improve this dynamic as a nation, but I hope that we can start the mending within ourselves.

This Week’s Resilience & Abundance Boost

• Train your attention. Whether it’s birdsong, plant life, or people around you, noticing more helps you understand and respond more thoughtfully.
• Have one real conversation. Choose to talk something through face-to-face instead of letting frustration build or escalate.
• Start small with respect. A kind word, a listening ear, or a willingness to see another perspective can shift more than you think.
• Invest where you live. Attend a local meeting, help a neighbor, or simply stay engaged. Strong communities are built by those who show up.
• Mend what you can. You don’t have to fix everything. Just take one step toward connection instead of division.

Resilience isn’t just built in soil and systems. It’s grown in how we listen, speak, and care for one another and the world around us.

All our best to you and yours,

Laurie (and August IV, August V, and Duncan)

This week's featured articles...

The daffodils are blooming here, which means it may be time for pea planting soon. (Given the recent heavy rains, it may need a bit more time to dry out, but we dug some sunchokes today and it wasn't too soggy.)

We have you covered with pea growing advice from planting to harvest. I also added a dedicated article with more information on pea trellises, and one for freezing peas, my favorite way to preserve them. Nibbling peas out in the garden is one of my favorite summer treats.

We've been talking about sleep habits lately, as someone (*cough *husband* cough*) has turned into a night owl lately and eldest son has been restless. You can check out some tips for How to Sleep Better at Night – Naturally here.

Don't forget to capture some of that dandelion sunshine in a jar with this dandelion jelly recipe with less sugar. Dandelion fritters are fun, too. I spotted our first blooms of the season on our morning walk yesterday.

How did we go from compacted soil torn up from construction and a garden plagued with pests and weeds, to rich garden beds that grow three pound tomatoes and plants that hold their own when insect marauders show up?

It all starts with soil building, connected together with targeted strategies for specific weeds and pests. Neither pests nor weeds show up at random - they are clues that tell you what's going on in your garden more reliably than any soil test, if you know how to understand them.

I've pulled together what I've learned from decades of gardening experience into The Resilient Gardening System, where I teach you how to read what your garden is telling you - without fancy lab tests.

Soil analysis costs range from $10 to $50 for basic garden/lawn tests - and they only give you a snapshot at one point in time. Once you learn to read the signals, you can quickly identify problems and shift your care routine.

Whether you start with soil building or dive into a specific guide to deal with a problem weed or pest, the system works together to give you the tools you need to address garden troubles for good.

Grab your Resilient Garden System here - https://commonsensehome.thrivecart.com/the-resilient-gardening-system/​