Upon returning to the forest this spring, I made the decision that I would sell it.

I thoroughly enjoyed my 4 years spent developing the forest, but in this process, I came to learn something about myself.

I’m not really a forester.

It was fun learning forestry management, blazing trails, planning better drainage, constructing a durable building and running power to it underground. I enjoyed attacking the invasive species and opening up the forest for enjoyment. While the black mold was annoying, I happily found success in eliminating it through research and smart thinking.

But it was the building process that I enjoyed…the mastery of a new skill. It wasn’t the spending time in the forest, listening to the birds and watching for white tailed deer. I think if I were a different person, I would have enjoyed the being-in-the-forest part more, but we are who we are.

One of my early fantasies was that my children (and their children) would come to visit the forest frequently, to picnic, and perhaps to camp. While all of them visited at least once, they all lived far away – too far to regularly visit.

I also had a view of the land itself that changed over time. Originally, I owned the land, and it was a part of my family’s heritage. But later, I came to understand that no one really owns a piece of land. We may own the use of the land for a period of time…sometimes a very long period of time. But in the end, we really are just caretakers.

So I sold the land to a nice family who are active in youth counseling. They intend to use it as a place where the young adults can come to explore, picnic, and camp out overnight. A very good use of the land.

On the day of the closing, I visited the property one last time, and was pleased to see the wildflowers that I had planted were in full bloom and were plentiful. I felt good, and at peace.