Grace Vanderzande; a small-town girl with big dreams. A blogger, newspaper columnist and author of her soon to launch second book. She farms outside Napanee with her husband.
Beans?
Hiking through the bush on the farm is a spiritual, physical, and mental journey. We learn from our surroundings in nature. I am grateful for this world which is to be cherished and protected.
Interactions with the creatures of the forest and the sheer beauty of the trees that tower overhead amaze me, calm my soul, and soothe my fears. There is always something new to find and experience. Ever since the first week we bought this farm we have walked, worked, and connected to the land.
One day while hiking through the bush in early spring, I found something that keeps me wondering. Kicking leaves is one of my favourite things to do. The emerging wildflowers had my head down. My boot tossed something up into the air. That little object keeps my mind racing. It confirmed my belief that we should be passing down stories.
This old rusty can has my imagination going wild. It was deep in the bush on a less travelled path. What do I really know about this farm? How could a can of, perhaps beans, be in the middle of our land? What kind of story does it hold? My best guess, it has probably been here more than half a century. I will tell you how I came to this conclusion. It was opened with one of those frightening old can-openers. You know, the sharp, jagged lid, cut your fingers off kind. Also, neither I nor anyone else I know has ever sat back here and ate a can of beans. Well…. maybe a prepared trespasser?
I had to write its’ story. Will it be fiction or creative non-fiction? Will this story go down in history as folklore? Possibly shared around a bonfire. A story which grows like a tall tale through the generations.
Someday, this old can may be on display and have its very own shiny plaque in a park. It will read “This can of beans has been on this safeguarded farmland for hundreds of years. The family that lived here had the forethought to preserve it knowing it was part of our history.” It has a story.
I am a grandmother who wants her children to care about and sustain the land. Storytellers are like that.
-Grace Vanderzande