Earth Day in the Mountains

"Earth Day" has passed again amidst all the cries of "How dare you turn a blind eye to the catastrophe" and "we must do our part for the next generation". In the Estep house, we have always practiced "earth day", not once a year, but our whole lives realized as a need and use of what God has created for us. We teach our kids to plant and raise food. We learn how to care for animals for eggs, furs and meat. we clean up our area of trash and replanting to make the woods healthier.

We have always reused. Our grandmother's make salsa and pickled peppers in Tostito jars, green beans in mayonnaise jars and "leather Britches" dried on thread. There are two egg cartons that are constantly being refilled. We make bird feeders and houses from garbage. We have always recycled and retooled, we called that "been esteped" long before upcycling was a trend. My grandfathers made things work with what they had laying around, which wasn't much.

You see, we are mountain people. We climb these hills looking for mushrooms, ramp, ginseng and poke. We cut down trees and use all of it, for furniture, building, and heat. Then plant more. Our furniture was functional, before considered "rustic". It has necessary before considered "artisan".  We dig up the coal and re-shape the hollows for homes, business, and parks. We hunt these mountains to keep it balanced. We hike these streams to enjoy God's beauty. He gave us these hills and valleys and all of its bounty to use and subdue and work and benefit from. We have known the earth and celebrated what come from it with hard work, callused hands and bent backs long before skinny jeans and hipsters.

We are mountain people. Our hands are dirt stained, not from the sin of harming the earth, but from being in the earth. My heritage has dug, and moved, and shaped this hostile frontier home for generations to come. The gardens where planted by our parents and plowed again by grandkids who know the depth of potatoes and the rock in the soil. Our ground is fertile, not by chance, but from shoveling manure and the grazing of animals. Our cellars are full, not from handouts and supermarket finds, but the breaking of beans, heat of the canning fires and power of sweat tea. We have saved our seeds and shared our harvests. We have practiced community gardening and neighborhood efforts for survival not fad.

We are mountain people. We have lived with the earth. Our vehicles have bigger tires because they work hard on harder ground and we play as hard as we work. Our tools are stronger because they have to cut the rock and break against a force we built on. Our tools are sharper because they have to cut deeper with the force of our arms. Our boots are heavier because they have to dig in and climb. Our backs are bent forward because they work with strength.

We are mountain people. We know the earth. We celebrate as God gives. We pray over his work. We take care of the earth, because he told us to use it. We love the earth and celebrate what God has provided.

We are mountain people. We wish you would celebrate, care for, and use the earth with us every day.