This track is a reflection on the unpredictability that comes with climate change. My brother's family moved off the family farm, in part, because of climate change. Some of the towns just north of me, in Vermont, saw unprecedented levels of flooding this year, linked to climate change. People all over the world are having to come up with new plans or be ready to move. It's a different world from the one I envisioned as a kid, growing up in a house with connections so deeply rooted in a land-based rural economy. I didn't stop to think: what if the landscape fundamentally changes and all of our plans have to periodically shift to deal with weather-related anomalies?

I used to worry that humans were "destroying" planet earth. As a worry-wart kid, I literally lost sleep over this. And, don't get me wrong: I still worry about how we treat the planet. But I also have confidence that our earth has been through this before. To say that we are destroying planet earth is a bit naive, in the sense, that many creatures are far better equipped to deal with a changing climate than we are. Nature will always find a way, even if we don't. This might sound like a sad thought, and yet, I take comfort in this larger-picture mentality. We need to learn how to better take care of our ecosystems because doing so directly benefits us; not because nature "needs" human beings. In fact, most of earth's 4.5 billion years of history have done just fine without us....

And so, I want to remember to respect the larger creative project: all of the amazing kingdoms that are here, surviving against all odds. All of the amazing kingdoms that we depend on for food, natural resources, and clean water! How can we better navigate this changing world together in a way that is respectful of this greater web?

There is a road in my home county that closed after the Lake Delhi dam burst years ago. This wasn't news to most of the country but it was a HUGE deal in the area I called home: a big adjustment in a county with few paved roads leading to one consolidated high school. But people DID adjust over time. They also worked together to help out when the initial flood happened.

So I also want to remember that difficult things DO and WILL continue to happen. This is part of life and I want to be ready to respond in a positive way when they do. And, I've needed to adjust my mindset/expectations to live in a way that feels more connected to our changing natural world: so be it. I do not want to become a person paralyzed by the fear of change. Love, Leah