Life in Unimaginable Places
Since the sun began to shine in Seattle this summer there has been a major change in our gutter cleaning work. Primarily, the rise of plants.
For at least eight months of the year rain, dirt, and decaying plant materials, leaves, pine cones, sticks and twigs reign supreme in the gutter. But when the sun begins to shine something magical happens in Seattle. With a little light, those troublesome troughs of rotting plant debris become perfect little nurseries for sprouting saplings and weeds of all kinds.
I have been reading a collection of essays by William Bryant Logan called “Dirt” and I am frequently surprised how a little contemplation on something as elemental as the soil beneath my feet reveals both great mystery and great majesty. The soil is of course the womb from which plant life springs, but it is also like a biological heaven on earth where all things return and upon returning facilitate new life.
This is a profound truth of life on Earth. It is funny to consider that the gunk clogging our gutters is the very substance that may cause the miracle of life.
So when you stand in your back yard and look towards the summer sky, it is worth asking yourself: are my gutters the womb of life?
