Dreaming Hard

We walked 40 acres east of Lincoln last week, and while no piece of land will ever be ideal, this one has over 10 acres of hilltop prairie already on it, with an equal size corn field ready for restoration as well as trial / seed beds. We'll walk another one later this week.

I don't know how to afford land, let alone make a life on it. Starting a business requires keeping overhead low, but there comes a time when you also have to leap. I see this business and our permanent home on 40+ acres as an ethical calling -- only a small part of the land will be used for a nursery, event space, artists residency; the majority will be creating wildlife habitat, selfless ecology, defiant compassion. With less than 1% of the tallgrass remaining -- one of the most endangered ecosystems on the planet -- wildlife still live that need these places. As climate change exacerbates habitat loss, every patch matters, especially when connected to others.

Maybe my head is in the clouds. Maybe I'm all talk and no action (my worst fear). But how can anyone make a difference in this world without having pie-in-the-sky dreams? And still, practicality demands attention to the details.

• I imagine the nursery having 1-2 hoop houses, no more. We'll be open on weekends and special events, and it will supply my design / planting business with material. 
• An affiliated event space will house classes for adults and kids, as well as events from special meetings to weddings to whatever. 
• A 1 acre display garden will show what's possible with native plants and be a destination to explore year round. It will be quite svelte.
• The prairie will be open for walks, scattered with signs and pieces of art. A resident artist will have a small studio in a private corner of the landscape.
• We'll build a modest off-grid home. We'll prairie what we can.

What's your dream?